EDMONTON — Alberta has seen significant growth in independent school enrolment over the past two decades, but the proportion of students attending those schools remains near the middle of the pack nationally, behind British Columbia, Quebec, Manitoba and Ontario, according to a new Fraser Institute study.
The study found 6.7 per cent of Alberta’s kindergarten to Grade 12 students attended independent schools in 2023-24.
British Columbia had the highest proportion at 13.2 per cent, followed by Quebec at 11.9 per cent, Manitoba at 8.7 per cent and Ontario at 7.4 per cent.
Alberta was ahead of Nova Scotia at 3.5 per cent, Saskatchewan at 2.8 per cent, Prince Edward Island at two per cent, New Brunswick at 1.7 per cent and Newfoundland and Labrador at 1.2 per cent.
The Fraser Institute says Alberta’s share has nevertheless grown considerably since 2000-01, when 4.1 per cent of students attended independent schools. The increase to 6.7 per cent represents a 63.4 per cent increase in independent schools’ share of overall enrolment.
In absolute numbers, independent school enrolment more than doubled, rising from 23,617 students in 2000-01 to 54,019 in 2023-24, an increase of 128.7 per cent.
Over the same period, the proportion of Alberta students attending public schools declined from 94.6 per cent to 90.3 per cent.
“For their children’s education, parents in Alberta are increasingly choosing options outside the government-run school system,” said Paige MacPherson, a senior fellow with the Fraser Institute and co-author of the study.
Alberta, along with British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Quebec, partially funds the operating costs of independent schools on a per-student basis.
Alberta is also the only province with charter schools, according to the study. Charter school enrolment increased from 0.4 per cent of Alberta students in 2000-01 to 1.6 per cent in 2023-24.
“The evidence shows that parents in Alberta are increasingly looking to independent schools for more choice in how their children are educated, and a declining share of parents are choosing government-run schools for their kids,” MacPherson said.
The Fraser Institute describes itself as an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank.
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