New school year, same old story: Tuition fees soar across Canada

Posted on September 19, 2024 by Ryan Dahlman

It’s September and the start of a new academic year. Leaves are starting to fall – but tuition fees are not.

Fees charged to students continue to increase across the country – by an average of about three percent since last year. But the price tag varies from province to province as a direct result of how much individual governments have chosen to download the costs onto students and their families.

According to Statistics Canada, undergraduates can pay from $3,594 in Quebec to $9,762 in Nova Scotia. And with an average of $1,000 in additional compulsory fees thrown in, students in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Saskatchewan have pushed through the $10,000 mark, with Ontario and Alberta not far behind.

But in this race to the top, the losers are students and their families.

Tuition fee increases accelerated after 1995 when the federal government altered the funding mechanism and the amount of funding it provided to the provinces. Depending on how provincial governments responded, students in some provinces were charged significantly more than those in others in an increasingly entrenched “user-fee” system.

The financial burden on students and their families became even more onerous as additional payment tiers were introduced. These included the deregulation of fees for international students, higher costs for some “specialized” programs, and extra compulsory fees. More recently, out-of-province students have faced significantly higher fees, especially in Quebec and Nova Scotia. In 2022,  Newfoundland reversed its transformative early 2000s policy, which had reduced fees by 25 percent and frozen them for all students.

As a result, the amount students pay varies depending on their place of residence, the location of their chosen school, and the program they plan to study.

However, these costs pale compared to the extreme fees charged to international students, the original canaries in the fee deregulation coal mine. Currently, they range from $18,000 in Newfoundland and Labrador to over $48,000 in Ontario, with a national average of $40,000.

International students have been a major revenue stream for Canadian universities, helping offset insufficient public funding. However, with a sharp decline in international student enrollment – due to political uncertainty and policy changes, according to Universities Canada – post-secondary institutions now face serious economic challenges.

In this “pay to play” system, the financial strain on students goes beyond just program fees. Everything else costs more, too, from soaring rents to high grocery prices. And food banks, now a fixture on campuses, are not a solution. On top of that, youth unemployment has climbed to 14.2 percent – the highest rate since September 2012, excluding the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021 – making the situation even more difficult for students.

These economic pressures are exponentially worse for racialized students, Indigenous youth, and recent immigrants. International students, who are unfairly blamed for a housing crisis beyond their control, also face significant financial challenges.

These threats to the economic survival of students are directly linked to insufficient levels of public support for post-secondary education. As the burden of costs increasingly shifts onto students and their families, it raises serious concerns about intergenerational equity. With rising tuition and living expenses, individual student debt continues to grow, creating long-term financial challenges for future generations.

Debt carries both individual and societal costs. When young people are burdened by debt, they lack the disposable income needed to buy a car or a home, delaying major life decisions such as starting a family. This “income scarring” – the long-term reduction in earning potential caused by early financial struggles – weakens the overall economy. That’s why governments must reinvest in funding post-secondary education and provide adequate support to students and their families.

The social and economic benefits of a well-educated population are undeniable, yet they are being jeopardized by forcing an entire generation into crippling debt. This isn’t just unfair – it’s reckless and short-sighted policy-making that will have long-term consequences for society.

Erika Shaker is the national office director of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

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