Selkirk College will close its Kootenay Studio Arts program in Nelson at the end of the academic year due to what it says are financial pressures following federal cuts to immigration.
In an Oct. 17 announcement on its website, the college stated the campus at 606 Victoria St. will be shut down.
The building houses the arts program, which will immediately suspend its intake for all of its programs including ceramics, textile arts, blacksmithing and metal arts. Ten full-and part-time positions will be lost as a result of the closure.
Starting in 1958 the Victoria Street building was home to the independent Kootenay School of the Arts, whose programs were taken over by Selkirk College in 2006.
After the closure, the college will end its lease of the building, which is owned by the City of Nelson.
The cutback is a result of new federal immigration policies that have reduced the number of international students given study permits in Canada. Those students have been a significant source of revenue for Canadian community colleges.
As a result of those changes, Selkirk College is anticipating a $3–4 million budget shortfall in 2026–2027.
“This has been a very hard decision, but the cost to deliver these programs and maintain a standalone campus just isn’t feasible,” says president Maggie Matear in a statement. “The program capacity limits and the space and infrastructure requirements put financial sustainability out of reach.”
There are eight-to-15 students in each of the four programs offered at the campus.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada announced in the fall of 2024 that it would cut annual study permits nationwide in 2025 by a further 10 per cent, following a 35-per-cent reduction that began in 2024.
Before those cuts began, there were about 760 international students and about 450 employees at the college. The college projects a 60-to-85-per-cent reduction in international students over the next few years and $9 million in lost revenue.
The college has already made a number of changes to programs including spending restrictions, staff cuts and facility closures.
Forty-three full-time equivalent positions had already been cut by the college as of June. Those included layoffs, contract non-renewals, early retirements and non-renewal of vacant positions.
Selkirk College has also closed its learning centres in Nakusp and Kaslo where it delivered academic upgrading and programs, and some short-term continuing education programs.