More nursing students from rural communities on the North Island can further their career paths closer to home because of new provincial funding.
“This expansion reflects what we’re hearing from communities across the North Island—a need for more local training that leads directly to in-demand careers,” said Lisa Domae, President and CEO of North Island College (NIC). “By making choices to grow our nursing program, we’re supporting students and helping address critical workforce needs in rural health care.”
The Ministry of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills is providing a one-time grant of $451,640 to add nursing students at NIC. The funding will provide for eight seats at the Mixalakwila campus in Port Hardy. The students will start in the fall of 2027 and graduate in spring 2029.
“Nurses are essential to our health-care system and supporting B.C.’s health workforce is one of our highest priorities,” said Jessie Sunner, Minister of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills. “Providing this grant to NIC is part of our government’s commitment to invest in nurses and other front-line care providers, so more people can access the care they need, where and when they need it. We’re also taking action to ensure that rural and remote students have the same opportunities to get the training they need to enter the healthcare workforce and thrive in their communities.”
The new funding allows NIC to expand to 32 seats for students. The Mixalakwila cohort will join existing Licensed Practical Nursing (LPN) students, distributed between Campbell River, Comox Valley and Port Alberni, with eight seats in each community.
“This is exciting news for our North Island communities. I’m truly happy to see the program being offered locally because we know that when people train at home, they stay at home—and that makes a real difference for the future of health care in the North Island,” said Mayor Pat Corbett-Labatt of Port Hardy.
The announcement will also have a significant impact on staffing at the hospitals in Port Hardy and Port McNeill as well as the Cormorant Island Health Centre. Local governments in northern communities on Vancouver Island have been advocating for this kind of programming for health sector professionals.
“The entire North Island is celebrating this wonderful opportunity for students to be able to remain in their communities and access training usually only offered in bigger centres,” said Mayor James Furney of Port McNeill. “I applaud the college’s leadership for keeping the true ‘North’ in North Island College.”
NIC has been working on aligning programming with provincial mandates around labour market demand for sectors like health. The announcement of the grant to support the additional nursing seats was made at the Board of Governors meeting on April 16 in Port Hardy.
At the same meeting, the board passed a $65.7 million budget for the 2026-27 fiscal year. While North Island College is positioning itself to meet labour market goals for in-demand jobs like nursing, it is also positioning itself to have a balanced budget in 2027-28.
In response to international student permit changes and a resulting drop in enrolment and revenue, NIC, like other post-secondary institutions, has taken several actions to reduce costs.
“We’re on track to have a balanced budget for the 2027-28 fiscal year,” said Colin Fowler, Vice-president, Finance & College Services. “We have been working directly with the provincial government on a plan.”