Due to a number of factors from the early 2000’s, including ageing campuses and demands for new space, Canadian post-secondary institutions were forced to find creative ways to save costs. In many cases, institutions chose to achieve this by postponing maintenance activities. Over time, these postponed maintenance projects on campus began to add up and started negatively impacting students and the quality of their education.

In 2005, CASA began advocating for additional Accumulated Deferred Maintenance (ADM) funding to help institutions renew their facilities and get back on track. Government responded by injecting $1 billion dollars into ADM funding for 2006.