A study by the Fraser Institute has dispelled the misconception about public education spending not increasing in Canada, as six out of ten provinces have seen an increase in per-student spending over the last decade after adjusting for inflation.
The increased spending can be largely attributed to a rise in compensation.
The study released on Thursday found that total spending in public schools across the country over the last decade has risen from $61.5 billion to $82.5 billion, a nominal increase of 34.1%. After adjusting for inflation, per-student spending increased by 5.1% nationally from 2012/13 to 2021/22.
Without any adjustments, per-student spending increased by 29.4% across the country and rose in every single province.
Michael Zwaagstra, senior fellow at the Fraser Institute and co-author of the research, spoke to the public misconception.
“Contrary to what we often hear, spending on public schools is on the rise in most provinces across Canada,” he said.
Quebec saw the largest inflation-adjusted per-student spending increase of 33.7% between 2012/13 and 2021/22. Following Quebec were Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and British Columbia, at 21.6%, 12.3%, and 6.7%, respectively.
A previous study on British Columbia’s spending showed that the province’s record spending in education and healthcare still resulted in poor performance.
Three provinces saw a decrease in inflation-adjusted per-student spending. Alberta led the pack with a 17.2% decrease, followed by Saskatchewan at 14.9%, and Newfoundland and Labrador, which decreased by 9.8%.
The increases and decreases calculated in the study do not differentiate between temporary spending from the pandemic and ongoing spending.
“It should be noted that education spending may reflect provincial governments’ reactions to COVID-19; this includes how quickly each province acted to get students back into classrooms, which may have incurred additional precautionary spending,” reads the study.
When simply calculating dollars spent, every single province saw an increase in nominal spending between 2012/13 and 2021/22.
Many provinces have completely shifted their standings on per-student spending in public schools. For example, in 2012/13, Quebec had the lowest level of spending in that regard. It now has the highest. Prince Edward saw a similar rise, climbing from ninth in per-student spending to third highest.
Other provinces saw falls from grace. Saskatchewan went from the highest per-student spending in 2012/13 to the seventh in 2021/22. Alberta fell from third highest to tenth place (the lowest).
Student enrollment increased by 5.1% between 2012/13 to 2021/22. Nominal spending increased at almost seven times student growth, largely due to compensation increasing at such a high rate. The largest increase in enrolment was found in Alberta, which saw a 14.2% rise.
Three provinces saw decreases in enrollment of students in public schools. Newfoundland and Labrador led the decrease, whose student population fell 5.8% over the last decade, followed by New Brunswick, which saw a decrease of 1.8%, and Ontario, which saw a decrease of 0.1%.
The cost of compensation grew from $45.6 billion in 2012/13 to $58.4 billion in 2021/22, an increase of $12.8 billion or 28%. The increase in compensation equates to 61% of the total increase in education in public schools over the last decade.
Compensation was broken down into three parts in the study: salaries and wages, fringe benefits, and pension costs, each of which saw notable increases. The research said that compensation comprised most of the spending growth in every province.
Meanwhile, capital spending increased from $4.9 billion to $8.0 billion, a 62.1% increase. The increase in capital spending only accounted for 14.7% of the total increase in education spending.
“Our results indicate that compensation remains the largest and costliest aspect of education spending and has contributed the largest portion to the growth in total education spending in Canada,” concluded the research.
