Manitoba's universities are keen to see an increase in tuition. That's from Minister of Education and Training Ian Wishart, some speculation post-secondary tuition rates could rise in the near future. Wishart, who's also the MLA for Portage la Prairie says they're currently consulting education providers and students to help identify feasible changes in the province's tuition. 

Wishart says post-secondary institutions weren't able to increase their tuition for about ten years, and have only recently been able to hike tuition along with the rate of inflation. However, Wishart says those increases don't address rising costs within the facilities, noting it's time to take a close look at the issue.

"They've gotten a little behind and they're telling us that. We're taking a look at that, and we're keeping in mind that education is valuable to the students and we don't want to have tuition costs get too high."

Wishart says they're still very early in the discussions, and can't quite say just when proposed increases will be put forward. However, he says the increases are necessary in order to ensure Manitoba's post-secondary education system remains in line with other facilities across the province.

"The quality of education is always linked in one way or another to what is spent on producing that education whether it's on professors, facilities, or the materials available, there's a linkage between the two. We want to have good quality institutions that are competitive on a world basis."

Wishart emphasizes the potential increases are also coming with additional student supports. He says they've made significant improvements to the province's bursary and scholarship programs, which could help students offset the increase.