Alberta subsidizes private education at one of the the highest rates (70%) in the country.
What's wrong with this picture:
According to Statistics Canada, Alberta spends the LEAST per student on public education.
Meanwhile, Alberta also spends the MOST on subsidizing private education.
According to Statistics Canada, Alberta spends the LEAST per student on public education.
Meanwhile, Alberta also spends the MOST on subsidizing private education.
Operational Subsidies
At 70% of the per-student instructional grant, Alberta is paying the most in public funds to prop up private education.
It is estimated that every four years, over $1 Billion of public funds are diverted to private education institutions.
Many provinces such as Ontario, don't public fund private education at all.
Affluent Alberta private schools have successfully lobbied consecutive governments to gradually siphon more public resources out of the public system into private hands.
Private schools in Alberta also can charge any amount of tuition they wish (tuition rates are not regulated).
Building and Capital Subsidies
In 2024, Alberta announced an even more egregious policy change that would see private schools eligible for construction funding as part of the "Alberta New School Accelerator Program." This capital funding eligibility is unprecedented in Alberta's history and it is highly inequitable.
The Alberta public is paying for a select few to receive extra private advantages at the expense of the majority of students in the public education system.
At 70% of the per-student instructional grant, Alberta is paying the most in public funds to prop up private education.
It is estimated that every four years, over $1 Billion of public funds are diverted to private education institutions.
Many provinces such as Ontario, don't public fund private education at all.
Affluent Alberta private schools have successfully lobbied consecutive governments to gradually siphon more public resources out of the public system into private hands.
Private schools in Alberta also can charge any amount of tuition they wish (tuition rates are not regulated).
Building and Capital Subsidies
In 2024, Alberta announced an even more egregious policy change that would see private schools eligible for construction funding as part of the "Alberta New School Accelerator Program." This capital funding eligibility is unprecedented in Alberta's history and it is highly inequitable.
The Alberta public is paying for a select few to receive extra private advantages at the expense of the majority of students in the public education system.
* Source: Riep, C. Private Schools Funding in Alberta: Scaling-up Privatization (2022). Commissioned by Public School Boards' Association of Alberta: https://public-schools.ab.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Private-Schools-Funding-in-Alberta.pdf