Alberta
Province completely revamps funding for K-12 education – Adriana LaGrange announcement

From the Province of Alberta
Transforming K-12 education funding
A new way to fund Alberta’s K-12 education system will drive more dollars to the classroom where they can deliver the best outcomes for students.
The new model streamlines operations and directs more dollars to each school division. In the 2020-21 school year, every single division will see an increase in operational funding.
The model also provides more predictability in funding by changing from one-year enrolment counts to a moving three-year average, minimizing the need for mid-year adjustments to school budgets. The move will help school divisions plan their finances well in advance of the start of the school year.
“Alberta will continue to have one of the best-funded education systems in the country. This new model will drive more money to our school divisions for use in the classroom and provides them with the flexibility they need to meet the unique needs of their students. These changes will ensure our divisions continue to be equipped to provide our students with a world-class, high quality education.”
The new model also reduces red tape and gives more flexibility to school divisions to determine how to best invest taxpayer dollars. By simplifying the number of grants to 15 from the current 36, while still maintaining education funding, school divisions will have reduced reporting obligations and more leeway to direct funding to support the needs of students.
“This government is committed to cutting unnecessary red tape by one-third to reduce costs, speed up approvals and make life better for Albertans. I am thrilled that we are updating and streamlining the K-12 funding model, while maintaining robust measures to ensure money is being directed to the classroom. School boards can now spend less time on unnecessary reporting and administration work and more time focusing on students.”
Highlights of the new model include:
- Ensuring funds are directed to classrooms by providing a targeted grant for system administration, instead of a percentage of overall funding. This will standardize administrative and governance spending to within a reasonable range and maximize dollars intended for classrooms. The new model will also simplify grants to reduce red-tape for school authorities.
- Protecting our most vulnerable students by providing funding intended to support specialized learning needs or groups of students who may require additional supports from school authorities, including Program Unit Funding, funding for English as a Second Language students, French as a Second Language students, refugee students and First Nations, Métis and Inuit students.
- Better managing system growth, specifically enrolment growth and associated costs. Instead of funding based on a student count each year calculated in the fall, the new model will adopt a weighted, moving three-year average when calculating enrolment for funding. Using a weighted moving average means school boards will no longer have to wait until they have a confirmed number of students — typically at the end of September when the school year is already underway — to determine how much funding they will have for the year. This should minimize school authorities having to adjust their revenue forecasts and/or staffing levels throughout the school year.
- Providing funding predictability for school authorities by confirming their funding commitments from the province by the end of March each year, instead of the end of September when the school year has already begun. This will minimize the need for mid-year adjustments to budgets and staffing, create better alignment between the school year and the government’s fiscal year, and provide boards with more predictability in their planning and budgeting processes. A move to a block-funding model for small rural schools will also ensure the long-term viability of these schools where per-student funding does not provide adequate resources to properly deliver programs and services.
- Enhancing system accountability for school jurisdictions. The new model will include new accountability measures keeping school boards accountable for student outcomes, community engagement and continuous improvement.
“Our new funding model gives schools more of what they want – flexibility, stability and predictability. Flexibility to invest provincial dollars in areas that make the most sense for their communities. Stability in the number of grants and what the province expects for reporting. And predictability in their funding envelope to allow for better planning well ahead of each school year.”
The funding model for K-12 education has not changed in more than 15 years. The province met with each public, separate and Francophone school division, along with other system partners, in the fall of 2019 to discuss improvements to the way funding flows to school divisions. Overall, divisions wanted more predictability in their funding so they could better plan for each school year, more flexibility in how they spend provincial dollars based on their own needs in their communities, and reductions in provincial red tape.
Specific details for each grant and each school division’s funding will be available in Budget 2020, and will take effect for the 2020-21 school year.
“The College of Alberta School Superintendents recognizes the significant efforts Minister LaGrange has taken to engage with individual school authorities, the CASS Board and other education partners in the development of this new funding framework. The Minister’s willingness to listen and incorporate this feedback is clear as the new funding framework reflects a return to increased autonomy for local board decision making coupled with a reduction in the red tape school authorities have been challenged with in recent years. Finally, while we certainly recognize the fiscal challenges our province is currently experiencing, we are gratified to hear the Minister’s commitment in this budget to an increase in overall projected budget for every Alberta school authority over the previous year’s funding.”
“We appreciate that the government considered input from the education system as they developed the new funding model. This new model will reduce some of the red tape associated with accessing certain grants. It will also give school boards the ability to better predict the amount of funding they will receive in future years within the new, simplified model.”
“Alberta School Boards Association (ASBA) is pleased that government consulted with us on the new assurance and funding framework. We appreciate that government has released the funding framework, as ASBA requested, in advance of the budget. This allows boards time to review and understand the implications within the context of their local realities. ASBA will work closely with school boards and government to support implementation upon release of the budget.”
“We appreciate that Minister LaGrange has listened to our concerns and demonstrated her confidence and trust in the local autonomy of school boards to make decisions that are in the best interests of their students. While this is a complex matter that will take time for us to determine the impact on the classroom, we are optimistic that these changes will bring opportunity for our district. The reduction of red tape afforded by the new model will help reduce the complexity and workload involved in providing extensive and repetitious data, which in turn, will allow our teachers to focus on what is most important — our students.”
“Allowing important education funding decisions at a local level is a great step forward for parents’ choice in education and the ability of local school divisions — working with parents — to ensure key priorities are met. This new funding model will provide flexibility on how school divisions provide a precise and quality education to meet the needs of the students and the communities they serve.”
“We are pleased to see that Minister LaGrange has been responsive to our concerns for less red tape as well as targeted supports for small rural schools. We are also pleased to see her continued support for local board autonomy and the flexibility for our board to manage those decisions that most impact our students. We look forward to the release of the full budget details and are hopeful, even in difficult economic times, this new framework will continue to support our board as we provide high quality public education to our students.“
“We are pleased to see the government trust locally elected boards to make the right decisions for their students by providing us flexibility within our funding envelopes. The increased flexibility afforded by this new funding model will help us better allocate resources to address the unique needs of our students, while also cutting down on the significant red tape that was tied to the previous funding structure. We are looking forward to working with the government as this model rolls out for the 2020-21 school year.”
Alberta
Big win for Alberta and Canada: Statement from Premier Smith

Premier Danielle Smith issued the following statement on the April 2, 2025 U.S. tariff announcement:
“Today was an important win for Canada and Alberta, as it appears the United States has decided to uphold the majority of the free trade agreement (CUSMA) between our two nations. It also appears this will continue to be the case until after the Canadian federal election has concluded and the newly elected Canadian government is able to renegotiate CUSMA with the U.S. administration.
“This is precisely what I have been advocating for from the U.S. administration for months.
“It means that the majority of goods sold into the United States from Canada will have no tariffs applied to them, including zero per cent tariffs on energy, minerals, agricultural products, uranium, seafood, potash and host of other Canadian goods.
“There is still work to be done, of course. Unfortunately, tariffs previously announced by the United States on Canadian automobiles, steel and aluminum have not been removed. The efforts of premiers and the federal government should therefore shift towards removing or significantly reducing these remaining tariffs as we go forward and ensuring affected workers across Canada are generously supported until the situation is resolved.
“I again call on all involved in our national advocacy efforts to focus on diplomacy and persuasion while avoiding unnecessary escalation. Clearly, this strategy has been the most effective to this point.
“As it appears the worst of this tariff dispute is behind us (though there is still work to be done), it is my sincere hope that we, as Canadians, can abandon the disastrous policies that have made Canada vulnerable to and overly dependent on the United States, fast-track national resource corridors, get out of the way of provincial resource development and turn our country into an independent economic juggernaut and energy superpower.”
Alberta
Energy sector will fuel Alberta economy and Canada’s exports for many years to come

From the Fraser Institute
By any measure, Alberta is an energy powerhouse—within Canada, but also on a global scale. In 2023, it produced 85 per cent of Canada’s oil and three-fifths of the country’s natural gas. Most of Canada’s oil reserves are in Alberta, along with a majority of natural gas reserves. Alberta is the beating heart of the Canadian energy economy. And energy, in turn, accounts for one-quarter of Canada’s international exports.
Consider some key facts about the province’s energy landscape, as noted in the Alberta Energy Regulator’s (AER) 2023 annual report. Oil and natural gas production continued to rise (on a volume basis) in 2023, on the heels of steady increases over the preceding half decade. However, the dollar value of Alberta’s oil and gas production fell in 2023, as the surging prices recorded in 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine retreated. Capital spending in the province’s energy sector reached $30 billion in 2023, making it the leading driver of private-sector investment. And completion of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project has opened new offshore export avenues for Canada’s oil industry and should boost Alberta’s energy production and exports going forward.
In a world striving to address climate change, Alberta’s hydrocarbon-heavy energy sector faces challenges. At some point, the world may start to consume less oil and, later, less natural gas (in absolute terms). But such “peak” consumption hasn’t arrived yet, nor does it appear imminent. While the demand for certain refined petroleum products is trending down in some advanced economies, particularly in Europe, we should take a broader global perspective when assessing energy demand and supply trends.
Looking at the worldwide picture, Goldman Sachs’ 2024 global energy forecast predicts that “oil usage will increase through 2034” thanks to strong demand in emerging markets and growing production of petrochemicals that depend on oil as the principal feedstock. Global demand for natural gas (including LNG) will also continue to increase, particularly since natural gas is the least carbon-intensive fossil fuel and more of it is being traded in the form of liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Against this backdrop, there are reasons to be optimistic about the prospects for Alberta’s energy sector, particularly if the federal government dials back some of the economically destructive energy and climate policies adopted by the last government. According to the AER’s “base case” forecast, overall energy output will expand over the next 10 years. Oilsands output is projected to grow modestly; natural gas production will also rise, in part due to greater demand for Alberta’s upstream gas from LNG operators in British Columbia.
The AER’s forecast also points to a positive trajectory for capital spending across the province’s energy sector. The agency sees annual investment rising from almost $30 billion to $40 billion by 2033. Most of this takes place in the oil and gas industry, but “emerging” energy resources and projects aimed at climate mitigation are expected to represent a bigger slice of energy-related capital spending going forward.
Like many other oil and gas producing jurisdictions, Alberta must navigate the bumpy journey to a lower-carbon future. But the world is set to remain dependent on fossil fuels for decades to come. This suggests the energy sector will continue to underpin not only the Alberta economy but also Canada’s export portfolio for the foreseeable future.
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