All students deserve a quality education, regardless of where they live. However, it would be a mistake to assume this only happens when all students attend the same type of school. School choice is a strength, not a weakness, in our country.
Much of this flexibility stems from the Constitution, which explicitly gives the provinces jurisdiction over education. The federal government has no say over school board governance, teacher certification standards, or curriculum requirements. Moreover, Ottawa doesn’t provide any funding to the provinces for K-12 education, resulting in minimum influence and interference by Ottawa. Each province is free to chart its own course.
This explains why there’s significant variation from province to province. For example, as noted in a new study published by the Fraser Institute, independent schools are far more popular in British Columbia than in Newfoundland and Labrador. Nearly 98 percent of students in N.L. attend public (government) schools compared to only 86 percent in B.C., which in turn has the highest percentage of independent school enrollment (13.2 percent) followed by Quebec (11.7 percent). It’s important to note that Quebec and B.C. (along with Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta) provide partial funding to independent schools, which makes it easier for parents to choose this option.
However, it’s also important to acknowledge that when provinces fund independent schools, they do so based on enrolment. Thus, it’s more accurate to say that money follows the student, since independent schools only receive funds if parents choose to send their children there. Clearly, independent schools meet an important need for many families and should remain available as an option.
Interestingly, Ontario does not provide funding for independent schools yet has a higher percentage (6.9 percent) of independent school enrolment than Alberta (4.3 percent) and Saskatchewan (2.8 percent), which partially fund independent schools. Why? Maybe because Ontario has fewer regulations for establishing independent schools than any other province, which suggests that excessive regulation can discourage the vitality of independent schools as much as a lack of funding.
Alberta stands out as the province with the most school choice. Not only does it have both public and separate (Roman Catholic) school systems along with independent schools, it’s also the only province that allows charter schools. Despite popular misperception, charter schools are not independent schools but rather autonomous, not-for-profit schools within the public system.
Of course, not all students are enrolled in school. Parents in every province are legally entitled to educate their children at home, and a small but growing percentage are choosing to do just that. Three provinces—B.C., Alberta, and Saskatchewan—even offer limited funding towards the cost of home schooling. Alberta has the highest percentage of families (1.9 percent) who choose home school.
Clearly, there’s a lot of diversity in Canada’s educational landscape. No doubt some politicians would like to nationalize education, or at least require provinces to follow national educational standards. While this might be appealing to some, it would not be good for students or their parents. We’ve learned over the years that cookie-cutter approaches to education rarely work. It makes sense to let the people closest to the ground be the ones to decide on education policy. At a bare minimum, this means respecting the constitutional rights of provinces in this area.
However, we can go further and say that provinces should prevent government bureaucrats from centralizing education. Ideally, choices should be made at the local level, with parents having significant control over the type of education their children receive. School choice is a strength in Canada. When it comes to choosing what works best for children, parents should have as many options as possible.
