The Canadian Taxpayers Federation says the teacher’s union needs to tell the whole story on education spending before it asks taxpayers for more money.

In a news release, Gage Haubrich, CTF Prairie Director says, “government spending on education has not been cut and is outpacing inflation”. He adds that “the teacher’s union wants to paint a narrative of cuts, but the numbers don’t lie, and taxpayers are paying more for education than ever before.”

Inflation-adjusted government spending on education has increased over the last six years according to the public accounts. In 2017-18, the government spent $2.3 billion on education. Last year, it spent $2.8 billion, an increase of 24 per cent.

Per person education numbers are also on the rise. In 2017-18, the government spent an inflation-adjusted $2,018 per person on education, and in 2023, the number was $2,408.
The release says the only area that the government spends more on than education is health care.

The provincial government is currently offering the Saskatchewan Teachers Federation a seven per cent salary increase, and they are still choosing to go on strike for one day, on January 16th, in hopes of addressing class size and complexity.