'Terrified and outraged': Winnipeg English language school to close following federal funding cuts

A school for English language learners in Winnipeg will be shutting its doors for good.

As of Feb. 1, 2025, the Enhanced English Skills for Employment (EESE) school will no longer receive funding from the federal government.

“We’re both terrified and outraged,” said executive director Louise Giesbrecht.

For the last four years, the school has been operating out of the Canadian Mennonite University. It runs 10-week programs throughout the year, with more than 200 students enrolled each term.

EESE focuses on further developing the skills of those who have basic knowledge and understanding of the English language. According to Giesbrecht, 96 per cent of those enrolled received a post-secondary degree prior to their arrival in Canada.

To keep up with costs, EESE receives around $650,000 from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) annually, in addition to funding from the province. But this year, Ottawa is reallocating funds to support early-stage language learners, rather than those with a more advanced skillset.

In a statement to CTV News, a spokesperson for the IRCC said the department reviewed a “record number” of funding proposal applications for newcomer services. “Funding was prioritized to ensure coverage of core settlement and resettlement services,” they said.

“That makes sense that the most vulnerable need that support,” said Giesbrecht. “But it also makes sense that those people in the higher level, if they are able to get into the workplace right away, they’re going to impact that workplace and our economic situation in Canada.”

Now the school is turning to the province for support.

“The department was able to inform (EESE) of the call for proposals that we have for the province,” Labour and Immigration Minister Malaya Marcelino told reporters Monday.

However, the grant Marcelino referred to won’t cover all the costs for EESE, said Giesbrecht.

“That particular program that she’s talking about has a maximum amount of $450,000 that you can compete towards getting, and that’s a necessary piece that we will be competing for,” Giesbrecht said.

“But that’s a small piece to what is needed for the number of students that we have here.”

In the meantime, current EESE students said they’re heartbroken and disappointed the school is closing.

“If the EESE closed, I can’t study English anywhere in Winnipeg,” said Seongwon Kang.

Kang moved to Winnipeg from South Korea with his family a year and a half ago. He started taking lessons with EESE in June, and said he hopes to apply what he’s learned about language and culture to his everyday life in Canada.

“I’m thinking about my future and my family’s future here,” he said.

But Giesbrecht said she’s thinking about the future of the school, and where English language learners will go next.

“There’s no alternative,” she said. “There’s no school that I can send them to.”