Canadian Independent School Enrolment Up Nearly 45 Percent Since 2000

A schoolbus in Calgary in a file photo. Habanero Pixel/Shutterstock

Independent school registration is on the rise across the country, jumping nearly 45 percent over the past quarter of a century to bring current enrolment to approximately one in every 12 Canadian students.

Independent school enrolment rose from 5.9 percent of the Kindergarten to Grade 12 student population in 2000-2001 to 8.5 percent in 2023-2024, according to a new report from the Fraser Institute.

Kindergarten to Grade 12 enrolment in government-run public schools declined from 93.8 percent to 90.4 percent of the total student population during the same 24-year time span, the study found.

“Parents across Canada are increasingly choosing options outside the government-run school system, even though in several provinces—including Ontario—there is no financial support for families that choose independent schools,” Fraser Institute senior fellow and report co-author Paige MacPherson said in a press release.

Ontario had the fourth-highest independent enrolment rate at 7.4 percent, despite parents being responsible for covering the total cost. Alberta was fifth at 6.7 percent, followed by Nova Scotia at 3.5 percent, and Saskatchewan at 2.8 percent. The remaining provinces had enrolment rates of 2 percent or less.

“While funding for non-government schools varies from province-to-province, Canadian parents are increasingly enrolling their children in independent schools rather than their local government-run public school, exercising more choice in how their children are educated, despite the financial sacrifice,” MacPherson said

Home-schooling remains a relatively small but growing part of the overall education system as well, the report noted.

Alberta has the largest number of home-schooled students at 3 percent, followed by Manitoba at 2.4 percent, and Saskatchewan at 2.3 percent.

Alberta is also the only Canadian province that allows charter schools—tuition-free public schools operated by non-profit organizations—that provide specialized educational approaches.

Although charter schools represent a relatively small proportion of overall student enrolment at 1.6 percent, their absolute enrolment figures have experienced substantial growth, rising from 2,558 students during the 2000-2001 academic year to 12,780 students in the 2023-2024 academic year.

Newfoundland had the highest percentage of public school students at 98.5 percent, and the lowest number of independent school students and home-schooled students at 1.2 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively.