Conestoga’s Cash-Cow Era Scandal
John Tibbits’ Abrupt Exit Amid Sky-High Salary, International Student Backlash, and Union Fury
Oh boy, talk about a dramatic mic drop. John Tibbits, the long-reigning president of Conestoga College, finally called it quits on January 14, 2026, effective immediately. After nearly four decades at the helm, the 80-something exec bowed out amid a storm of scandals that turned the Kitchener-based school into Canada’s poster child for international student exploitation. Unions like OPSEU cheered it as a win after their relentless pressure campaign, but let’s be real—this guy’s departure smells like damage control after years of raking in cash while students suffered.
Rewind a bit: Conestoga exploded in size thanks to Tibbits’ aggressive push for international students. By 2023, a whopping 77% of its enrollment was foreign-born, with numbers hitting around 30,000 in a community ill-equipped to handle the influx. We’re talking students crammed into “slumlord housing,” scraping by on food banks, and fueling a housing crisis that made headlines. Tibbits got grilled by MPs in October 2025 over this mess, batting away questions like “How do you sleep at night?” while insisting it wasn’t about the money. Yeah, right— the college posted a $121 million surplus in 2025, down from a mind-boggling $550 million stash earlier, all while international tuition fees (five times higher than domestic) padded the books.
But here’s the real kicker: While faculty faced mass layoffs—124 profs filed grievances over job cuts—Tibbits treated himself to a fat 29% salary bump in 2024, skyrocketing his pay from $494,716 to $636,107. That’s the highest for any Ontario college or university prez, folks. Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner called him out on it during that parliamentary roast, linking his crude trash-talking of rivals (he famously labeled Sault College’s David Orazietti “a whore” for criticizing Conestoga’s “puppy mill” tactics, sparking a lawsuit) to the regional chaos he helped create. How’s that for hypocrisy? The guy who turned a community college into an international cash cow now retires with a golden parachute, while students and staff pick up the pieces.
Critics, including unions and economists, slam Tibbits for prioritizing profits over people. International students, often from India and elsewhere, paid through the nose—contributing billions to Canada’s economy—but got shafted with overcrowded classes and zero support. Tibbits even shrugged off complaints, saying some chose to live cheaply at $400 a month. Nice victim-blaming there, bud.
In the end, Tibbits’ resignation might signal a reckoning for Ontario colleges hooked on foreign fees. With federal caps slashing international permits, Conestoga’s enrollment dipped, forcing cuts. But will the interim leadership fix the rot, or just repackage it? One thing’s clear: This saga exposes how unchecked greed turned education into a scam. Here’s hoping the next prez prioritizes students over six-figure salaries.
