Average tuition costs for Canadian university undergraduate students have risen by 2.8 per cent this year, according to data from Statistics Canada (StatsCan).
Undergraduate students across Canada paid $6,373 in tuition fees on average for the 2016-17 school year, compared to $6,201 in 2015-16.
Costs of compulsory fees for students, including athletics, health fees, and student associations, are also continuing to rise. According to StatsCan, these fees increased by 2.9 per cent on average, with students paying just under a thousand dollars.
Bilan Arte, the national chairperson for the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS), said the peak in tuition is the result of decades of underfunding in the public education sector.
“Provinces such as Quebec have prioritized post-secondary by making it more accessible, while in Ontario there is almost a complete deregulation of provincial fees,” Arte said.
This year, undergraduate students in Ontario paid the highest average rates of tuition out of any province, at $8,114, according to StatsCan.
The CFS has stated high tuition is effectively “pricing out students,” and is making it difficult for students in more vulnerable communities or situations to access post-secondary education.
Jenna Amirault, vice-president (external) for the Graduate Students’ Association at Carleton, said she advocates for awareness on tuition increases.
Amirault said she will have a debt of more than $27,000 when she graduates. As a result, she said she has worked several jobs while studying, which has had a negative impact on her academic performance.
“I think that this is representative for many other students across the board,” Amirault said.
Erika Shaker, director of outreach and education for non-partisan research think tank Policy Alternatives Canada, said the vicious cycle of work and debt created by high tuition makes students more economically and socially dependent on structures, such as family, then criticizes them for being dependent on others.
“While eventually tuition does need to be paid for, it should be paid for through public funding through our tax system, not placed directly on the backs of students,” Shaker said.
On Nov. 2, the CFS will be launching a national campaign that will be driven by students, labour partners, civil society organizations, and social justice organizations.
The CFS said they will be fighting for a new vision of post-secondary education in Canada, aiming to eliminate tuition fees altogether.
“We need to understand that access to post-secondary is more economically viable in the long term,” Arte said. “We need to give students the opportunity to learn the right skills in order to help them be successful and enable our country’s economy.”
