Aurora College delays admissions for early learning and child care after pilot funding expires

Luke Carroll · CBC News

· Posted: Nov 06, 2025 8:40 PM EST | Last Updated: November 7

Aurora College successful the N.W.T. is delaying admissions for its aboriginal learning and kid attraction programme until sometime adjacent year, and blaming it connected expired backing from a aviator program.

The territorial government, however, says that though that circumstantial aviator backing ran retired successful 2025, the assemblage receives basal backing that it could usage instead.

In 2021, the section of Education, Culture and Employment (ECE) provided the assemblage $800,000 successful national backing to enactment workforce development. This is connected apical of further national and territorial backing the assemblage receives for delivering the post-secondary programme arsenic portion of the national strategy to amended kid care.

“Since 2021, ECE has continued to supply backing annually to offset costs associated with delivering Aurora College’s ELCC [early learning and kid care] programme and successful 2025-2026 this backing volition beryllium $800,000,” Agata Gutkowska, a spokesperson for ECE, wrote successful an email to CBC news. 

"The magnitude of disposable backing has been communicated intelligibly and consistently from ECE to Aurora College since 2020," the email reads.

The section declined an interrogation with CBC News.

CBC News besides requested an interrogation with Aurora College president Angela James. She responded by email instead.

Asked wherefore the college's basal backing was not utilized to prioritize aboriginal learning and kid care, James said the programme is "a priority," but said the assemblage besides has "a fig of existing programs that bash not person basal funding.”

“For the 2025-2026 world year, funds person already been shifted from different areas to offset the simplification successful backing and guarantee that determination were fewer impacts to existent students successful the program, but that is not sustainable,” James wrote.

James says the assemblage needs an further $600,000 annually to proceed the programme arsenic it has been run.

60 students presently enrolled

James says determination are 60 students present enrolled successful the program. She says they volition beryllium supported to implicit the programme with “as fewer impacts arsenic possible."

James wrote successful an email that the programme volition instrumentality applications again astatine immoderate constituent successful 2026 but nary circumstantial day was provided. The hold successful admissions was archetypal reported by Cabin Radio. 

James wrote that the assemblage is considering immoderate revisions “to the transportation schedule,” and that it's waiting to guarantee students person each the applicable accusation earlier allowing applications.

She says they’re besides looking astatine different backing sources.

“Any decisions made astir the ELCC programme indispensable guarantee that we are being academically and fiscally liable to some our students and the college.”

Gutkowska says the territorial authorities is discussing programme backing with Aurora College arsenic the schoolhouse transforms into a polytechnic. 

The Yellowknife Daycare Association is 1 of respective organizations successful the N.W.T. that would prosecute graduates of Aurora College's aboriginal learning and kid attraction program. (Richard Gleeson/CBC)

N.W.T. Early Childhood Association says nonaccomplishment would impact full territory

CBC News contacted the N.W.T. Early Childhood Association for an interrogation astir the aboriginal learning and kid attraction program.

The organization's co-chairs Karen Rawson and Yvette Cooper said they weren't disposable for an interview, but issued a written effect saying that the concern shows that Aurora College's medication does not see aboriginal learning and kid attraction a halfway program.

"By challenging whether the ELCC is worthy of important backing to proceed the programming, successful essence, they are challenging the value of the acquisition of the child," they wrote.

They wrote that the programme had 30 graduates successful 2025 alone.

"The nonaccomplishment of this programme not lone affects women and families crossed the N.W.T. (both arsenic parents and aspiring educators), and the module members whose jobs are successful question, but besides the centres crossed the Territories who trust connected the graduates of the programme to supply prime programming."