There’s just not enough space. Over the past several years, Alberta has been facing an increasingly urgent school capacity crisis. In 2024, the government admitted that its previous approach to school construction needed to be changed. Schools were stuffed full, with no solution in sight.
To solve the problem of overcrowded classrooms, the provincial government promised a historic investment: $8.6 billion for up to 200,000 new student spaces over seven years, including 50,000 in the initial three years under the School Construction Accelerator Program. They further pledged to build 90 new schools by 2031, with an annual commitment of approximately 30 new public schools plus charter and modernization projects beginning around the 2025/26 school year.
However, by May 2025, it was clear the province remained behind schedule. The government pledged funding to fast-track 11 school projects across Alberta—a drop in the bucket compared to what’s needed. Alberta is registering a net enrolment growth of around 20,000 students per year, which would roughly equate to 30 new schools annually.
If we’re adding only 11 schools per year while enrolment numbers call for 30, Alberta is building less than one third of what’s required. This is why we’re seeing hallways, libraries and even gymnasiums being turned into makeshift classrooms, and schools being forced to turn students away. Teachers and school leaders are doing their best, but I speak from experience when I say holding classes on a school gym’s stage while a P.E. class is taking place in the gym itself is not conducive to learning.
To soften the gap, the government has leaned heavily on modular classrooms, investing $50 million to deploy them across 19 school boards. Modulars certainly provide temporary relief, but they do not replace long-term infrastructure. They have no gyms, proper libraries, science labs or technology spaces. Modulars are a stopgap, not a solution.
The government’s $8.6 billion investment and assurances of swift construction may sound bold, but the province has underdelivered, and students and teachers are paying the price. More than a year after the School Construction Accelerator Program was announced, only 33 of the 132 promised school projects had even moved to the next design or construction phase. The rest remain stalled in planning, approvals or worse: they are absent from any timeline despite assurances from the minister of Education and Childcare that this would not be the case.
In fast-growing cities like Calgary and Edmonton, boards have been forced to chop offices, libraries and even storage to carve out classroom space. And rural communities aren’t immune from this issue. Though Budget 2025 included funding for rural school projects, few will open before 2027 or 2028.
The classroom crisis is already here.
Alberta’s students deserve more. Alberta families deserve real schools, built on time. They deserve full amenities, adequate staff, and infrastructure that lasts and supports learning. The government must be honest: it has promised more than it has delivered. It’s time to acknowledge that promises are not progress. The clock is ticking, and every student without a proper desk represents a broken commitment.
Parents, teachers and community members must demand accountability now. Write to your MLA, attend school board meetings and speak up in public consultations. Push for transparent timelines and accelerated construction, not just temporary fixes. Public education deserves real schools that provide a physical environment that can support teaching and learning.
If the government truly values education, it’s time to prove it—not in words, but in bricks and mortar.
Editor-in-Chief, ATA News
I welcome your comments. Contact me at kristine.wilkinson@ata.ab.ca.
