Summary

• To accurately understand education spending, both enrolment changes and the effects of price changes must be considered.
• For Canada as a whole, over the last decade (2005–06 to 2014–15), the increase in per-student spending in public schools is 22.3 percent (once adjustments have been made for inflation). Specifically, per-student education spending in public schools, accounting for changes in prices, increased from $10,339 to $12,646 between 2005–06 and 2014–15.
• Prince Edward Island saw the largest increase in per-student spending in public schools (after adjusting for inflation): 41.8 percent, from $8,891 in 2005–06 to $12,610 in 2014–15. The smallest increase was in British Columbia (14.0 percent). Per-student spending in public schools in all 10 provinces increased over this period (after accounting for the effects of inflation).
• Saskatchewan had the highest level of per-student spending among the provinces in 2014–15, at $15,040 per student. It also had the second highest increase in inflation-adjusted per-student spending over the period (37.2 percent).
• In aggregate, Canada increased education spending in public schools by $11.2 billion more between 2005–06 and 2014–15 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 17.6 percent lower.