Critics say the United Conservative Government’s plan to fund private-school construction projects to the tune of $90 million over three years makes no sense.
Alas, the scheme announced by Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides at the end of last week to “create 6,000 new student spaces at independent schools,” as the government’s news release tendentiously put it, makes plenty of sense from the government’s point of view.
It goes without saying it’s terrible public policy, deceptively packaged as offering “choice,” as a way to help children with learning disabilities, and as a partial solution to the shortage of public-school spaces that the government blames on immigration but is in fact caused by its own neglect and poor planning.
Credulous voters inclined to accept Dr, Nicolaides’ claims at face value, though, would be wise to beware neoliberal ideologues bearing gifts! A good question to ask when Conservative politicians start talking about choice is, “Who chooses, who loses?”
Consider that word “independent,” oft repeated in the minister’s talking points. In these circumstances, it means private, but propped up with public money. These schools may be publicly supported, but there will be no accountability, nor will they be required to educate all children.
All of us Alberta taxpayers – at a moment in the province’s history when our government has just warned us we’re in for another round of austerity – will be ponying up the cash to build new private school buildings to which we and our children have no access.
But it is good politics. After all, it will appeal to the government’s vocal and well-organized supporters in this province’s aggressive private-school lobby, which represents everything from chichi private prep schools catering to the very wealthy to religious academies offering, shall we say, a wide range of instructional quality.
Dr. Nicolaides made an effort to leave the impression the spending is intended principally to help students with “specialized needs,” a phrase used in the news release and repeated several times in an interview the minister gave to a UCP-friendly Postmedia publication. He said programs offering special-needs instruction would be prioritized for the handouts.
We’ll see how that part works out. Some of it will certainly be used that way, and some of the programs – which won’t be cost-free for parents, by the way – will do good work. But given the UCP’s well-known ideological hostility to public education and other public services, and Premier Danielle Smith’s clearly articulated desire to move quickly toward a U.S.-style voucher funding system, it is reasonable to suspect this is intended to be the thin edge of the wedge.
We are moving quickly now toward a system in which anyone can set up any kind of school they wish and exclude anyone they want, and we will all get to pay to help them build it, and run it.
Why not fund special-education instruction and facilities in public schools, where it is desperately needed? The government’s news release doesn’t answer that obvious question, although it strives to leave the impression this scheme is merely an enhancement of “the province’s significant investments in public education.”
This won’t “build on” public education, though. It will take from it. Everyone contemplating this significant expenditure needs to understand that.
“Eligible projects can include new schools, expansions, ready-made or modular classrooms, building purchases and leasehold improvements,” says the government’s news release. Grant funding will be forked over on a cost-matching basis – two from school operators to one from public funds for established private schools, four to one for new ones. And count on it, new private schools will be set up to take advantage of this program, further draining funds from public education over time.
The cash can be used for constructing new buildings or modular structures, including interiors, mechanical, electrical, materials and labour, for exterior servicing, landscaping, parking and play areas, for furniture and equipment, and for professional and permit fees,
Applications for 2026 are due by the end of May – which strongly suggests applicants have already been lined up among the government’s friends in private education to ensure that all $90 million is given away. This generosity will be repaid in votes and individuals’ donations.
“Independent schools serve more than seven per cent of Alberta’s students while receiving less than five per cent of education funding,” Dr. Nicolaides’ press release noted piously. Perhaps the real question we should be asking, though, isn’t why private schools get less public funding than public education, but why they get any at all?
In no way should public tax dollars be funding private education. That is just plain wrong. Public education in Alberta has been badly starved of funding from Ralph Klein, including a massive amount of layoffs of teachers in this province. Recovery from that still hasn’t happened.
Now we see the UCP continue to massively underfund public education in Alberta. It began with one of the single most largest mass layoffs in Canada’s history, 6 years ago, when the (then) Alberta Education Minister, Adriana LaGrange laid off thousands of educational support staff via a single Twitter (now, X) post. In a fake gesture of goodwill, she then gave them their jobs back, because a provincial election was looming in 2023.
When the Covid-19 pandemic was present, the UCP met all the needs of private schools. Public schools got left out, and teachers had a hard time fending for themselves. It didn’t do any good.
A garbage public school curriculum was created by the UCP. The people who devised it had no expertise in education, or lacked credibility in that area. It replaced a school curriculum that had been world class.
Funding for public education in Alberta is extremely low, and is at the bottom ranking in Canada. Not so for private education. Alberta is the most generous area of Canada for the funding of private education. This is very reprehensible. Whatever lobby groups want, they can have, and the UCP provides the money for them, while the public education system has to continue to do with less.
Any legitimate concerns that teachers had with very large classroom sizes, and other matters, were disregarded by Danielle Smith and the UCP, who had no intentions of dealing with that at all. When the teachers reached a boiling point, and went on strike, which they had a legally protected right to do, Danielle Smith and the UCP were heavy handed bullies, and stopped their strike with a blatant misuse of the Notwithstanding Clause, and very steep, daily fines for teachers that didn’t comply. The UCP are still trying to shortchange these teachers. Yet, anything these private school advocates, and lobbyists want for their educational choices is given top priority by the UCP. Danielle Smith and the UCP will see to it that it happens.
Trash Can Dani was a nickname given to Danielle Smith because she was so horrible at her job as a public school trustee in Calgary. She used to get abrasive with the other public school trustees, and they were all fired by Lyle Oberg, the Alberta PC education minister. She would dig in garbage cans, or bins to try and find information about the other public school trustees. Even then, she had very foolish ideas about supporting private education in Alberta. It’s way overdue to ditch the UCP.
@Anonymous
As I’ve been screaming loudly and often, anyone under 60 and a good many over that age, do not watch mainstream news. So, the CBC not covering the NDP (they do, BTW, when MPs and MPPs are out holding hands with activists, make of that what you will) is hardly the tragedy you’re making it out to be.
There’s a crapton of off-brand media. Many have hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of viewers. Many are more trusted than legacy media, particularly those with a track record of provable investigative journalism or who are strong interviewers.
The NDP doesn’t show up that much, there. They need to be on every major podcast and YouTube channel, pushing their agenda, pointing out problems and just being every day people that others can relate to. They need to be willing to answer hardball questions openly and honestly to pull voters on board. Nobody owes them a vote, they have to go out and earn it
Most are neither personable enough nor savvy enough to bother. That’s a huge drawback in the digital age.
This is Bullshit. The upper crust of society are more than able to pay for their kids education. My tax dollars should go to the public, not private system. Oh, sorry I forgot, the Smith / UPC agenda is two tier education, we can’t allow public students a good education, then they’ll be able to think for themselves and what a mess that would be. It would mess up all of their plans. Two tier education, two tier healthcare, two tier citizens. Gawd I love Smith and the UPC.
You ask, “Why not fund special-education instruction and facilities in public schools, where it is desperately needed?” Because teachers and educational assistants in private schools will be non-union, so they don’t add to the ranks of either the ATA or of CUPE. It’s union-busting in disguise.
There she is folks, still leading in the polls. If only we had an opposition party that would fight back, It may be time to resurrect the ghost of J. Patrick O’Callaghan to once again declare himself the official opposition.
https://youtu.be/7ZliNRsfJ2w?si=p29vsQTjpI9c9QZQ
This is a video I posted previously. It upset private school owners when it came out. The video reveals the stark contrast between private and public school facilities. The comments reveal tuition costs. The comments also reveal that things have gotten much worse in the public school system since then. We’ve had a teachers’ strike that made this point.
If you have $25,000 for annual tuition plus other school costs like uniforms, etc., why do you believe your child is underprivileged? Why do you believe it is your God-given right to take from the poor? The level of greed and entitlement in this province is remarkable. The rich get rich and the poor get poorer. The wealthy will never be satisfied until they have everything and the poor have nothing. History tells us that when the scale tips too far, there will be a correction.
I suppose this is one way to reduce the ranks of Alberta teachers in the ATA. It could also have the effect of making teachers more militant. Perhaps teachers will have actual picket lines next time and start contributing to a strike fund right now in what could be a protracted conflict. Quiet little mice get trapped with the Notwithstanding Clause, after all. Live and learn or scurry away?
Does the term “suckers and losers” resonate with any Alberta voters yet?
Why indeed, DJC?
Why are the public funding schools chock full of pro-Zionist sentiment, Christian evangelical nutterism, the odd Catholic school with prayer requirements, military doctrines etc that have the right to turn away those same struggling students that Dixie Dani claims they’ll be “helping”?
$90M would go a long way to helping the public school system that has been underfunded for decades.
I’ve said this before and I’ll repeat it here. *No private schools should be allowed to exist.*
The one great equalizer in a country should be its equal educational systems where all race/colours/creeds/classes mix together to develop empathy and co-operation with each other so they’ll all be productive and co-operative members of that civilization.
There’s nothing wrong with an after-school class funded by the parents that focus on their particular culture/beliefs.
That’s not the job of the secular government
So far, deafening silence from the Never Discuss Policy party. God forbid they lose the votes of people in Calgary who would never vote for them anyway by taking a stand against public funding for private schools.
Heather: The NDP aren’t at fault if the media lies about them, while endorsing the UCP and Danielle Smith at every opportunity, and Danielle Smith reduced the Alberta Legislature sessions to a very small number of sessions. In addition, Danielle Smith intentionally held off the by-election for the riding of Edmonton Strathcona to the very last moment, because she doesn’t want to have any opposition. This is quite difficult to blame the NDP for an autocratic state, which has the media fully endorsing them.
Copy editors checking facts? That’s thing of the past at Postmedia, apparently, as election column illustrates – Alberta Politics https://share.google/UUvspRnEf9XKtG9Kd
Lorne Gunter: Smith government’s use of notwithstanding clause is within the spirit of the Charter | Edmonton Journal https://share.google/1qpl0on7NeBqHlHaK
Bell: Danielle Smith and UCP mock NDP Nenshi, the so-called rock star | Calgary Herald https://share.google/9dQ2W4hCJZFS69rKH
Bell: Smith UCP blames ‘delusional’ Nenshi for Calgary water pipe woes | Calgary Herald https://share.google/sKr7Olg2qTYwCJBoq
They are not so silent on asking for money and that just does it for me.
Is it union busting or something more insidious? IMO it worse than union busting – it is ideological expansionism. The private/charter schools are answerable directly to their own boards and the ministry of education. Many of these schools operating outside of traditional boards are evangelically driven. The most fervent base for the UCP are evangelicals. They are creating, and expanding , the next generation of UCP Christian fundamentalists and extending their unchristian beliefs of intolerance and bigotry to people and groups that are not like them. In other words they are Christian Nationalists and this is the fundamentalist ideology driving separation so that once separate they can drive towards their divine destiny of a province populated by those chosen by Jesus who are dispensed rights of citizenship while those that are not the chosen are destined to a life of servitude.
It was well known fact of what these Reformers were all about before the stupid Albertans elected them. They have always been about making the stupid people pay , as Klein called it, while they help the rich become a lot richer by destroying Lougheed’s oil and corporate tax wealth. They don’t care who gets hurt, do they?
Of course Albertans aren’t smart enough to understand it are they, yet you don’t see other provinces doing it do you?
While the Treasurer paints a picture of doom and gloom in the budget, funny how all of a sudden special “privatize everything” seems t always win in these so called dark days. Perhaps if you want a referendum question, maybe it should be “Do you want your tax dollars supporting private for profit schools?” I know when I signed up for my property taxes, they asked did I want my dollars to support Public or Separate Schools?, not do I support private schools.
This government is an absolute disgrace, now the wealthy oil companies are getting $46m to research tailing ponds. That would be over $12m to Imperial Oil (Esso), who last year made over $2b profit in Alberta. This in spite of the fact the energy minister on March 18, 2025 said in the Legislature the the UCP believe in “polluters pay approach”. Now it looks like with the UCP polluters get paid.
Not sure if everyone is whistling past the graveyard here but I would wager this money is *not* going to be earmarked for *elite* private institutions the rich send their children to. Also FWIW, private elite education is like everything else rich people do, the high cost is the point, and the ability to pay it is the flex that moves you up in society, it’s not the quality of the education. There is actually some evidence the isolation and group think of these institutions is one of the reasons our leaders are a bunch of sound alike bobble heads with nothing to offer in a crisis other than the pat answers and assumptions that lead them to their lofty career heights.
But I digress. This money is for evangelical schools, mark my words and prove me wrong. 90m dollars in that community is like 900m dollars to the education system proper. It’s a vote buy, the target demographic is the evangelicals, and I’m not sure what else DS thinks she needs to give them to maintain their loyalty, polls must look BAD.
Credulous voters inclined to accept Dr, Nicolaides’ claims…
Dr, Nicolaides, indeed. The doctorate is fittingly seen to be separate from the individual, who doesn’t seem to have internalized anything about education on his way up the academic ladder.
It’s all part of God’s plan. “Oxfam reports that the richest 1 per cent in Canada hold nearly $1.25 trillion in wealth, almost as much as the bottom 80 per cent of Canadians.” “According to Canadians for Tax Fairness and BC Policy Solutions, 86 billionaire families held as much wealth as Canada’s 6.2 million least wealthy families in 2023.”
https://www.readthemaple.com/canadas-richest-1-nearly-as-wealthy-as-poorest-80/
Pragmatic centrists have seen us through to the Promised Land!
Yup, it’s those damn pragmatic centrists who are to blame!
Geez Murph, you should get out of the basement every now and then to get some fresh air
I know a family in Calgary with an 8 year old who is most likely dyslexic. Because her public school, with large class sizes and no funding for learning disabilities, cannot meet her needs, her teacher has recommended a private school. So now the family has to choose between the overburdened public school, or pay $25,000/year for tuition. Private schools, just like private health care, don’t just serve the wealthy, they also force ordinary people into debt to have their needs met. All this because the public system has been underfunded.
@Jane, I’d suggest a private tutor to help this child catch up. They’re out there and given the present unemployment system, tracking down a kindly soul that can spend that extra time to learn about how to help dyslexic children read isn’t an impossible task.
It would be considerably more affordable. Most learning disabled children just need more *time* to learn, some creative intervention and attention which aren’t in short supply.
Retired educators, ECEs who need a side hustle to make ends meet, etc, are all good places to start.
That doesn’t excuse the poor education system but it’s an alternative for the current educational emergency for their child.
Is there any decision these people make that makes sense? MAGA garbage every single day. How much luckier can we get?
Ok Ms. Pancholi you’re up next to “tear into the UCP with an aggressive spirit.” Is that too hopeful? We’ll see I guess…
Despite their eye popping deficits, Smith and the UCP seem to have more money to spend on things they want. Yes, less money for people on AISH, no new public hospitals in Edmonton for a decade, but private schools or as they now call them “independent” schools get more.
However, the problem with this selective austerity is that most get less and only a lucky few connected with the UCP or well aligned with it politically actually get more.
Albertans are paying more for most things and generally the Smith UCP government is doing less. We are now even falling behind less well off provinces. While there are no general tax increases in the recent budget, there are also various fee increases the kind of which we have come to expect and even increases to things that affect many more people, such as the education tax.
I don’t know how much longer this type of financial management can continue, before Albertans start to blame the UCP and become more critical of it. No doubt Smith and her gang are hoping the temporary boost to oil prices from the current Middle East conflict lasts long enough to somehow get them out of the financial quagmire they seem stuck in now.
This is school related:
https://www.ianwelsh.net/mass-disabling-continues/
We know why our public system hasn’t done this. Every province should be asking the federal government for the funds to do this. We can afford to spend $45 million a pop for the 21st Century’s colonial bomber (F-35). We should be insisting on making our children safe in schools. A great nation building exercise. Are you listening, Carney?
That said, I would be curious to know if any of our poor, poor charter have done this. They have the money.
The fact that the petition drive against using public funds for private education went down in flames didn’t help. This dreadful and vindictive government used this announcement to stick it to those who initiated and signed the petition. And then there’s the roaring silence from Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition.
Let’s face it folks, we’re gonna be stuck with these jerks for a long time…
Hello DJC and fellow commenters,
I agree 100% with Anonymous. Education for students with learning disabilities is not great in the public system in one of the largest pubic school boards in Alberta. Why? The administration takes the view that any student who doesn’t fit into the “regular” mold is an expense, and doesn’t “deserve” a more expensive education. Parents of “regular” students are continuously pitted against parents children with special needs and learnign disabilities. This attitude must change. ALL students, no matter their abilities, should be welcome in the public school system and there should be sufficient funding to provide appropriate and caring education for every one of them. Did you know that, until 1978, there was no requirement in Alberta to educate children with special needs. In 1978, an application was made by parents whose special needs child was made to a judge. This was not a court case, as you would think of it, leading to a trial. It was an application to a judge “in chambers”. This kind of application is based on affidavit evidence, not on witnesses testifying in person. Mr. Justice O’Byrne of the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench (now King’s Bench since we now have a king) held in Carriers v County of Lamont that the public school board had an obligation to educate students with special needs.
Up until that time, many school boards used a section of the School Act that allowed it to exempt students from school for a specified period of time if a program cannot be provided in a regular classroom and until a specialized program could be arranged. School boards routinely used this provision to exclude special needs students from education in publicly funded schools by continuing to renew the exclusion as each exclusion time period expired.
Publicly funded school boards must receive sufficient funding from the province to provide education for these students.
As teachers and the Alberta Teachers Association have demonstrated, there is insufficient funding to provide an appropriate education for all students with special needs, with learning disabilities etc..
The solution, obviously, is to provide sufficient funding to public and separate schools boards to provide appropriate education for all students. The ruse that all this money is for the benefit of special needs students is mostly a smoke screen to fund the UCP’s favoured religious schools and to provide additional funding exclusive/expensive private schools for the well-to-do. As DJC has suggested, it is almost a certainty that a little will be given to special needs private schools to give the public the impression that the UCP is “doing something” to address “complexity” in classrooms. However, most of the funding very likely will go to the UCP’s favoured schools, and expensive and time-consuming investigative journalism will be needed to uncover the truth.
And, keep in mind that these private schools for students with learning disabilities generally exist only in larger cities and have a price tag which many parents cannot afford.
In addition, as long as the waiting list for publicly funded assessment of students has up to a 2-year waiting list, students with special needs and learning disabilities will continue to be excluded from an appropriate education for far too long.
Alberta is full of never say anything voters, as long as that paycheque keeps coming in?
It does not bode well for the future.
TB