Salaries, pensions and benefits consumed majority of increased spending on public schools in Canada

TORONTO—Nearly 80 per cent of all increases in public school spending in Canada over the past decade went to salaries, pensions and benefits, finds a new study by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank. “Contrary to misperceptions, public education spending has increased dramatically across the country, and it’s important for parents and taxpayers to know that the bulk of that money has gone to teachers and other staff,” said Deani Van Pelt, director of the Barbara Mitchell Centre for Improvement in Education at the Fraser Institute and co-author of Understanding the Increases in Education Spending in Public Schools in Canada, 2016 Edition. The study finds that between 2004/2005 and 2013/2014, staff compensation costs rose from $32 billion to $46.4 billion—an increase of more than $14 billion.