Education Is not one size fits all

Canada’s public education system serves millions of children well, and the Common Good Party is committed to its strength and continued public investment. But we also recognise a truth that many parents know from lived experience: some children learn differently, thrive in different environments, and are best served by pedagogical approaches that the standard public school system does not offer.

Waldorf education, Montessori schooling, and other independent pedagogical traditions have demonstrated real and lasting benefits for child development — in creativity, independence, emotional regulation, and academic engagement. These are not fringe or luxury options. They are serious educational philosophies with decades of evidence behind them. The problem is not their quality. The problem is their cost.

In Canada, access to these schools is determined almost entirely by family income. A Waldorf school in Toronto charges upwards of $19,600 per year. Even the most affordable Waldorf schools in smaller communities charge between $5,975 and $12,000 annually. The result is a two-tier system in which educational diversity is a privilege of the wealthy, while working families are assigned to whichever school is closest to their postal code — regardless of whether it suits their child.

The Common Good Party considers this unacceptable. A country that genuinely values freedom — including the freedom of parents to choose how their children are educated — must ensure that choice is not reserved for those who can afford it.

Our goal: establish a federally funded Educational Freedom Grant (EFG) that gives working and middle-income families meaningful access to independent pedagogical schools, without subsidising elite private education or undermining the public system that the majority of Canadian children depend on.

What We Are Not Proposing

Before setting out what we will do, it is important to be clear about what we will not do. We are not proposing a voucher system. A universal education voucher — as advocated by some on the political right — would direct public funds to any private school regardless of income, pedagogy, or accountability, and has been shown in other jurisdictions to divert essential resources from public schools while delivering most of its benefit to families who were already paying private school fees. We reject this model.

We are not proposing to fund elite private schools. Schools charging upwards of $30,000 per year are not the target of this policy. The EFG will be income-tested and capped in a way that ensures it reaches families who genuinely cannot access these schools without support — not families for whom the grant would simply reduce an existing discretionary expense.

We are not proposing to undermine public education. The public school system is the foundation of Canadian education and will remain so. The EFG is a targeted grant for a specific category of pedagogically distinct, non-profit independent schools. It is not a general subsidy for private schooling.

The Educational Freedom Grant — How It Works

The CGP will establish an Educational Freedom Grant of $4,500 per child per year for eligible families whose children are enrolled in a qualifying independent pedagogical school at the elementary level (Kindergarten to Grade 8).

This figure is calibrated carefully:

— It covers approximately 25 to 35 percent of average Waldorf tuition, making it a meaningful reduction without fully privatising the cost.

— It represents approximately 65 percent of the maximum Canada Child Benefit for children aged 6 to 17, making it a defensible top-up rather than a competing benefit.

— It is high enough to be a genuine enabler of access for a middle-income family, and low enough to avoid the appearance of fully funding elite private education.

— It is consistent with the partial funding models already operating successfully in Alberta and British Columbia, where provinces fund independent schools at 50 to 70 percent of public operating costs, and where the majority of families using these schools earn below the provincial average income.

Income Testing

The EFG will be income-tested on the same basis as the Canada Child Benefit, ensuring that support is concentrated where it is most needed and phases out at higher income levels. The grant will begin to phase out at a family net income of $90,000 and will be fully phased out at $150,000. This structure ensures:

— Families earning under $90,000 receive the full $4,500 grant.

— Families earning between $90,000 and $150,000 receive a proportionally reduced grant.

— Families earning above $150,000 receive no grant.

This income profile targets the working and middle-income families who are currently priced out of these schools entirely, while ensuring that wealthy families do not receive a windfall from a benefit they do not need.

Qualifying Schools

Not every independent school will qualify. To be eligible, a school must meet all of the following criteria:

— It must operate as a registered non-profit organisation.

— It must follow a recognised independent pedagogical framework such as Waldorf, Montessori, Reggio Emilia, or an equivalent approach with a documented and established educational philosophy.

— It must employ certified teachers and meet provincial curriculum requirements in core subject areas.

— It must have an open, non-discriminatory admissions policy — no school that selects students on the basis of religion, ethnicity, academic performance, or any other exclusionary criterion will qualify for the EFG.

— It must not charge tuition in excess of $25,000 per year. Schools above this threshold are operating in an elite market that this policy is not designed to serve.

— It must be accredited or registered under the relevant provincial education authority.

These criteria draw a clear line between the independent pedagogical schools this policy is designed to support and the elite preparatory schools and selective academies that serve a different market

Sibling Provisions

Families with more than one child enrolled in qualifying schools will receive the full grant for each child, subject to the income test. The financial barrier to alternative education is compounded for larger families, and the EFG is designed to reflect this reality.

Delivery Mechanism

The EFG will be delivered as an annual tax-free payment through the Canada Revenue Agency, integrated with the existing Canada Child Benefit administration infrastructure. Families will apply through their annual tax return, identifying the qualifying school their child attends. No new bureaucracy is required. The school will be required to provide a registration confirmation to the family for tax purposes.

The Public System Is Not Threatened

A concern frequently raised about any form of independent school support is that it draws resources from the public system. The EFG is designed to address this concern directly. It is not a per-pupil diversion of public school funding. It is a targeted family grant, delivered through the tax system, to a small and specific population of families whose children are already enrolled in qualifying independent schools. The public school system’s per-pupil funding is unaffected.

Furthermore, the evidence from Alberta — where 70 percent of private school operating costs are publicly funded and independent schools enrol approximately 6 percent of the student population — suggests that a well-designed support structure for independent schools does not hollow out the public system. The CGP’s model is more conservative and more carefully targeted than Alberta’s existing provincial framework.

The Current System Is Already Unequal

The absence of any federal support for independent pedagogical schools does not produce equality. It produces a system in which access to educational diversity is determined entirely by income. Wealthy families access Waldorf and Montessori schools without assistance. Working families cannot. The status quo does not protect the public system — it simply ensures that the benefits of educational diversity flow exclusively upward.

In British Columbia, where the provincial government funds Group 1 independent schools at 50 percent of public operating costs, the majority of families using these schools are not wealthy. The same pattern holds in Alberta, where 80 percent of families enrolled in independent schools earn below the average provincial income. The idea that independent school support is inherently a subsidy for the rich is contradicted by the evidence from the provinces that have been doing it for decades.

The Fiscal Cost Is Manageable

The EFG is a targeted, income-tested benefit. The population of children enrolled in qualifying Waldorf and Montessori schools in Canada is estimated at approximately 15,000 to 20,000 at the elementary level. At a full grant of $4,500 per child, and accounting for income phase-outs that will reduce the average payment, the total annual fiscal cost of the EFG is estimated at between $45 million and $70 million per year. This is a modest investment relative to the federal education and child benefit budget, and is consistent with the CGP’s commitment to targeted, effective spending rather than broad and expensive universal programs.

A Note on Jurisdiction

Education is a provincial responsibility and the CGP fully respects this. The EFG operates as a family benefit delivered through the federal tax system — not as a direct transfer to schools or as a federal education policy. Provinces retain full authority over their education systems, curriculum standards, and school accreditation. The EFG supports the financial capacity of families; it does not direct provincial education policy. Quebec’s distinct education arrangements will be fully respected, and the CGP commits to working with the Quebec government on any implementation details relevant to Quebec families.

Facts Behind the Policy

— Average Waldorf school tuition in Canada ranges from $5,975 at the most affordable schools to over $19,600 in major urban centres, with most schools falling between $10,000 and $16,000 per year.

— The maximum Canada Child Benefit for children aged 6 to 17 in 2026-27 is $6,883 per child per year. The EFG at $4,500 represents approximately 65 percent of this figure — a proportionate and defensible top-up.

— Alberta funds accredited independent schools at 70 percent of the public instructional grant, the highest rate in Canada. British Columbia funds qualifying independent schools at 50 percent of local district per-student operating costs. Saskatchewan and Manitoba fund at 50 percent. Ontario and the Atlantic provinces provide no provincial funding to independent schools.

— Provinces spending an average of $16,579 per student annually in the public system already acknowledge that the cost of education is a public responsibility. The EFG asks only that a modest portion of that acknowledgement extend to families who have chosen a different pedagogical path.

— 80 percent of families enrolled in Alberta’s independent schools earn below the average provincial income, directly contradicting the assumption that independent school support benefits only the wealthy.

— The CGP’s qualifying school criteria — non-profit status, open admissions, tuition cap of $25,000, provincial accreditation — explicitly exclude the elite preparatory schools that critics of school choice rightly identify as the primary beneficiaries of undifferentiated private school subsidies.

Every child deserves an education that fits who they are. Every family deserves the freedom to find it. The Educational Freedom Grant is how we make that freedom real.