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….