London Inc. Weekly

Weekly Regional Business Intelligence

Written by Kieran Delamont, Associate Editor, London Inc.

Staring down a $60-million deficit, Fanshawe sounds alarm on foreign-student shortfall, commences review of long-term viability

Fanshawe is staring down huge deficits and will be forced to make significant job cuts, the college’s president Peter Devlin said this week. “We are forecasting deficits of $35 million in the coming year and $60 million in the following year,” Devlin said in a video to college staff. The school is now undergoing a third-party review, Devlin added, warning that layoffs and program cuts were likely to follow. “Our financial challenges are significant and will ultimately impact our workforce, which is anticipated to occur in phases as we manage changes resulting in the decline in international enrollment.” The school also confirmed that it was cutting 18 winter programs, in what it (optimistically) described as a “one-time cut.” Kyle Rooks, corporate communications officer for the college, told Fanshawe’s student newspaper the Interrobang that it had hired Toronto-based consulting firm StrategyCorp to review the college’s operations, and that “when we have a clear picture of the impacts, we will be clearly and quickly communicating to our Fanshawe community.” The Interrobang had previously reported on a number of program cancellations in the School of Tourism, Hospitality & Culinary Arts, primarily those operating out of Fanshawe’s downtown campus.

The upshot: Devlin’s video was one of the franker assessments Fanshawe has given on the threat of job and program cuts stemming from the international student cap, and comes as Ontario’s colleges are heading to arbitration with its faculty. Mark Feltham, president of Ontario Public Service Employees Union Local 110 at Fanshawe, said that the union was “very concerned about these projected deficits, and we will be working very hard, as always, to ensure that our members’ rights are protected during this challenging period.” On the student side, advocates are hoping to make college funding an election issue. On Monday, the Canadian Federation of Students - Ontario released a statement calling for new funding models for Ontario schools. “Students are exhausted by the progressive deterioration of post-secondary education,” said Adaeze Mbalaja, the Ontario chairperson for the group. “Education has been underfunded for decades and this government has played a role in manufacturing the current crisis ― both in cost of living and education. One-time funding announcements have been a band-aid solution and have failed to address the chronic underfunding of colleges and universities.”

Read more: Fanshawe College | Interrobang

Global Warranty acquired by iA Financial Group

London’s Global Warranty has been acquired by Quebec City-based iA Financial Group, the two companies announced this week. Calling it a “well-run organization with a strong reputation,” iA Financial said the acquisition would expand their footprint in the used vehicle warranty market, which has been Global Warranty’s bread and butter since its founding in 1987. “We chose to sell our business to iA Financial Group because of their long history in the warranty business,” said Roy Neufert, CEO of Global Warranty. “iA Financial Group has been doing this for over 60 years across North America and has relationships with over 10,000 new and used car dealerships. We believe their expertise, experience and vision for the future will serve all Global employees and iA Financial Group well.” Terms of the deal were not disclosed, nor did it seem there would be any major restructuring of operations.

The upshot: The auto extended warranty market was valued at US$34.66 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow at a rate of 6.8 per cent from 2024 to 2030, so it’s not surprising that smaller market players like Global have become attractive portfolios for companies like iA Financial Group, which is one of the largest insurance and wealth management groups in Canada. In fact, it isn’t the first such acquisition the company has made in town ― back in 2020 it acquired Lubrico Warranty, which is headquartered on Jetstream Road. “This will increase our presence in the used vehicle warranty market, with long-standing operation in London, where our subsidiary Lubrico Warranty is also based,” noted Gwen Gareau, senior VP of iA Dealer Services and iA Auto Finance.

January home sales tank as economic uncertainty hangs over market

After concluding 2024 on a relatively positive note, with the local home resale market surpassing 8,000 homes sold for the first time in three years, 2025 has launched with a resounding thud, with very limited demand for housing in the region. According to the London and St. Thomas Association of Realtors (LSTAR), which released data for home sales in the month of January earlier this week, a total of 370 homes exchanged hands in the region (the LSTAR catchment area also takes in Strathroy, St. Thomas and portions of Middlesex and Elgin counties), a 20.3 per cent decline compared to sales in January of 2024. On the supply side, a total of 1,088 new properties entered the market in January, a 12.3 per cent year-over-year jump. The region’s months of inventory (a ratio representing the number of months it would take to sell the homes that are currently listed based on current rate of sales activity) now stands at 5.6, with new listings exceeding sales in January by about a three-to-one margin. The latest figures come on the heels of another interest rate cut of 25 basis points by the Bank of Canada late last month, and representatives are doing their best to remain optimistic that demand will return to the market come spring: “Lower borrowing costs are making homeownership more accessible, encouraging more buyers to enter the market and further driving demand,” noted LSTAR board chair Dale Marsh. But with the threat of an impending U.S. trade war looming and all the economic uncertainty bundled up with that, market uncertainty is ruling the day.

The upshot: If there’s a silver lining here for realtors and home sellers, it’s probably found in the average price, which is remaining stable despite the increased supply and lacklustre demand. The average price for a resell home in the region in January was $639,486, pretty much equivalent to how the year ended (average price of $636,942 in December). As London Inc. real estate analyst and A Team London partner Marcus Plowright noted in his On the House column this week, “Inventory in London as well as the region in general now exceeds five months. New listings exceeded sales by a factor of three to one. Despite this imbalance prices have held steady. It appears we don’t have a price problem; we have a demand problem.”