An English-language school for new Canadians in Guelph is closing its doors after it lost $300,000 in federal funding.

Ruth Naylor, who's been running the privately-owned Naylor-McLeod School for 19 years, says she has no choice but to shut it down. "It hurts me but it hurts the students more," she says.

The school has been crucial for immigrants like Nauroz Tanya who immigrated from Iran only three months ago.

He says, "For me and my wife, we don't have any other relations in this country...We are immigrants and very far from here."

Naylor says seven teachers and a receptionist will be out of work when the program closes in March.

The school currently has 90 students but had the capacity for 115. Without Naylor's school, Guelph will be left with just 100 seats for immigrants at another school.

A spokesperson for Immigration and Citizenship Canada tells CTV that the privately-owned group requested funding for the Labour Market Access Program but not for their language instruction.

They added it was unfortunate that the organization believed funding for Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada(LINC) and Enhanced Language Training (ELT) was outside of that funding process.

On the wider issue of immigration services cuts, Ontario will lose $43 million in funding this year.

While the province gets 55 per cent of the 250,000 new immigrants each year, Ottawa says Ontario has been getting 63 per cent of the money needed to help settle them.

Guelph MP Frank Valeriote says the city needs more, not less, money. "Our immigrant community is growing, particularily in guelph. We are a gateway community."