Alberta awards $25.8 million to six independent school projects, creating 3,500 spaces

Alberta's government awarded $25.8 million to six independent school construction projects on Monday, funding it said will create more than 3,500 new classroom spaces across the province, the province said in a news release.

The grants will help unlock more than $108 million in additional investment from independent school authorities and community partners, bringing total capital construction to more than $134 million, the release said. The program requires established school authorities — those with more than three years of consecutive operation — to contribute two dollars for every one dollar of provincial funding.

The largest grant, $10 million, goes to Edmonton Islamic School for a new build the province said will create 1,700 student spaces. Bearspaw Christian School in Calgary receives two grants: $6.1 million for a Phase 4 expansion creating 1,072 spaces and $1.8 million for a Phase 3 expansion creating 300 spaces. Khalsa School Calgary receives $3.3 million for an expansion adding 300 spaces, Lighthouse Christian Academy in Sylvan Lake/Lacombe County receives $4 million for a new build creating 126 net new spaces, and Third Academy in Calgary receives $666,667 for a modular expansion creating 80 spaces for students with specialized education needs.

"We are taking action to create more student spaces while ensuring parents continue to have choice in their children's education," Education and Childcare Minister Demetrios Nicolaides said in the release. "By partnering with independent school authorities to build and expand schools across the province, we are helping meet growing enrolment and giving more Alberta families access to the education that works best for their children."

Sunil Mattu, head of schools at Third Academy, praised the funding for specialized spaces. "Alberta Education cares about students with special education needs. Eighty new seats in the Calgary area! This is a godsend. On behalf of families searching for hope, thank you," Mattu said in the release.

The grants come as independent school enrolment in Alberta has grown sharply. Provincial student population data show independent school enrolment rose from 39,292 in 2021-22 to 49,884 in 2025-26, an increase of roughly 27 per cent. Total enrolment across all school systems grew about 12 per cent over the same period, reaching 836,301 students.

The six projects are funded under the Independent School Capital program, which the province describes as a three-year, $90-million initiative aimed at creating up to 6,000 new student spaces. The program caps government contributions at $10 million per applicant and requires all grant funds to be used exclusively for new student spaces. Recipients that sell a funded property within a specified period must give the province a right of first refusal to purchase it at fair market value minus the government's contribution, a clause that may be registered on the land title.

CBC News reported that 35 independent school authorities applied for grants covering 40 different projects, with total requests reaching $182 million, citing an interview with Nicolaides. CBC News also reported that Nicolaides said he did not immediately have a timeline for when all construction projects would be complete and that he told the broadcaster: "This is a really extraordinary time in Alberta education history, and that causes us to have to take extraordinary steps."

The Alberta Teachers' Association has opposed the program since its launch. In a March 2026 statement, ATA president Jason Schilling said: "Funding the expansion of private schools is just another hit on public education, which is already bruised." CBC News reported that Schilling said in an October interview that independent schools should cover their own construction costs: "The private system should pay for itself as it does in other provinces."

The province's March 2026 launch release noted that independent schools serve more than seven per cent of Alberta's students while receiving less than five per cent of education funding, and that it costs the province $5,798 less per student in the independent system than in the public system.

Ranbir Singh Parmar, chairman of the Dashmesh Culture Centre and Khalsa School Calgary, called Monday's announcement "an important milestone for Khalsa School Calgary and our entire community" and said the new spaces "will benefit Alberta families for generations to come," according to the release.

Future application windows under the Independent School Capital program are planned for 2027 and 2028, with $25 million available in 2027-28 and $30 million available in 2028-29, the release said.