EDUCATION SPENDING in Public Schools in Canada 2019 Edition Angela MacLeod and Joel Emes fraserinstituteorg Contents Executive summary / iii Introduction / 1 Education spending and public student enrolment / 2 Understanding the increases in education spending / 14 Conclusions / 22 Appendix: Education spending allocations in public schools, by province / 23 References / 27 About the authors  /  29 Acknowledgments / 29 Publishing information  /  30 Supporting the Fraser Institute  /  31 Purpose, funding, & independence  /  31 About the Fraser Institute  /  32 Editorial Advisory Board  /  33 fraserinstitute.org / i fraserinstituteorg Executive summary This study focuses on the change in education spending on public schools over the last decade (2006/07 to 2015/16). It has two main parts. The first part focuses on the change in spending on public schools over the last decade, and the second part expands the analysis to explain the types of spending observed provincially and nationally. To accurately understand education spending, both enrolment changes and the effects of price changes must be considered. Total enrolment in public schools in Canada declined by 1.8 percent between 2006/07 and 2015/16, from 5.2 million to a little over 5.0 million students. Alberta had the largest increase in public school enrolment over the period at 13.7 percent. Saskatchewan (6.5 percent) and Manitoba (0.5 percent) also experienced increasing enrolment levels. All other provinces saw a decline in public school enrolment over the period. For Canada as a whole, over the last decade (2006/07 to 2015/16), perstudent spending in public schools increased 17.3 percent (once adjustments have been made for inflation). Specifically, per-student education spending in public schools, accounting for changes in prices, increased from $10,901 to $12,791 between 2006/07 and 2015/16. Saskatchewan saw the largest increase in per-student spending in public schools (after adjusting for inflation). That province experienced a 36.4 percent increase—from $11,224 in 2006/07 to $15,314 in 2015/16. The smallest increase was in Alberta (8.1 percent). Per-student spending in public schools in all 10 provinces increased over this period. Saskatchewan also had the highest level of per-student spending among the provinces in 2015/16 at $15,314. Manitoba was second highest with per-student spending of $14,986. Quebec has the lowest level of perstudent spending at $10,992. In aggregate, Canada increased education spending in public schools by $9.2 billion more between 2006/07 and 2015/16 than was necessary to account for enrolment and price changes. If per-student spending in public schools had remained constant over this period, the aggregate amount of education spending in public schools would have been 14.1 percent lower. Provincially, Saskatchewan had the largest percentage difference between fraserinstitute.org / iii iv  /  Education spending in public schools in Canada the actual spending on public schools, and what would have been required to simply account for changes in enrolment and price levels. Specifically, if per-student spending had been maintained at 2006/07 levels (adjusted only for increases in enrolment and inflation), spending on public schools in Saskatchewan would have been lower by $690 million—a difference of 25.4 percent. Compensation (salaries and wages, fringe benefits, and pensions) accounts for most of the increase in spending for Canada as a whole, growing from $35.1 billion in 2006/07 to $48.3 billion in 2015/16. Salaries and wages increased by 33.2 percent, from $28.8 billion in 2006/07 to $38.4 billion in 2015/16, and accounted for 72.4 percent of the overall compensation increase. As a share of total education spending in public schools, salaries and wages increased slightly from 59.0 percent in 2006/07 to 59.4 percent in 2015/16. Fringe benefits increased 48.8 percent from $3.7 billion to $5.6 billion over the period. The increase in this spending category explains 13.8 percent of the overall increase in compensation spending. As a share of total education spending in public schools, fringe benefits have increased from 7.6 percent in 2006/07 to 6.8 percent in 2015/16. Teacher pension costs for Canada as a whole increased 71.0 percent from $2.6 billion in 2006/07 to $4.4 billion in 2015/16. Pension costs increased as a share of total education spending on public schools from 5.3 percent in 2006/07 to 6.8 percent in 2015/16. Capital spending also saw a substantial rise over the decade, increasing from $3.8 billion in 2006/07 to $5.0 billion in 2015/16—a 31.7 percent increase. However, as a share of total education spending in public schools, capital spending remained steady at 7.7 percent. It is clear from the data presented in this study that spending in every province was greater than what would have been required to account for changes in enrolment and price changes, with the majority of this spending going towards compensation. This is contrary to the general perception that education spending in public schools has been cut. fraserinstitute.org Introduction In an ongoing effort to provide Canadians with basic information regarding the state of primary and secondary education (hereafter referred to as K–12 education), this study focuses on the change in per-student education spending in public schools over the last decade (2006/07 to 2015/16). It is an update to previous studies by MacLeod and Emes (2017a, 2017b), and Clemens, Emes, and Van Pelt (2016). This study has two main parts. The first part focuses on the change in spending on public schools over the last decade. The second part expands the analysis to explain the types of spending increases observed provincially and nationally. A brief conclusion follows. fraserinstitute.org / 1 Education spending and public student enrolment This part is divided into five sections. The first explains the increase in total education spending on public schools by province over the last decade (2006/07 to 2015/16). The second shows enrolment numbers for each of the provinces for public schools over the same period. The third calculates per-student spending in public schools over time, which combines the data from the first two sections. Section four then adjusts the data from section three to account for inflation (i.e., price changes). Section five compares the actual increases in education spending on public schools by province with the amount predicated by enrolment changes in order to give a better context for the increases in spending in public schools across the country. Total education spending on public schools This section examines total spending in public schools over the last decade (2006/07 to 2015/16). It is important to recognize several aspects of this measure. First, it is limited to spending on public schools, as distinct from spending on public education. This means government spending on independent schools in Quebec and the four western provinces is excluded. Second, Statistics Canada’s currently available data includes some small categories of revenue and spending that could be considered non-governmental and are difficult to remove. Specifically, “Fees & Other Private Sources” is included in this bulletin’s data series. The category includes rentals and leases, investment revenues, capital fund-sourced revenues, other fees, trust account revenues, interschool transfers, and adjustments. These items represent a comparatively small amount of revenues and spending relative to the entire envelope of spending on public schools. However, it is important to recognize that the measure relied on for this bulletin may include a small amount of private revenues and spending. In addition, the dataset used includes several categories of spending on public schools that are often ignored or purposefully excluded. Specifically, 2 / fraserinstitute.org Education spending in public schools in Canada  /  3 this dataset includes spending on capital (particularly new school construction and renovations to existing schools), as well as contributions to teacher pension plans. The inclusion of these spending categories is particularly important given their relative growth in recent years, as is explored later in this paper. The specific definition used for this dataset is the following: “public elementary and secondary education expenditures” less “direct government expenditures on public education by the Department of National Defence,” “federal school expenditures,” and “special education expenditures on public education” (Statistics Canada, 2018a). In aggregate, spending on public schools in 2015/16 amounted to $64.8 billion, an increase of $16.0 billion, or 32.6 percent from 2006/07 when spending on public schools was $48.9 billion (table 1; figure 1). The largest provincial increase in spending on public schools over the last decade was in Saskatchewan, which experienced a 71.1 percent rise. The smallest increase was in British Columbia (12.2 percent). A total of seven provinces had a marked increase in spending on public schools—in excess of 30.0 percent. Table 1: Spending in public schools 2006/07 2015/16 Nominal change ($ millions) $ millions Canada 2006/07–2015/16 % change 48,882 64,834 15,952 32.6% NL 656 912 256 39.1% PE 181 247 66 36.3% NS 1,346 1,616 270 20.1% NB 1,111 1,414 304 27.4% QC 9,698 13,153 3,455 35.6% ON 20,194 26,555 6,361 31.5% MB 1,844 2,713 869 47.1% SK 1,586 2,714 1,128 71.1% AB 6,190 8,607 2,417 39.0% BC 5,751 6,450 699 12.2% Source: Statistics Canada, 2018a. fraserinstitute.org 4  /  Education spending in public schools in Canada Figure 1: Spending on public schools 30,000 2006-07 25,000 2015-16 $ millions 20,000 15,000 10,000 5,000 0 NL PE NS NB QC ON MB SK AB BC Source: Statistics Canada, 2018a. Enrolment in public schools As explained in a previous essay in this series (Van Pelt and Emes, 2015), aggregate spending on public schools misses a critical component: enrolment. Any analysis of education spending that ignores enrolment risks materially misrepresenting the reality of education spending. An increase in aggregate education spending that is less than the increase in enrolment results in a per-student decrease in spending on education. Alternatively, a reduction in education spending that is less than a reduction in enrolment results in an increase in per-student spending. It is, therefore, critical to account for changes in enrolment when analyzing education spending. Table 2 contains enrolment data for Canada as a whole and for the individual provinces between 2006/07 and 2015/16, the most recent data available. Figures 2a to 2d illustrate the provincial enrolment over the same period by region. Total enrolment in public schools in Canada declined by 1.8 percent between 2006/07 and 2015/16, from 5.2 million to a little over 5.0 million students. Total Canadian enrolment was at its lowest point over the last decade in 2011/12, and has seen small increases in each of the following years. Alberta saw the most significant increase in public school enrolment at 13.7 percent over the entire period. Saskatchewan (6.5 percent) and Manitoba (0.5 percent) also experienced a positive change in enrolment. fraserinstitute.org Education spending in public schools in Canada  /  5 Table 2: Enrolment in public schools, 2006–07 to 2015–16 (number of students) Canada 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 % change, 2006-07 to 2015-16 5,163,824 5,115,188 5,086,549 5,074,254 5,072,031 5,044,917 5,047,059 5,048,535 5,052,054 5,068,587 -1.8% NL 74,343 72,111 70,641 69,666 68,655 67,830 67,476 67,293 67,167 66,654 -10.3% PE 21,366 20,811 20,325 19,956 21,162 20,832 20,406 20,130 19,938 19,713 -7.7% NS 138,661 135,303 133,134 130,548 128,133 125,538 122,643 121,029 119,382 118,152 -13.6% NB 112,014 110,286 108,405 106,395 104,421 102,579 101,079 99,921 98,904 97,911 -12.6% QC 1,204,622 1,188,903 1,187,612 1,189,632 1,179,801 1,172,145 1,176,846 1,183,494 1,187,100 1,196,667 -0.7% ON 2,103,465 2,087,586 2,070,735 2,061,390 2,051,865 2,043,117 2,031,195 2,015,385 2,003,238 1,993,431 -5.2% MB 180,042 179,322 177,960 177,498 177,681 178,917 179,292 179,109 179,736 181,023 0.5% SK 166,498 167,181 164,763 166,002 165,573 166,863 169,725 171,987 174,744 177,246 6.5% AB 560,562 559,119 564,051 567,810 573,102 574,908 591,399 608,166 625,668 640,869 13.7% BC 578,626 571,267 565,875 562,740 579,111 569,733 564,531 558,981 552,786 553,377 -7.2% Sources: Statistics Canada, 2017, 2018b. Notes: There are methodological or coverage changes in some provinces over this time period. Adjustments to percent change calculations have been made for the facts that: • British Columbia includes students in “distributed learning” from 2010/11; • Nova Scotia includes students in “vocational programs” from 2010/11; • Alberta changed methodology in 2011/12. Figure 2a: Enrolment in public schools, Ontario and Quebec 2,500,000 Quebec Number of students Ontario 2,000,000 1,500,000 1,000,000 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2011/13 2012/14 2013/15 2015/16 Sources: Statistics Canada, 2017, 2018b. fraserinstitute.org 6  /  Education spending in public schools in Canada Figure 2b: Enrolment in public schools, Alberta and British Columbia 650,000 Number of students 625,000 600,000 575,000 550,000 Alberta British Columbia 525,000 500,000 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2011/13 2012/14 2013/15 2015/16 Sources: Statistics Canada, 2017, 2018b. Notes: Alberta’s enrolment change is consistent with the rest of Canada when calculated as a share of population. Specifically, enrolments to population fell by 5.1% in Alberta and by 10.8% in Canada as a whole. From 2010/2011 onwards, the enrolment counts for British Columbia include students in “distributed learning”. Alberta changed methodology in 2011/12. Figure 2c: Enrolment in public schools, Atlantic Canada Nova Scotia New Brunswick Newfoundland & Labrador 150,000 Prince Edward Island Number of students 120,000 90,000 60,000 30,000 0 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 Sources: Statistics Canada, 2017, 2018b. Note: Nova Scotia includes students in “vocational programs” from 2010/11 fraserinstitute.org 2011/13 2012/14 2013/15 2015/16 Education spending in public schools in Canada  /  7 Figure 2d: Enrolment in public schools, Manitoba and Saskatchewan 185,000 Number of students 180,000 175,000 170,000 Manitoba 165,000 Saskatchewan 160,000 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2011/13 2012/14 2013/15 2015/16 Sources: Statistics Canada, 2017, 2018b. The other seven provinces all saw a drop in public school enrolment over the period. The largest declines were in Atlantic Canada, which ranged from a drop of 7.7 percent in Prince Edward Island to a drop of 13.6 percent in Nova Scotia. Outside of Atlantic Canada, British Columbia recorded the largest fall in public school enrolment at 7.2 percent. The declines in public school enrolment over this period are generally due to a combination of slow growing or even shrinking school-age population (depending on the province) and the transition of students to independent schools and homeschooling.1 Figure 3 illustrates the percentage change in the number of people of school age (ages 5 to 17) by province between 2007 and 2016. In three provinces the number of residents that were school-aged increased: Alberta (11.2 percent), Saskatchewan (5.1 percent), and Manitoba (1.1 percent). In all of the remaining provinces, the absolute number of residents that were of school age fell over this period. The reduction in the school-aged population ranged from -3.6 percent in British Columbia to -14.4 percent in Nova Scotia. 1.  For more information and a detailed discussion on changing enrolments in the public, independent, and home school sectors, see MacLeod and Hasan (2017). fraserinstitute.org 8  /  Education spending in public schools in Canada Figure 3: Change in school-aged population by province, 2007–2016 12 9 6 3 0 % -3 -6 -9 -12 -15 NL PE NS NB QC ON MB SK AB BC Source: Statistics Canada, 2018e. Per-student spending in public schools The decline in public school enrolment in seven of the ten provinces means that the per-student increases in spending are larger than the simple aggregated spending increase presented earlier. Table 3 and figure 4 present data on per-student spending in public schools between 2006/07 and 2015/16. Canada as a whole recorded a 35.1 percent increase in per-student spending in public schools between 2006/07 and 2015/16—from $9,466 in 2006/07, to $12,791 in 2015/16. This is higher than the noted increase in aggregate spending of 32.6 percent over the same period because of the influence of declining student enrolment. All of the provinces recorded increases in per-student spending in public schools over the period of 2006/07 to 2015/16 (figure 4). Saskatchewan has seen the largest increase. Per-student spending in that province’s public schools went from $9,526 to $15,314 over the period, an increase of 60.8 percent. Newfoundland and Labrador is not far behind with an increase of 55.1 percent, from $8,821 in 2006/07 to $13,686 in 2015/16. British Columbia recorded the smallest increase at 20.2 percent, and Alberta had the second smallest increase at 21.6 percent. All other provinces experienced per-student spending increases of over 33.0 percent. Five provinces—Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan – had increases over 45 percent. Simply put, all of the provinces introduced marked increases in per-student spending in public schools over this period. fraserinstitute.org Education spending in public schools in Canada  /  9 Table 3: Per-student spending in public schools, 2006–07 to 2015–16 ($) % change, 2006/2007 2007/2008 2008/2009 2009/2010 2010/2011 2011/2012 2012/2013 2013/2014 2014/2015 2015/2016 2006-07 2015-16 Canada 9,466 9,986 10,628 11,154 11,554 11,812 12,027 12,392 12,656 12,791 35.1% NL 8,821 10,105 10,953 12,611 12,491 12,754 12,866 13,190 13,174 13,686 55.1% PE 8,484 8,971 10,102 12,013 11,373 11,317 11,899 12,411 12,610 12,531 47.7% NS 9,706 10,216 10,867 11,510 11,955 12,031 12,191 12,382 13,179 13,677 33.0% NB 9,914 10,339 11,396 11,951 13,053 13,181 13,538 13,271 13,856 14,446 45.7% QC 8,051 8,892 9,191 9,448 9,882 10,200 10,412 10,905 11,049 10,992 36.5% ON 9,600 10,010 10,651 11,316 11,946 12,117 12,299 12,753 13,276 13,321 38.8% MB 10,241 10,672 11,188 11,571 11,894 12,150 12,950 13,887 14,498 14,986 46.3% SK 9,526 9,821 10,545 11,643 11,926 13,223 14,331 14,681 15,040 15,314 60.8% AB 11,043 11,034 12,367 13,235 13,537 13,564 13,302 13,460 13,197 13,430 21.6% BC 9,939 10,679 11,204 11,035 10,672 11,038 11,382 11,388 11,216 11,656 20.2% Sources: Statistics Canada, 2017, 2018a, 2018b. Notes: There are methodological or coverage changes in some provinces over this time period. Adjustments to percent change calculations have been made for the facts that: • British Columbia includes students in “distributed learning” from 2010/11; • Nova Scotia includes students in “vocational programs” from 2010/11; • Alberta changed methodology in 2011/12. Figure 4: Per-student spending in public schools, by province ($) 2006/07 15,000 2015/16 12,000 9,000 $ 6,000 3,000 0 NL PE NS NB QC ON MB SK AB BC Sources: Statistics Canada, 2017, 2018a, 2018b. fraserinstitute.org 10  /  Education spending in public schools in Canada Accounting for inflation An important factor has been thus far left out of the analysis: the influence of changing prices. Inflation, or what is commonly referred to as increases in the price level, refers to changes in prices that affect the real or effective value of money. Simply put, governments could well be spending more in nominal dollars on education over time, but if these increases are less than inflation, the real or effective level of spending could be decreasing. The reason for this seemingly counterintuitive result is that inflation erodes the value of money by making the goods and services purchased more expensive. This section recalculates the increases in per-student spending in public schools in each of the provinces adjusting for inflation over the time period. Table 4 and figure 5 present the recalculated numbers. For Canada as a whole, over the last decade (2006/07 to 2015/16), the increase in per-student spending in public schools once adjusted for inflation is 17.3 percent. In other words, accounting for changes in prices and enrolment, spending on public schools in Canada increased 17.3 percent between 2006/07 and 2015/16—from $10,901 to $12,791 per student (table 4). After adjusting for inflation, the largest increase in per-student spending in public schools was in Saskatchewan, which experienced a 36.4 percent increase—from $11,224 in 2006/07 to $15,314 in 2015/16. The smallest increase was recorded in Alberta (8.1 percent). The percentage increases in per-student spending in public schools in table 4 are all less than the increases calculated in table 3, which did not include the effect of inflation on spending. Note, however, that all ten provinces recorded inflation-adjusted increases in per-student spending in public schools over this period. fraserinstitute.org Education spending in public schools in Canada  /  11 Table 4: Per-student spending in public schools, adjusted for price changes, 2006–07 to 2015–16 ($ 2016) 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 % change, 2006-07 to 2015-16 Canada 10,901 11,237 11,928 12,293 12,373 12,462 12,575 12,709 12,836 12,791 17.3% NL 10,520 11,715 12,664 14,234 13,633 13,640 13,530 13,611 13,531 13,686 30.1% PE 9,769 9,986 11,264 13,149 12,094 11,795 12,159 12,478 12,756 12,531 28.3% NS 11,294 11,538 12,295 12,747 12,754 12,589 12,605 12,584 13,343 13,677 20.1% NB 11,420 11,709 12,872 13,220 13,945 13,851 14,111 13,633 14,165 14,446 26.5% QC 9,159 9,910 10,179 10,337 10,491 10,605 10,746 11,100 11,128 10,992 20.0% ON 11,238 11,459 12,150 12,598 12,901 12,903 12,969 13,138 13,516 13,321 18.5% MB 11,857 12,084 12,590 12,919 12,898 12,968 13,518 14,231 14,681 14,986 26.4% SK 11,224 11,202 11,905 12,967 12,923 14,109 15,073 15,080 15,201 15,314 36.4% AB 12,663 12,268 13,762 14,583 14,561 14,429 13,952 13,765 13,345 13,430 8.1% BC 11,059 11,639 12,211 11,869 11,213 11,469 11,836 11,724 11,421 11,656 11.3% Sources: Statistics Canada, 2017, 2018a, 2018b, 2018c. Notes: There are methodological or coverage changes in some provinces over this time period. Adjustments to percent change calculations have made been for the facts that: • British Columbia includes students in “distributed learning” from 2010/11; • Nova Scotia includes students in “vocational programs” from 2010/11; • Alberta changed methodology in 2011/12. Figure 5: Per-student spending in public schools, adjusted for price changes ($ 2016) 2006/07 15,000 2015/16 $ 2016 12,000 9,000 6,000 3,000 0 NL PE NS NB QC ON MB SK AB BC Sources: Statistics Canada, 2017, 2018a, 2018b, 2018c. fraserinstitute.org 12  /  Education spending in public schools in Canada The spending increases in context Inflation-adjusted increases in per-student spending ranging from 8.1 percent to 36.4 percent appear fairly large (table 4). However, there is no context provided within which to gauge how large or small the increases actually are. The following section compares the actual spending increases against the predicted increases based on enrolment in the public schools of each province. Put differently, this analysis is based on a counterfactual assumption wherein education spending is calculated for 2015/16 based on the per-student level observed in 2006/07 adjusted for changes in enrolment and inflation. In other words, this section compares actual aggregate spending on public schools in 2015/16 with what the spending would have been, in total, if the per-student spending levels on public schools remained constant (adjusted for inflation) based on their 2006/07 values. Table 5 contains the calculations for both the actual spending and the counterfactual-based spending, as well as the difference. Figure 6 illustrates the total spending on public schools based on two different scenarios relating to per-student spending. The first is the actual level of spending on public schools. The second scenario, referred to as “Adjusted Spending” illustrates what total education spending on public schools in each province would have been had the 2006/07 per-student spending levels (adjusted for inflation) been maintained through 2015/16. In aggregate, Canada increased education spending in public schools by $9.2 billion more between 2006/07 and 2015/16 than was necessary to account for enrolment and price changes (table 5). If per-student spending in public schools had remained constant over this period, the aggregate amount of education spending in public schools in 2015/16 would have been 14.1 percent lower. On a provincial basis, Saskatchewan recorded the largest percentage difference between the actual spending on public schools and what would have been required to account for price and enrolment changes. Specifically, Saskatchewan had education spending on public schools in 2015/16 that was $690 million more than necessary to account for inflation and enrolment changes over the period. Spending on public schools in Saskatchewan would have been 25.4 percent lower had the province simply increased education spending to account for inflation and enrolment changes over the last decade. The second highest difference was found in Newfoundland and Labrador, with public school spending 24.1 percent, or $220 million, higher than necessary to account for inflation and enrolment changes. The smallest difference between actual spending on public schools and what was necessary to account for inflation and enrolment changes was recorded by Alberta ($182 million, or 2.1 percent). The differences between actual spending on public schools in 2015/16 versus what would have been the case if greater restraint were exhibited fraserinstitute.org Education spending in public schools in Canada  /  13 across the country to control spending increases illustrates the rather large increases in education spending in public schools implemented over the last decade (2006/07 to 2015/16). Table 5: Comparing actual and adjusted spending in public schools, 2015/16 ($ millions) Actual spending Adjusted spending 64,834 55,677 -9,158 -14.1% NL 912 693 -220 -24.1% PE 247 194 -53 -21.6% NS 1,616 1,343 -273 -16.9% NB 1,414 1,115 -300 -21.2% QC 13,153 11,052 -2,101 -16.0% ON 26,555 22,410 -4,145 -15.6% MB 2,713 2,163 -550 -20.3% SK 2,714 2,024 -690 -25.4% AB 8,607 8,426 -182 -2.1% BC 6,450 6,115 -335 -5.2% Canada Difference Percent difference Sources: Statistics Canada, 2017, 2018a, 2018b, 2018c. Figure 6: Comparing actual and adjusted spending in public schools, 2015–16 ($ millions) 30000 Actual spending 25000 Adjusted spending $ millions 20000 15000 10000 5000 0 NL PE NS NB QC ON MB SK AB BC Sources: Statistics Canada, 2017, 2018a, 2018b, 2018c. fraserinstitute.org Understanding the increases in education spending This part extends the analysis of education spending in Canada over the last decade to explain the types of spending increases observed nationally and provincially. The education spending analysis is based on data provided to Statistics Canada by provincial governments. While Statistics Canada’s data tables are an excellent resource for understanding education spending, there are weaknesses in the underlying provincially provided data.2 One key challenge relates to the data definitions, which are established by the provinces themselves and not Statistics Canada. Definitional differences among provinces and changes over time to spending categories can affect the quality of the data. As a result of this definitional limitation along with other concerns, the authors combine the detailed spending data presented in this section into three main categories: compensation, capital, and other. After consultation with Statistics Canada, we determined that this aggregation of education spending categories offered the most reasonable balance between the potential variation in definitions among provinces together with other issues, and our desire to analyze changes within education spending categories. “Compensation” covers the wages, benefits, and pensions of all staff employed by public schools. “Pensions” consists of employer contributions to teachers’ superannuation plans. Employer pension contributions for nonteaching staff are included in “fringe benefits.” “Capital” expenditures are used to acquire a fixed or permanent asset, or to significantly improve an asset so as to extend its original useful life. They include spending on the construction of new buildings, the extension of existing facilities, and renovations and improvements to current facilities. These two spending categories—compensation and capital—accounted for 82.5 percent of education spending in public schools in 2015/16. 2.  See for more information on the types of data collected by Statistics Canada and their relative strengths and weaknesses. 14 / fraserinstitute.org Education spending in public schools in Canada  /  15 The third and final category, “other,” combines all of the other spending categories provided by Statistics Canada, such as supply and services, fees and contractual services, and direct provincial government spending on services for school boards and administration. Table 6 provides the aggregated provincial data for Canada as a whole. In total, education spending in public schools increased 32.2 percent between 2006/07 and 2015/16, representing an increase of $15.7 billion, from $48.9 billion to $64.6 billion. An overwhelming proportion of the increase was spent on compensation, the costs for which grew from $35.1 billion in 2006/07 to $48.4 billion in 2015/16, an increase of 37.7 percent. The more than $13.2 billion increase in compensation costs represents 84.1 percent of the total $15.7 billion increase in education spending in public schools between 2006/07 and 2015/16. It is important to understand how each of the three categories contributed to the overall increase in compensation spending. Salaries and wages, which increased from $28.8 billion in 2006/07 to $38.4 billion in 2015/16 (a 33.2 percent rise) accounted for 72.4 percent of the overall compensation increase. As a share of total education spending in public schools, salaries and wages increased slightly—from 59.0 percent in 2006/07 to 59.4 percent in 2015/16. “Fringe benefits” rose from $3.7 billion in 2006/07 to $5.6 billion in 2015/16, a 48.8 percent increase. The increase in fringe benefits explains 13.8 percent of the overall increase in compensation spending. The cost of fringe benefits as a share of total education spending in public schools increased, rising from 7.6 percent in 2006/07 to 8.6 percent in 2015/16. Table 6: Education spending allocations, Canada 2006/07 $ millions 2015/16 2006/07 to 2015/16 Share of Share of Change, Share of Growth $ millions total (%) total (%) $ millions change (%) (%) Compensation 35,129 71.9 48,358 74.8 13,228 84.1 37.7 Salaries & wages 28,826 59.0 38,406 59.4 9,581 60.9 33.2 Fringe benefits 3,734 7.6 5,558 8.6 1,823 11.6 48.8 Pensions 2,569 5.3 4,393 6.8 1,824 11.6 71.0 Capital 3,763 7.7 4,956 7.7 1,193 7.6 31.7 Other 9,990 20.4 11,294 17.5 1,304 8.3 13.1 Total 48,882 64,608 15,726 32.2 Sources: Statistics Canada, 2018a, 2018d. fraserinstitute.org 16  /  Education spending in public schools in Canada Finally, “pension” costs increased significantly over the period, rising from $2.6 billion in 2006/07 to $4.4 billion in 2015/16, a 71.0 percent increase. This increase explains 13.8 percent of the overall increase in compensation costs. Pension costs also increased as a share of total education spending on public schools, from 5.3 percent in 2006/07 to 6.8 percent in 2015/16. “Capital” spending also saw a substantial rise over the decade, growing from $3.8 billion in 2006/07 to $5.0 billion in 2015/16, a 31.7 percent increase. Capital represented 7.6 percent ($1.2 billion) of the overall increase in education spending in public schools. As a share of total education spending in public schools, capital spending remained steady at 7.7 percent. “Other” spending recorded the smallest increase of any category of spending in public schools over this time period (a 13.1 percent increase). As a share of total education spending, it declined from 20.4 percent in 2006/07 to 17.5 percent in 2015/16. Expenditures on pensions and fringe benefits stand out as the fastest growing components of government spending on public schools. Tables 7 through 12 provide more details about pension, benefits, and capital spending in aggregate, both for Canada as a whole and for individual provinces. Pension spending Table 7 provides the dollar value of teacher pension contributions made by each provincial government in Canada, as well as the total contribution that all provincial governments made over the last decade. Government contributions to teacher pensions increased by 71.0 percent between 2006/07 and 2015/16.3 Pension contributions are increasing at a faster rate than any other component of overall education spending in public schools. Two provinces—Ontario and Saskatchewan—increased pension contributions in excess of 100 percent over this period. In fact, these two provinces account for over 54.0 percent of the $1.8 billion increase in pension spending between 2006/07 and 2015/16. New Brunswick is alone in showing a decline in pension contribution spending.4 Table 8 shows the annual growth in government contributions to teacher pension plans by province. Canada-wide pension spending grew by 6.5 percent a year, on average, between 2006/07 and 2015/16. All provinces saw positive annual growth in this spending category, ranging from a low of 0.3 percent in New Brunswick to a high of 13.3 percent in Saskatchewan. 3.  The spending in this analysis includes only the employer portion of the pension con- tributions, not contributions to pensions made by the employees themselves. 4.  New Brunswick introduced a new teacher’s pension plan in 2014 that ended special payments which had averaged $83 million over the previous decade. fraserinstitute.org Education spending in public schools in Canada  /  17 Table 7: Teacher pension spending ($ millions) 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 Change Canada 2,569 2,444 3,104 3,253 3,673 3,881 4,036 4,335 4,290 4,393 Share of Growth change (%) (%) 1,824 71.0 NL 34 36 39 41 43 45 46 45 45 52 18 1.0 51.9 PE n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a NS 54 54 58 58 60 61 60 61 64 73 18 1.0 33.3 NB 116 125 131 137 145 149 153 55 68 78 -38 -2.1 -32.6 QC 505 569 556 576 672 668 645 806 702 799 294 16.1 58.2 ON 797 809 1,073 1,246 1,318 1,346 1,396 1,466 1,531 1,601 804 44.1 100.9 MB 126 117 137 141 142 145 152 160 167 183 57 3.1 44.8 SK 155 77 107 115 156 215 279 274 302 337 182 10.0 117.2 AB 483 347 675 600 781 883 932 1,089 1,025 851 367 20.1 76.0 BC 297 311 327 339 355 369 372 378 386 421 123 6.7 41.4 Source: Statistics Canada, 2018a. Note: New Brunswick introduced a new teacher’s pension plan in 2014 that ended special payments which had averaged $83 million over the previous decade. Table 8: Growth in teacher pension spending (%) 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 Average annual growth (%) 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 Canada n/a -4.9 27.0 4.8 12.9 5.7 4.0 7.4 -1.0 2.4 6.5 NL n/a 3.9 8.4 6.0 4.6 5.0 1.4 -1.3 0.3 15.3 4.9 PE n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a NS n/a -1.2 8.3 0.3 2.7 1.7 -1.8 1.3 4.9 13.9 3.3 NB n/a 7.3 5.4 4.1 6.4 2.6 2.9 -63.8 22.1 15.4 0.3 QC n/a 12.7 -2.3 3.5 16.7 -0.6 -3.4 25.0 -13.0 13.9 5.8 ON n/a 1.5 32.6 16.1 5.8 2.1 3.7 5.1 4.4 4.6 8.4 MB n/a -7.3 17.6 2.5 1.0 1.9 4.9 5.1 4.3 9.4 4.4 SK n/a -50.4 38.7 8.2 35.2 37.9 29.9 -1.8 10.3 11.3 13.3 AB n/a -28.3 94.9 -11.1 30.1 13.1 5.6 16.8 -5.9 -17.0 10.9 BC n/a 4.6 5.1 3.6 4.9 3.8 1.0 1.4 2.3 8.9 3.9 Source: Statistics Canada, 2018a. fraserinstitute.org 18  /  Education spending in public schools in Canada Looking at pension spending on a year by year basis, 2015/16 saw a relatively modest increase of 2.4 percent in overall pension spending in Canada. However, this was driven primary by reduced pension contribution spending in Alberta (a 17.0 percent reduction between 2014/15 and 2015/16).5 All other provinces had an increase in year over year spending, with five provinces (Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, and Saskatchewan) experiencing an increase in excess of 11 percent. Fringe benefit spending Within the compensation category, fringe benefit spending also had a higher average growth rate than the aggregate education spending growth rate. Fringe benefit spending increased from $3.7 billion in 2006/07 to $5.6 billion in 2015/16, a rise of 48.8 percent (table 9). Other than a decline in 2011/12, fringe benefit spending in Canada has grown steadily over the last decade, averaging 4.6 percent growth per year, with annual growth ranging from a low of 0.5 percent in 2012/13 to a high of 18.5 percent in 2013/14 (table 10). The 2013/14 value is driven by changes in Ontario, which saw decreases in the two previous years followed by a large increase in 2013/14. The next largest annual increase at the national level is 5.7 percent in 2014/15. The largest increases in nominal dollars over the period were in Alberta and Ontario, with increases of $629 and $628 million, respectively. These two provinces accounted for 69.0 percent of the total increase in fringe benefit spending in public schools in all of Canada between 2006/07 and 2015/16. In terms of percentage increase, Alberta had the highest average annual growth rate over the period of 10.8 percent, followed by Prince Edward Island (5.9 percent) and Saskatchewan (4.9 percent). Newfoundland and Labrador had the lowest average annual growth rate of 1.9 percent. 5.  Alberta made a $1.2 billion contribution towards the pre-1992 unfunded pension obligation in the Teachers’ Pension Plan in 2009/10. It is not entirely clear how this and other lump-sum payments were reported to Statistics Canada but in addition to several large increases in the pension category, Alberta’s figures show “direct government expenditures on services to public school boards” increasing from $143 million in 2005/06 to an average of $721 million between 2006/07 and 2011/12. fraserinstitute.org Education spending in public schools in Canada  /  19 Table 9: Fringe benefit spending ($ millions) 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 Change Canada Share of Growth change (%) (%) 3,734 3,920 4,090 4,251 4,420 4,333 4,355 5,159 5,455 5,558 1,823 NL 36 37 38 40 39 40 42 44 44 43 7 0.4 48.8 18.6 PE 20 21 23 24 25 28 30 33 33 34 13 0.7 66.6 NS 74 78 80 79 82 86 89 91 98 109 35 1.9 46.7 NB 45 47 50 49 51 53 58 61 63 63 19 1.0 42.0 QC 654 684 698 729 757 802 844 871 901 900 247 13.5 37.8 ON 1,868 1,951 2,033 2,113 2,209 1,904 1,594 2,297 2,434 2,496 628 34.5 33.6 MB 92 96 102 108 111 116 124 128 132 139 47 2.6 51.4 SK 86 84 90 98 104 111 119 124 129 131 46 2.5 53.3 AB 444 472 500 523 542 675 911 967 1,030 1,073 629 34.5 141.9 BC 388 419 443 454 464 477 495 493 541 521 133 7.3 34.4 Source: Statistics Canada, 2018d. Table 10: Growth in fringe benefit spending (%) 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 Average annual growth (%) Canada n/a 5.0 4.3 3.9 4.0 -2.0 0.5 18.5 5.7 1.9 4.6 NL n/a 1.6 4.4 4.0 -1.6 2.0 4.2 4.8 -0.3 -1.8 1.9 PE n/a 5.6 6.2 7.0 4.6 9.4 9.0 8.4 1.1 1.4 5.9 NS n/a 4.5 3.2 -1.4 4.3 4.6 3.0 2.3 7.6 11.3 4.4 NB n/a 4.4 7.4 -1.2 3.8 4.2 8.7 5.5 2.4 1.0 4.0 QC n/a 4.7 2.0 4.5 3.8 5.9 5.3 3.2 3.5 -0.1 3.6 ON n/a 4.5 4.2 4.0 4.5 -13.8 -16.3 44.2 6.0 2.5 4.4 MB n/a 5.4 5.7 5.8 3.0 4.4 7.0 2.9 3.4 4.9 4.7 SK n/a -2.4 7.7 8.6 6.4 6.9 7.4 3.9 4.2 1.5 4.9 AB n/a 6.4 5.9 4.6 3.7 24.5 35.1 6.1 6.5 4.2 10.8 BC n/a 7.9 5.9 2.4 2.2 2.9 3.7 -0.4 9.7 -3.6 3.4 Source: Statistics Canada, 2018d. fraserinstitute.org 20  /  Education spending in public schools in Canada Capital spending Capital spending is another public schools spending category that experienced substantial growth. Capital spending increased from $3.8 billion in 2006/07 to $5.0 billion in 2015/16, a rise of 31.7 percent (table 11). Capital spending on public schools in Canada has grown by an average of 3.2 percent per year (table 12). There were two years that saw an annual decline (2010/11 and 2015/16), with annual growth in the other eight years ranging from 1.0 percent in 2011/12 to a high of 27.3 percent in 2006/07. The largest increase in nominal dollars over the period was in Quebec, with a total rise of $775 million between 2006/07 and 2015/16. This province alone accounted for 65.0 percent of the total increase in capital spending in public schools in all of Canada. The second largest increase in nominal dollars was in Alberta, with a rise of $164 million between 2006/07 and 2015/16. Ontario was the only province with a decrease, in nominal dollars, over the period, falling from $2.3 billion in 2006/07 to $2.2 billion in 2015/16. The smallest nominal dollar increase over the period was in Newfoundland and Labrador, with an increase of $51 million. However, in terms of percentage increase, Newfoundland and Labrador has the highest average annual growth rate over the period of 15.3 percent, followed by Alberta (14.9 percent) and Saskatchewan (12.3 percent). Ontario had the lowest average annual growth rate of -0.5 percent. There is a high degree of variability in the annual growth rates both between the provinces, and within the provinces over time. Every province (with full data series) has experienced a year-over-year decline in capital spending in public schools at least once, but significant increases were also recorded. Alberta has seen the greatest variability, with an annual growth of 146.8 percent in 2008/09, and a reduction of 39.9 percent in 2011/12. Table 11: Capital spending ($ millions) 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 Change Canada Share of Growth change (%) (%) 3,763 4,091 4,514 4,772 4,580 4,628 4,771 4,919 5,097 4,956 1,193 31.7 NL 27 30 34 56 77 56 54 74 82 79 51 4.3 186.2 QC 556 949 1,136 1,181 1,205 1,210 1,193 1,244 1,348 1,331 775 65.0 139.3 ON 2,337 2,254 2,140 2,269 2,291 2,389 2,368 2,322 2,336 2,229 -108 -9.0 -4.6 MB 132 96 92 91 93 97 131 207 250 240 108 9.1 82.0 SK 106 109 92 103 86 138 244 262 258 221 115 9.6 108.5 AB 230 229 565 604 397 239 240 269 317 395 164 13.8 71.3 BC 351 404 438 450 417 487 532 526 475 423 72 6.1 20.7 Source: Statistics Canada, 2018d. Note: Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick not reported because the underlying values are too small and/or they drop to zero over the period of analysis. fraserinstitute.org Education spending in public schools in Canada  /  21 Table 12: Growth in capital spending (%) 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 Average annual growth (%) Canada 27.3 8.7 10.3 5.7 -4.0 1.0 3.1 3.1 3.6 -2.8 3.2 NL 13.4 7.5 16.0 64.9 36.5 -27.1 -4.7 37.2 11.4 -4.0 15.3 QC 0.1 70.6 19.7 3.9 2.1 0.4 -1.4 4.3 8.3 -1.2 11.9 ON 40.4 -3.5 -5.0 6.0 1.0 4.3 -0.9 -1.9 0.6 -4.6 -0.5 MB 1.1 -27.5 -3.8 -0.9 2.4 3.7 34.9 58.7 20.4 -3.7 9.3 SK 7.7 3.4 -16.0 11.5 -15.9 60.5 76.1 7.7 -1.7 -14.4 12.3 AB -0.9 -0.7 146.8 6.9 -34.3 -39.9 0.5 12.3 17.9 24.3 14.9 BC 53.3 15.2 8.5 2.5 -7.2 16.8 9.1 -1.1 -9.7 -10.9 2.6 Source: Statistics Canada, 2018d. Note: Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick not reported because the underlying values are too small and/or they drop to zero over the period of analysis. fraserinstitute.org Conclusion It is clear from the data presented that every province in Canada over the 2006/07 to 2015/16 period increased education spending beyond what was required to account for enrolment changes and inflation. This means real increases in per-student education spending in public schools across the country, which is contrary to the general perception that education spending in public schools has been cut. Our results indicate that while compensation remains the largest and most costly aspect of education spending, it has also increased as a share of total education spending on public schools over the last decade. Fringe benefits and pension costs, which are sub-categories of compensation, increased as a share of both compensation and total education spending. Governments are spending more dollars and a greater share of total education spending on compensation, with an increasing share towards fringe benefits and pensions. 22 / fraserinstitute.org Education spending in public schools in Canada  /  23 Appendix: Education spending allocations in public schools, by province Sources: Statistics Canada, 2018a, 2018d. Table A1: Education spending allocations, Newfoundland and Labrador, 2006/07 to 2015/16 2006/07 $ millions Compensation 2015/16 Share of total (%) $ millions 2006/07 to 2015/16 Share of total (%) Change, Share of $ millions change (%) Growth (%) 491 77.1 670 75.2 179 70.5 36.4 421 66.0 575 64.5 154 60.8 36.7 Fringe benefits 36 5.7 43 4.8 7 2.7 18.6 Pensions Salaries & wages 34 5.4 52 5.8 18 7.0 51.9 Capital 27 4.3 79 8.8 51 20.1 186.2 Other 119 18.6 143 16.0 24 9.4 20.1 Total 637 891 254 39.8 Table A2: Education spending allocations, Prince Edward Island, 2006/07 to 2015/16 2006/07 $ millions Compensation 2015/16 Share of total (%) Share of total (%) 117 66.0 162 66.2 44 66.8 37.8 20 11.3 34 13.7 13 20.2 66.6 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a Capital n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a Other 40 22.5 49 20.1 9 13.7 22.8 Total 178 Pensions 245 58 Growth (%) 195 Fringe benefits 79.9 Change, Share of $ millions change (%) 77.3 Salaries & wages 138 $ millions 2006/07 to 2015/16 87.0 42.0 67 37.3 Table A3: Education spending allocations, Nova Scotia, 2006/07 to 2015/16 2006/07 $ millions Compensation 2015/16 Share of total (%) $ millions 2006/07 to 2015/16 Share of total (%) Change, Share of $ millions change (%) Growth (%) 873 66.4 1,130 71.8 257 99.2 29.4 745 56.6 949 60.3 204 78.8 27.4 Fringe benefits 74 5.7 109 6.9 35 13.4 46.7 Pensions 54 4.1 73 4.6 18 7.0 33.3 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 441 33.5 443 28.2 2 0.9 Salaries & wages Capital Other Total 1,314 1,574 259 0.5 19.7 fraserinstitute.org 24  /  Education spending in public schools in Canada Table A4: Education spending allocations, New Brunswick, 2006/07 to 2015/16 2006/07 $ millions Compensation Salaries & wages Fringe benefits Pensions 2015/16 Share of total (%) $ millions 2006/07 to 2015/16 Share of total (%) Change, Share of $ millions change (%) Growth (%) 749 67.5 924 65.3 174 57.4 23.3 589 53.0 782 55.3 194 63.7 32.9 45 4.0 63 4.5 19 6.2 42.0 116 10.4 78 5.5 -38 -12.5 -32.6 Capital 13 1.1 7 0.5 -5 -1.8 -42.0 Other 348 31.4 483 34.2 135 44.3 38.7 Total 1,111 1,414 304 27.4 Table A5: Education spending allocations, Quebec, 2006/07 to 2015/16 2006/07 $ millions Compensation 2015/16 Share of total (%) $ millions 2006/07 to 2015/16 Share of total (%) Change, Share of $ millions change (%) Growth (%) 7,114 73.4 9,383 71.3 2,269 65.7 5,659 58.3 7,684 58.4 2,025 58.6 35.8 Fringe benefits 654 6.7 900 6.8 247 7.1 37.8 Pensions 505 5.2 799 6.1 294 8.5 58.2 556 5.7 1,331 10.1 775 22.4 139.3 Other 2,027 20.9 2,438 18.5 411 11.9 20.3 Total 9,698 Salaries & wages Capital 13,153 31.9 3,455 35.6 Table A6: Education spending allocations, Ontario, 2006/07 to 2015/16 2006/07 2015/16 2006/07 to 2015/16 $ millions Share of total (%) $ millions Share of total (%) 14,986 74.2 20,791 78.3 5,805 91.3 38.7 12,322 61.0 16,694 62.9 4,373 68.7 35.5 1,868 9.2 2,496 9.4 628 9.9 33.6 797 3.9 1,601 6.0 804 12.6 100.9 Capital 2,337 11.6 2,229 8.4 -108 -1.7 -4.6 Other 2,871 14.2 3,535 13.3 664 10.4 23.1 Total 20,194 Compensation Salaries & wages Fringe benefits Pensions fraserinstitute.org 26,555 Change, Share of $ millions change (%) 6,361 Growth (%) 31.5 Education spending in public schools in Canada  /  25 Table A7: Education spending allocations, Manitoba, 2006/07 to 2015/16 2006/07 $ millions Compensation Salaries & wages Fringe benefits Pensions 2015/16 Share of total (%) $ millions 2006/07 to 2015/16 Share of total (%) Change, Share of $ millions change (%) Growth (%) 1,388 75.3 1,981 73.0 593 68.3 42.7 1,170 63.5 1,660 61.2 490 56.3 41.8 92 5.0 139 5.1 47 5.4 51.4 126 6.8 183 6.7 57 6.5 44.8 Capital 132 7.2 240 8.9 108 12.5 82.0 Other 324 17.6 492 18.1 167 19.3 51.7 Total 1,844 2,713 869 47.1 Table A8: Education spending allocations, Saskatchewan, 2006/07 to 2015/16 2006/07 $ millions Compensation 2015/16 Share of total (%) $ millions 2006/07 to 2015/16 Share of total (%) Change, Share of $ millions change (%) Growth (%) 1,187 74.8 1,909 70.3 722 64.0 946 59.7 1,441 53.1 495 43.8 52.3 86 5.4 131 4.8 46 4.0 53.3 155 9.8 337 12.4 182 16.1 117.2 Capital 91 5.7 221 8.1 130 11.5 142.2 Other 293 18.5 585 21.5 292 25.8 99.4 Salaries & wages Fringe benefits Pensions Total 1,586 2,714 60.8 1,128 71.1 Table A9: Education spending allocations, Alberta, 2006/07 to 2015/16 2006/07 $ millions Compensation 2015/16 Share of total (%) $ millions 2006/07 to 2015/16 Share of total (%) Change, Share of $ millions change (%) Growth (%) 4,002 64.6 6,445 76.9 2,443 111.5 61.0 3,075 49.7 4,521 53.9 1,446 66.0 47.0 Fringe benefits 419 6.8 1,073 12.8 654 29.9 156.2 Pensions 478 7.7 851 10.2 373 17.0 77.9 Salaries & wages Capital 230 3.7 395 4.7 164 7.5 71.3 Other 1,958 31.6 1,541 18.4 -417 -19.0 -21.3 Total 6,190 8,381 2,191 35.4 fraserinstitute.org 26  /  Education spending in public schools in Canada Table A10: Education spending allocations, British Columbia, 2006/07 to 2015/16 2006/07 $ millions Compensation 2015/16 Share of total (%) $ millions 2006/07 to 2015/16 Share of total (%) Change, Share of $ millions change (%) Growth (%) 3,940 68.5 4,571 70.9 631 90.3 16.0 3,255 56.6 3,630 56.3 375 53.6 11.5 Fringe benefits 388 6.7 521 8.1 133 19.1 34.4 Pensions 297 5.2 421 6.5 123 17.6 41.4 Salaries & wages Capital 351 6.1 423 6.6 72 10.4 20.7 Other 1,460 25.4 1,456 22.6 -4 -0.6 -0.3 Total 5,751 fraserinstitute.org 6,450 699 12.2 References MacLeod, Angela, and Joel Emes (2017a). Enrolments and Education Spending in Public Schools in Canada, 2017 Edition. Fraser Institute. MacLeod, Angela, and Joel Emes (2017b). Understanding the Increases in Education Spending in Public Schools in Canada, 2017 Edition. Fraser Institute. MacLeod, Angela, and Sazid Hasan (2017). Where Our Students are Educated: Measuring Student Enrolment in Canada. Fraser Institute. Statistics Canada (2017, November 3). Elementary–Secondary Education Survey for Canada, the Provinces and Territories, 2015/2016. The Daily. Statistics Canada. Statistics Canada (2018a). Table 37-10-0066-01: Public and private elementary and secondary education expenditures. Statistics Canada (2018b). Table 37-10-0007-01: Number of students in regular programs for youth, public elementary and secondary schools, by grade and sex. Statistics Canada (2018c). Table 18-10-0005-01: Consumer Price Index, annual average, not seasonally adjusted. fraserinstitute.org / 27 28  /  Education spending in public schools in Canada Statistics Canada (2018d). Table 37-10-0064-01: School board expenditures, by function and economic classification. Statistics Canada (2018e). Table 17-10-0005-01: Population estimates on July 1st, by age and sex. Van Pelt, Deani Neven, and Joel Emes (2015). Education Spending In Canada: What’s Actually Happening? Fraser Institute. fraserinstitute.org Education spending in public schools in Canada  /  29 About the authors Angela MacLeod Angela MacLeod is a Senior Policy Analyst at the Fraser Institute, conducting research for the Barbara Mitchell Centre for Improvement in Education, and the Centre for School Performance Studies. After completing a Bachelor of Business Administration from Acadia University she spent time working in banking and management before pursuing a Master of Public Policy from the University of Calgary. The focus of her graduate studies was social and economic policy, and her final paper Noble Frustrations: The Many Practical Problems with Municipal Poverty Initiatives was subsequently published by the Manning Foundation. She was formerly the executive director of a school choice advocacy organization and is passionate about improving K–12 education across the country. She is the co-author of numerous education policy studies including Where our Students are Educated: Measuring Student Enrolment in Canada, 2017 and Comparing the Family Income of Students in Alberta’s Independent and Public Schools. Joel Emes Joel Emes is President of Abacus Economics and a Fraser Institute Senior Fellow who rejoined the Institute after a stint as a senior advisor to British Columbia’s provincial government. He previously served as a senior analyst, then as acting executive director, at the BC Progress Board. Prior to that, Joel was a senior research economist at the Fraser Institute where he initiated and led several flagship projects in the areas of tax freedom and government performance, spending, debt, and unfunded liabilities. Joel holds a B.A. and an M.A. in economics from Simon Fraser University. Acknowledgments The authors wish to thank the W. Garfield Weston Foundation for its generous support for the Barbara Mitchell Centre for Improvement in Education. The authors also thank the anonymous reviewers of early drafts of this paper. Any errors and omissions are the sole responsibility of the author. As the re­ searchers worked independently, the views and conclusions expressed in this paper do not necessarily reflect those of the Board of Directors of the Fraser Institute, the staff, or supporters. fraserinstitute.org 30  /  Education spending in public schools in Canada Publishing information Distribution These publications are available from in Portable Document Format (PDF) and can be read with Adobe Acrobat Pro® or Adobe Acrobat Reader®, versions 8/9 or later. Adobe Acrobat Reader DC®, the most recent version, is available free of charge from Adobe Systems Inc. at . Readers having trouble viewing or printing our PDF files using applications from other manufacturers (e.g., Apple’s Preview) should use Adobe Acrobat Reader or Adobe Acrobat Pro. 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Johnson* * deceased;  † Nobel Laureate fraserinstitute.org