The majority of public education spending in Canada between 2004 and 2015 went to pensions, benefits and wages, a new report by the Fraser Institute has found.
Total education spending increased by $18.2 billion (41.1 per cent), from $44.3 billion in 2004-05 to $62.6 billion in 2014-15, according to the report. Of that total expenditure, $14.3 billion (78.6 per cent) went to overall reward for teachers, from $32.1 billion in 2004-5 to $46.4 billion in 2013-14.
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The report found that pension costs almost doubled during the decade — from $2.3 billion in 2004 to $4.3 billion in 2014 — and its share of total education spending increased from 5.1 per cent in 2004 to 6.9 per cent in 2014.
Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta account for more than three-quarters of the increase in pension spending, according to the report.
Just over eight per cent of the total spend went towards benefits, which increased by 52.6 per cent, from $3.4 billion in 2004-05 to $5.2 billion in 2013-14.
And more than half of the total spend went towards wages, which increased by 39.2 per cent, from $26.5 billion in 2004-05 to $36.9 billion in 2013-14.
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