Alberta’s $8.6B New Schools Plan Will Fund Charter and Private School Construction as Part of ‘School Choice for Parents’

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Minister of Education Demetrios Nicolaides stand together during the swearing in of her cabinet in Edmonton, June 9, 2023. Jason Franson/The Canadian Press

Alberta has rolled out an $8.6 billion plan to speed up the building of new schools–public, private, and charter–in response to rising student enrolment driven by rapid population growth.

The new School Construction Accelerator Program will create more than 200,000 new student spaces over the next seven years, the province said in a Sept. 18 press release.