A new Fraser Institute report says Saskatchewan is no longer in the top spot when it comes to per-student funding in the country on K-12 public education, with inflation and rising enrolment putting pressure on budgets.
The study, released in August, reviews a decade of public school spending across Canada. It found that while total spending in Saskatchewan increased in, inflation-adjusted per-student spending dropped by nearly 15 per cent between 2013-14 and 2022-23.
Back in 2013-14, Saskatchewan ranked first among provinces in per-student funding. By 2022-23, it had fallen to seventh.
The report notes that Saskatchewan’s public school enrolment grew by 9.5 per cent over the decade — the second-highest increase in Canada after Alberta. The increase of students, combined with inflation, stretched provincial dollars further even as overall funding climbed.
Total education spending in Saskatchewan rose from $2.56 billion in 2013-14 to $2.97 billion in 2022-23, an increase of 15.9 per cent. But when enrolment and inflation were factored in, the picture changed.
In real terms, per-student spending declined from $18,518 in 2013-14 to $15,774 in 2022-23.
Only Alberta saw a steeper drop, at 17.5 per cent. Newfoundland and Labrador and Manitoba also reported declines, while Quebec, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and British Columbia recorded significant gains.
When capital costs, such as new schools or renovations, are excluded, the numbers still point to challenges for Saskatchewan. Operational spending per student — which covers day-to-day expenses such as salaries, pensions and benefits — fell by 10.1 per cent after inflation was taken into account.
That drop suggests classrooms have been asked to do more with less, even as the system serves more students.
Across Canada, compensation remains the largest share of education spending, accounting for nearly 69 per cent of all public school expenditures in 2022-23. That includes teacher salaries, staff wages, benefits and pension contributions.
In Saskatchewan, spending on teacher pensions rose by 37.9 per cent over the decade, from $274 million to $378 million. Spending on fringe benefits such as health and dental coverage climbed by 40.1 per cent. Salaries and wages remain the largest cost driver, as they do nationally.
The province also saw fluctuations in capital spending. Saskatchewan spent $276 million on school construction and renovations in 2013-14, but by 2022-23 that number had dropped to $172 million — a 37.6 per cent decline.
The report also compared actual spending with what would have been needed to simply keep pace with enrolment growth and inflation. By that measure, Saskatchewan’s education spending in 2022-23 came in 15.6 per cent lower than expected, representing a gap of about $464 million.
Those numbers show that even with modest overall growth, schools in Saskatchewan effectively had fewer real resources than what was needed to maintain 2013-14 levels of per-student support.
Nationally, public school spending grew from $63.0 billion to $88.4 billion over the 10-year period. On a per-student basis, after adjusting for inflation, Canada saw an overall increase of 5.9 per cent.
The report does not make policy recommendations, but it raises questions about the balance between rising enrolment, inflationary pressures and classroom needs.
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