A new study by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA) – Tier for Two: Managing the Optics of Provincial Tuition Fee Policies – finds that tuition fees across Canada continue to rise, as public funding falls. The report notes that Ontario consistently has the highest tuition fees in Canada, and predicts that fees in the province will hit $9,438 by 2017-18.
Across Canada, tuition fees almost tripled between 1993-94 and 2014-15. The CCPA projects that tuition will increase by an additional 13 per cent by 2017-18. In Ontario, fees increased by 259 per cent, and are projected to rise by an additional 12 per cent over the next three years. According to the analysis, Ontario (along with New Brunswick and Saskatchewan) is one of the least affordable provinces for middle-income earners to attend higher education.
The report highlights the need for increased public investment in higher education, in order to halt the decades-long march towards higher, and more unaffordable, fees.
The full study is available for download here. The CCPA press release can be read here.