Independent schools, early childcare get funding boost in Alberta budget
The Alberta government is doubling down on its commitment to school choice by boosting funding for independent schools and early childhood services.
The Alberta government is doubling down on its commitment to school choice by boosting funding for independent schools and early childhood services.
Alberta’s Budget 2026 projects four straight years of deficits, driven primarily by increased spending on education, public sector employee support, and healthcare. The fiscal plan allocates major new money to classrooms, child care, and public sector compensation.
The budget forecasts a $4.1 billion deficit for 2025-26, followed by shortfalls of $9.4 billion in 2026-27, $7.6 billion in 2027-28, and $6.9 billion in 2028-29. Total expense is forecast at $79.4 billion in 2025-26 and rises to $83.9 billion in 2026-27, which includes a $2 billion contingency.
The Ministry of Education and Childcare is budgeted at nearly $53 billion over four years. In 2026-27, the provincial government set aside $13.5 billion for education, about 16.1 per cent of the budget, up from $12.5 billion in the 2025-26 forecast. The government attributes the increase to record enrolment and rising classroom pressures.
Alberta’s Finance Minister Nate Horner framed the education package as a priority despite the province moving deeper into deficit. “With Budget 2026, we’re choosing to focus on health care, classrooms, and our economy,” he said in the legislature on Thursday. “We’re choosing to protect the services families rely on every day.”
The budget also increases funding for independent schools.
The budget line for accredited independent schools and Early Child Services (ECS) operators is $496 million in 2026-27, a 7.6 per cent increase from the $461 million estimated in the 2025-26 forecast. Approximately $320.4 million of the $496 million is directed to independent schools, with about $175.9 million going to ECS operators. This budget line grows to $528 million in 2027-28 and $554 million in 2028-29.
The budget documents show education system operating expenses at $10.8 billion in 2026-27, a $722 million or 7.2 per cent increase from the 2025-26 forecast. This funding is tied to enrolment growth, teacher compensation, and initiatives aimed at class size and classroom complexity. The province says enrolment growth funding will rise by nearly $560 million over the next three years to allow school authorities to hire needed teachers.
Horner highlighted staffing and classroom supports as central to the plan. Budget 2026 provides funding for school boards to hire more than 3,000 new teachers and 1,500 education assistants over the next three years, alongside $1.4 billion over three years for class size and complexity.
The plan also allocates $2.11 billion for childcare in 2026-27, up from $1.873 billion in the 2025-26 forecast, with the increase mainly tied to higher provincial funding. Child care spending is then projected to fall to nearly $1.46 billion in 2027-28 and 2028-29, as the government points to negotiations over a longer-term federal agreement.
The budget also allocates $1.8 billion in 2026-27 for students with specialized learning needs, including support for English as an additional language, refugee students, and First Nations, Métis, and Inuit students. It sets class size and complexity funding at $355 million in 2026-27 and $1.4 billion over three years.
Horner argued the government is trying to balance service pressures with longer-term fiscal goals.
“We’re choosing to protect Alberta’s long term financial strength so the next generation will have more options to deal with their tough choices,” he said.
He also linked spending growth to population pressures, saying Alberta is seeing record enrolment and “that growth is putting real pressure on classrooms, teachers, and families across the province.”
Budget 2026 estimates that Alberta’s population will increase by 1.1 per cent in 2026 and 2027, followed by a 1.4 per cent increase in 2028 and 2029. The province’s population is estimated to have grown by 2.5 per cent in 2025 compared to the 4.7 per cent increase it faced in 2024.
Population increases could change depending on the will of voters, as Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced last week that she would put questions on immigration to a referendum.