Spending per K-12 student in Canada ranged from $13,494 in Alberta to $19,484 in Quebec in 2022/23

By: Michael Zwaagstra, Max Shang and Milagros Palacios

Spending per student (kindergarten to grade 12) in Canada ranged from a low of $13,494 in Alberta to a high of $19,484 in Quebec in 2022/23, finds a new study published by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank.

“Most people—parents included—don’t understand how much is being spent educating students in public schools across Canada, which is critical before parents begin to evaluate whether they’re getting good value for the money,” said Michael Zwaagstra, senior fellow with the Fraser Institute and co-author of Education Spending in Public Schools in Canada, 2025 Edition.

The study finds that inflation adjusted per student spending on public schools in Canada increased nationally by 5.9 per cent over between 2013/14 and 2022/23.

A different way to think about this increase in spending is to analyze how much was required to offset changes in student enrolment and inflation. The analysis shows that over this time period (2013/14 to 2022/23) an additional $6.5 billion was spent over and above what was needed to compensate for more students and inflation.

The spending analysis also includes different categories such as compensation, capital and other spending as categorized by Statistics Canada. Compensation (salaries, wages, fringe benefits, and pensions) contributed the most to the total growth in spending on public schools from 2013/14 to 2022/23.

In total, Quebec experienced the largest increase at 40.6 per cent. Prince Edward Island (14.5 per cent) and Nova Scotia (10.8 per cent) experienced the next largest increases in spending per student, while Saskatchewan (-14.8 per cent), Alberta (-17.5 per cent), and Newfoundland & Labrador (-11.2 per cent) were the only provinces to experience meaningful declines during this same period.

“When it comes to our children’s education, it’s important to understand exactly what’s happening with spending in public schools, and, most importantly, to question how the money spent is being put to use,” said Zwaagstra.

Education Spending in Public Schools in Canada, 2025 Edition

• Total education spending in public schools over the last 10 years increased from $63.0 billion in 2013/14 to $88.4 billion in 2022/23, a nominal increase of 40.3%.

• Per-student spending adjusted for inflation (price changes), increased by 5.9% nationally from 2013/14 to 2022/23.

• The highest inflation-adjusted spending increases (per student) occurred in the provinces of Quebec (40.6%), Prince Edward Island (14.5%), Nova Scotia (10.8%), and British Columbia (9.3%).

• Five provinces experienced decreases in inflation-adjusted per-student spending—Alberta (17.5%), Saskatchewan (14.8%), Newfoundland & Labrador (11.2%), Manitoba (3.0%), and Ontario (1.7%).

• Quebec had the second lowest level of per-student spending in public schools in 2013/14 and now has the highest. Prince Edward Island went from seventh in per-student spending to second highest.

• On the other hand, Saskatchewan went from the highest in per-student spending to seventh, and Alberta went from fifth highest to tenth, the lowest.

• Even though British Columbia recorded the fourth-highest growth in adjusted per-student spending, it still ranks eighth in per-student spending in Canada.

• Student enrolment across Canada increased by an average of 5.6% from 2013/14 to 2022/23. Only Newfoundland & Labrador saw a decrease in enrolment (4.9%).

• Compensation remains the largest and costliest aspect of education spending and has contributed the largest portion to the growth of total education spending in Canada.