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In Canada, the federal government has little to no say in the operations of the public school system. However, there is a Council of Ministers of Education (CMEC) in Canada that allows appointed ministers of education from each province and territory to freely exchange goals and information as well as to compare one’s system with another. Conversely, the federal government does provide some funding to post-secondary institutions through the Canada Social Transfer, but there is no requirement to report where the funding went. As a result, it is difficult to know what percent of the transfers are given to post-secondary institutions.
Education on First Nations reserves is delivered by the First Nations themselves in conjunction with financial support from the federal government.
It is important to understand transfer payments and other ways in which the federal government funds some aspects of education in order to contextually grasp the entirety of this page. If you want to learn more about funding, click here.
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party of Canada’s most recent platform promises to make student loans interest-free for two years after graduation as well as ensuring that graduates will not be obligated to pay their loans until their earn more than $35,000 annually. Additionally, the party has also stated they wish to allow parents to pause loan payments with no interest until their youngest child turns five years old.
Chrystia Freeland, the Trudeau-appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance has also stated that the Federal Government of Canada “will provide a record $83.9 billion in transfer funding for provinces and territories in 2021-22.” While Freeland's policy reflects the federal government's position on education, it also directly reflects the Trudeau administration's stance on funding.
For your interest, you may find the education-focused party positions of the other leading Canadian federal parties below. The Bloc Québécois has been omitted because they believe that no real education reform is needed for Québec. Additionally, Federal interference in Quebec with regard to education would not be supported.
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party of Canada’s platform attempts to appeal to parents by alleviating some education-related financial stress. They promise to increase government contributions to Registered Education Savings Plans (RESPs) from 20 to 30 percent per dollar invested per year which would, in turn, allow for greater parental savings for their child's education.
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party states that if they are elected, they would eliminate interest rates on federal student loans and increase student grants. Unlike other parties, the NDP also states that they would offer further support for indigenous youth with regard to education.
Green Party
The Green Party of Canada may have one of the more ambitious platforms in comparison to the other parties. For instance, they promise to make college and university tuition-free for all Canadians. Additionally, they have stated that they wish to eliminate Registered Education Saving Plans (RESPs) and, instead, allocate $10 billion towards post-secondary education. Moreover, they have promised to forgive existing student debt above $10,000.
Unsurprisingly, each federal party addresses the issue of funding and student debt while offering diverging solutions with varying degrees of immediate reality. The limited position of the Canadian federal government concerning education, as mentioned above, really only allows federal parties to address issues pertaining to monetary contribution. Regional issues are tackled by provincial Ministries of Education. You may read further on this point by clicking here.
The Harper Government of 2006-2015 made promises that are similar in nature to those of the current Conservative party's platform. Harper ran upon a promise to aid in parents’ efforts to save for their children's education by increasing the federal contribution to Registered Education Savings Plans (RESPs). In 2008, The Conservative Party’s platform focused on the global financial crash which limited the discussion of education policy.
In 2015, the Trudeau-led Liberal Party ran upon the premise of affordability. They promised to “increase the maximum Canada Student Grant for low-income students to $3,000 per year for full-time students, and to $1,800 per year for part-time students.” Additionally, they promised to increase “the level of non-repayable grant assistance to students by $750 million per year, rising to $900 million per year by 2019/20.” Finally, they promised to “ensure that no graduate with student loans will be required to make any repayment until they are earning an income of at least $25,000 per year.”