I wrote a version of this piece below for an upcoming book on education in Canada. I'm sharing it here as bonus content for paid subscribers in gratitude. Wishing everyone and families the best Christmas.
During Alberta’s recent teachers’ strike, the NDP and Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) didn’t target underperformance. Instead, they went after charter schools, not for failing students, but for giving parents too much choice.
NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi and the ATA, the province’s teachers’ union, painted charter schools as elite, private institutions for the wealthy. Their story: the government was favouring “private schools” while underfunding unionized classrooms (as I post this, 20 government MLAs are under the threat of recall, all orchestrated by unions still sore for the ATA losing the strike, and for the use of the Nothwithstanding Clause in legislation that bans radical sex-reassignment procedures).
That story doesn’t hold up. Charter schools in Alberta are public, tuition-free, and follow the provincial curriculum. They operate outside local school boards.
The ATA and its political allies have opposed charter schools for decades, likely because these schools challenge the system’s control. And in many cases, outperform it.
Now entering their fourth decade, Alberta’s charter schools remain Canada’s strongest model for education reform. While other provinces remain stuck in bureaucratic ruts, Alberta showed what happens when innovation meets real parental demand. The result? Stronger academics, lower costs and more choice for families. Yet most provinces still ignore the model entirely.
