an evolution towards a greater economic development orientation among Canada's colleges. By the early 1990s, this was coupled with an increasingly perilous deficit and debt problem within the federal government and most provincial governments. Federal funding for the college sector through the EPF was replaced in 1996 by the Canada Health and Social Transfer (CHST). The CHST provided the provincial governments with an unconditional block grant from the federal government, similar to the EPF, but funds for higher education were reduced. Overall, the CHST was a policy initiative focused primarily on reducing federal costs, and not on improving higher education (Fisher et al. 2005: 48).
The recession and reduced federal funding meant that, while provinces still maintained jurisdiction over education, they now had less money to put into their respective college systems. Provincial governments began urging colleges to economize and to generate an increased proportion of their own revenues through entrepreneurial initiatives (Gallagher & Day 2001: 653). While fiscal restraint was promoted within all areas of government activity, community colleges were especially vulnerable given the control provincial governments have over the disbursement of college funding (Dennison 1995b). Moreover, the provincial governments had a history of adding federal transfer funds earmarked for education to general revenues to be used for other provincial priorities. (Fisher et al 2005: 42). Faced with this fiscal reality, Canadian colleges again adapted. An entrepreneurial spirit was embraced in order to fill the emerging funding gap and to continue providing appropriate education to communities that now faced higher unemployment and decreased economic productivity. Colleges directed their entrepreneurial initiative towards developing partnerships with the business community in order to find new revenue sources and promote increased economic productivity (Gallagher & Day 2001: 655). A new emphasis on contract training emerged, including customized training delivered directly to businesses.
More recently, colleges' entrepreneurial spirit and ties to business have been further solidified by the demands of globalization and the knowledge economy. Economic development needs within Canadian communities have again changed based on the influence of economic globalization. The emergence of a highly competitive, global and knowledge-based economy has meant local communities must develop a better educated, highly skilled workforce that can compete on a global scale. This, in turn, has driven the emergence of an even stronger economic development and market-oriented outlook among Canadian community colleges (Kirby 2007; Levin 2001; Quint-Rapoport 2006). Colleges across Canada are increasingly focused on designing and delivering appropriate workforce development and high technology training that provides local economies with the human capital needed to respond to the demands of the global economy. This has had two implications. First, colleges have further expanded their ties to business and industry to ensure the development of curricula that is consistent with the skills required by businesses operating within a knowledge-based global context (Kirby 2007: 5). Second, colleges have had to respond to the need for an appropriate credential level in such a globally competitive knowledge economy. The response has taken several forms, including colleges beginning to offer degree level programs previously offered only by universities, and widening transfer relationships and other forms of cooperation with universities to provide expanded higher education pathways to college students (Quint-Rapoport 2006; Walker 2006). This has resulted in innovative programming. For example, Humber College and the University of Guelph recently partnered to form the University of Guelph-Humber to deliver programming that offers a combination of the university's focus on theory and the college's focus on practical skills. Graduates of the four year degree programs receive both a university degree and a college diploma, reflecting the combined theoretical/practical nature of their education. Such innovative programming has enabled the community college system in Canada to continue to evolve and produce graduates who have the skills needed to succeed in the global economy.
From its creation as a vehicle to address the socio-economic needs of the 1960s through to its evolution into a more entrepreneurial institution in response to recession, government deficits and the demands of globalization, the Canadian community college has demonstrated an ability to adapt as socioeconomic and fiscal conditions change. It has done so within a decentralized higher education context that promotes adaptability at the provincial and community levels. This approach has had considerable success, as the community college system has become the largest supplier of higher and adult education and training in Canada (ACCC 2002: 1).
Characteristics of the Canadian Community College System
Despite the significant provincial diversity of college systems and the evolution that has occurred in response to recession, fiscal constraints and globalization, there are a number of basic characteristics that are common to college models across the provinces. According to Skolnik (2004), the main characteristic of Canadian colleges is that they educate and train
