Schools in Alberta

NDP in four years vs UCP in six years

Alberta NDP 2015-19

The Alberta NDP government (2015–2019, under Premier Rachel Notley) funded and delivered a total of 244 new and modernized school projects across the province.

This included:

Metric NDP Achievement (2015–2019)

Total Projects Funded - 244

Completed by mid-2019 - 181

Student Spaces Added - 126,000

2018–19 Openings - 37 (15 new, 7 replacements, 12 modernizations)

• 169 projects completed by early 2019, with 12 more finished by June 2019 (totaling 181 by mid-2019).

• These created or modernized approximately 126,000 student spaces.

• Examples: In 2017–2019, announcements included 26 projects (e.g., 5–6 in Edmonton like new schools in McConachie/Larkspur and modernizations).

Key context:

• The NDP inherited approximately 232–195 delayed projects from prior PC governments (announced 2013–2015, many behind schedule).

• They accelerated these despite low oil prices, prioritizing schools over other spending—”They built Sky Palaces, we built schools.”

• By 2019 election, NDP touted this as a core achievement, promising 70 more if re-elected.

This was the largest school infrastructure push in Alberta history, focusing on growth and backlog.

In contrast when Alberta has had a population explosion since the UCP have been elected, they had other priorities: As a result school builds have not kept up with demand. They have built or modernized approximately 44 public schools (completed with construction funding under UCP, 2020–Oct 2025) This is because the government is also building charter schools with public dollars.

The UCP government (in power since April 30, 2019) has completed 63 school projects with construction funding over the last 5–6 years (to early 2024 data):

• 30 new builds

• 14 modernizations

• 19 replacements (counted separately as they modernize via full rebuild)

• These schools account for 50,000 - 70,000 new student spaces.

• Public schools: 90–95% of these 63 school builds are public in public districts; excludes the 3–6 charters). Exact public split unavailable, but **44 total public** (new + modernized + replacements).

Key context: The UCP focus for the next 6 years - including Public, Charter and Private School Builds.

• Annual pace: ~12–13 projects/year (construction-funded; schools take 2–4 years).

• vs NDP (2015–2019): 244 funded (181 completed); UCP completed inherited + new.

• Announced (not built): 106–141 (includes planning/design; critics call inflated).

• 2025+: $8.6B accelerator → 90+ new + 15–24 modernizations by 2031 (132 active projects)

• The NDP attempted to address the need for more student spaces and complex classrooms. The UCP ignored both, instead funding and building charter* (publicly funded and recognized as public schools but independent and not part of a larger district) and private schools at the expense of public students in public schools.