Nova Scotia tuition is second highest in Canada, province and federal government need to do more

For Immediate Release October 20, 2009

(Halifax) – Nova Scotia boasts the second highest tuition in Canada according to a study released by Statistics Canada this morning.

The average student in Nova Scotia pays $ 5,696 in tuition each year; while out of province students pay $1022 more than students from Nova Scotia.

Nova Scotia Universities are underfunded compared to the rest of Canada – Nova Scotia is the only province in Canada where tuition fees account for more of university operating revenue than government operating grants.

“High tuition fees make it difficult for qualified students to further their education,” says ANSSA Executive Director, Mark Coffin. “Students are still recovering from the summer that recorded the highest student unemployment levels in three decades. Considering this and the fact that cost of living and ancillary fees continue to increase means students have less money to put towards their education.”

ANSSA is calling on the Nova Scotia government to reduce the student share of the cost of education, and increase government investment in universities to allow them to reduce fees to levels comparable to those in the province of Newfoundland.

The Alliance of Nova Scotia Student Associations, the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations, the New Brunswick Student Alliance, the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance, the College Student Alliance, the Council of Alberta University Students, and the Alberta Student Executive Council, together representing over 600,000 students across the country, are asking the federal government to increase the federal funding for post-secondary education to $4 billion per year.

To ensure the effectiveness of this transfer, the federal government must work with the provinces in order to maintain their own post-secondary education spending upon receipt of this additional federal funding.
- 30 -