Contents
- Canadian school enrollment statistics: national totals and growth
- Canadian school enrollment statistics: provincial and territorial changes
- Canadian school enrollment statistics: grade-level enrollment
- Canadian school enrollment statistics: language-program participation
- Canadian school enrollment statistics: school-age population context
- Canadian school enrollment statistics: educator workforce and graduates
- Sources
Canadian school enrollment statistics: national totals and growth
Canadian elementary and secondary enrollment reached 6.1 million people across all school types in 2024/2025. The all-school-type total includes students in public, private and independent schools, as well as homeschooled students. Within that broader total, public-school enrollment rose by 86,300 people, or 1.6%, from 2023/2024 to a record 5.5 million in 2024/2025. These are distinct measures: 6.1 million describes all school types, while 5.5 million and its annual increase describe public schools. Statistics Canada, 2024/2025 release
The latest increase followed a larger annual rise. Public-school enrollment grew by 125,200, or 2.3%, from 2022/2023 to 2023/2024. Statistics Canada described that as the largest annual increase since its compilation of student enrollment statistics began in 1997/1998. The figures show that public-school enrollment continued to rise in 2024/2025, though the annual increase was smaller than the one reported for 2023/2024. They do not, by themselves, explain why the pace changed. Statistics Canada, 2023/2024 release; Statistics Canada, 2024/2025 release
Private and independent schools accounted for 8.0% of students in 2024/2025, a new high in the series described by Statistics Canada. Their share had increased for 4 consecutive years. This percentage is a share of students, not a growth rate or a school count. Read alongside the national totals, it adds a measure of how enrollment was distributed among school types. Statistics Canada, 2024/2025 release
| Measure | Reported value | Period and scope |
|---|---|---|
| Enrollment across all school types | 6.1 million people | Canada, 2024/2025 |
| Public-school enrollment | 5.5 million people | Canada, 2024/2025; record |
| Public-school annual increase | 86,300 people (+1.6%) | 2023/2024 to 2024/2025 |
| Private and independent school share | 8.0% | 2024/2025; new high |
Statistics Canada, 2024/2025 release
Canadian school enrollment statistics: provincial and territorial changes
Public-school enrollment growth differed by province in 2024/2025. Alberta recorded the strongest provincial growth rate at 2.9%, followed by Saskatchewan at 2.8%. New Brunswick’s enrollment rose 2.2%, down from 3.4% in 2023/2024. Quebec’s enrollment increased 1.9%, following a 3.4% rise the previous year. These rates describe changes in enrollment; they do not provide jurisdiction-level student totals. Statistics Canada, 2024/2025 release
| Province | Enrollment change in 2024/2025 | Comparison reported |
|---|---|---|
| Alberta | +2.9% | Strongest provincial growth rate |
| Saskatchewan | +2.8% | Second-highest provincial growth rate |
| New Brunswick | +2.2% | 3.4% in 2023/2024 |
| Quebec | +1.9% | 3.4% in 2023/2024 |
Statistics Canada, 2024/2025 release
The 2023/2024 release identified Alberta and New Brunswick as the provinces with the strongest public-school enrollment growth that year. Alberta rose 3.6%, while New Brunswick rose 3.4%. The later New Brunswick figure was 2.2% in 2024/2025, while Alberta’s was 2.9%. These year-to-year comparisons provide context for the reported rates, but the selected figures do not establish what produced the changes. Statistics Canada, 2023/2024 release; Statistics Canada, 2024/2025 release
Territorial enrollment moved in different directions in 2024/2025. It rose 3.7% in Nunavut and 3.4% in Yukon. In the Northwest Territories, it declined 0.8%, marking a fifth consecutive annual decrease. The release’s sentence reports these territorial changes without separately specifying school type, so they should be read as territorial enrollment figures in that discussion rather than assigned a narrower school-type label. Statistics Canada, 2024/2025 release
Canadian school enrollment statistics: grade-level enrollment
In public-school regular programs for youth, enrollment growth was concentrated in later grades in 2024/2025. Grades 10 to 12 rose 3.6% to a record 1.2 million students. Grade 12 enrollment alone increased 5.4%, more than 3 times the 1.4% growth rate for public-school enrollment overall in regular programs for youth. These comparisons concern regular youth programs; they should not be treated as rates for every school type or program. Statistics Canada, 2024/2025 release
At the earlier end of the grade range, junior kindergarten and kindergarten enrollment fell 1.1%. Those grades represented 9.8% of enrollment in 2024/2025, their lowest share since 2009/2010. The share and the annual change answer different questions: 9.8% is the portion of enrollment accounted for by these grades, while −1.1% is their reported change for the year. Statistics Canada, 2024/2025 release
| Grade-level measure | Value | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Grades 10 to 12 | 1.2 million; +3.6% | Public-school regular programs for youth, 2024/2025; record enrollment |
| Grade 12 | +5.4% | Public-school regular programs for youth, 2024/2025 |
| Overall regular-program enrollment for youth | +1.4% | Public schools, 2024/2025 |
| Junior kindergarten and kindergarten | −1.1%; 9.8% share | Public-school regular programs for youth, 2024/2025 |
Statistics Canada, 2024/2025 release
Canadian school enrollment statistics: language-program participation
French immersion represented 11.6% of total Canadian enrollments in 2023/2024. Its share had reached a peak of 12.3% in 2020/2021 before declining to the reported 2023/2024 level. These figures describe the program’s share of total enrollments, not the number of students in immersion or the proportion of students studying French in any form. Statistics Canada, 2023/2024 release
The national pattern was not uniform across every jurisdiction. In the Northwest Territories, French immersion represented 12.4% of enrollments in 2023/2024, up from 11.8% in 2022/2023. The release therefore reports a rising territorial share for that period alongside the broader national decline from the earlier peak. Statistics Canada, 2023/2024 release
Minority official-language programs also had different reported shares inside and outside Quebec. Outside Quebec, their enrollments were 4.3% of total enrollments in 2023/2024, down from a peak of 4.4% in 2020/2021. In Quebec, students in minority official-language programs accounted for 8.2% of enrollments in 2023/2024, an all-time low; the share had peaked at 11.1% in the early 2000s. The geographic scopes matter: the 4.3% figure excludes Quebec, while 8.2% applies to Quebec. Statistics Canada, 2023/2024 release
| Program measure | Share | Period and scope |
|---|---|---|
| French immersion | 11.6% | Total Canadian enrollments, 2023/2024; peak was 12.3% in 2020/2021 |
| French immersion | 12.4% | Northwest Territories, 2023/2024; 11.8% in 2022/2023 |
| Minority official-language programs | 4.3% | Outside Quebec, 2023/2024; peak was 4.4% in 2020/2021 |
| Minority official-language programs | 8.2% | Quebec, 2023/2024; all-time low, after a peak of 11.1% in the early 2000s |
Statistics Canada, 2023/2024 release
Canadian school enrollment statistics: school-age population context
School-age population figures are demographic context, not enrollment counts. In Canada, people aged 6 to 13 declined from 10.6% of the total population in 2001 to 8.5% in 2025. People aged 14 to 17, the age group identified as secondary school-aged in the article, declined from 5.4% in 2001 to 4.4% in 2025. These are population shares, so they cannot be read as the percentage of children enrolled in school. Statistics Canada, “Elementary and secondary school enrolment amid changing immigration levels”
The population counts show changes over time within those age groups. The number of people aged 6 to 13 declined from 3.297 million in 2001 to 2.955 million in 2011. It was 3.362 million in 2021 and 3.536 million in 2025. For people aged 14 to 17, the population peaked at 1.782 million in 2006, then declined to 1.586 million by 2018, a stated net decrease of 196,000. It later increased from 1.641 million in 2021 to 1.830 million in 2025. These historical points describe the size of age groups, not school participation. Statistics Canada, “Elementary and secondary school enrolment amid changing immigration levels”
| Population measure | Reported values | Population scope |
|---|---|---|
| Share of Canada’s population aged 6 to 13 | 10.6% in 2001; 8.5% in 2025 | Total population shares |
| Population aged 6 to 13 | 3.297 million in 2001; 2.955 million in 2011; 3.362 million in 2021; 3.536 million in 2025 | Canada |
| Share of Canada’s population aged 14 to 17 | 5.4% in 2001; 4.4% in 2025 | Total population shares |
| Population aged 14 to 17 | Peak of 1.782 million in 2006; 1.586 million in 2018; 1.641 million in 2021; 1.830 million in 2025 | Canada |
Statistics Canada, “Elementary and secondary school enrolment amid changing immigration levels”
The same article reports broader immigration and residency measures. Permanent-resident admissions grew from 226,000 in 2021 to approximately 465,000 annually from 2022 to 2025. The non-permanent-resident population was 1.442 million, or 3.8% of Canada’s total population, in 2021; in 2023, it was 2.572 million, or 6.4%. These figures describe admissions and population status, not the number of school-age newcomers or students. They should not be used as enrollment totals. Statistics Canada, “Elementary and secondary school enrolment amid changing immigration levels”
Canadian school enrollment statistics: educator workforce and graduates
Canada recorded 355,000 elementary and secondary graduates in 2024/2025, a record high and 5.5% more than a year earlier. This graduate count is a distinct outcome measure; it should not be conflated with enrollment during the same school year. Statistics Canada, 2024/2025 release
Public elementary and secondary schools employed 424,500 educators in 2024/2025. The workforce was up 0.5% from 2023/2024 and 5.2% from 5 years earlier. The first comparison is a single-year change; the second spans 5 years. Both describe the public-school educator workforce, not staffing across all school types. Statistics Canada, 2024/2025 release
Age measures add detail to that workforce total. Educators aged 55 years and older accounted for 14.3% of all educators in 2024/2025, the highest share since comparable data became available in 2002/2003. The number of educators younger than 25 declined 6.4% in 2024/2025, following a 21.6% increase in 2023/2024. The first measure is an age-group share; the second and third are annual changes in the number of educators younger than 25. Statistics Canada, 2024/2025 release
Statistics Canada’s Elementary-Secondary Education Survey collects aggregate administrative data from provincial and territorial education ministries. Its survey description says enrollment information is collected by program type, grade and sex, and by age and sex. The 2024/2025 release says the enrollment counts cover public and private or independent elementary and secondary programs and homeschooled students, measured at the start of the school year, in September or as close as possible. It also cautions that detailed provincial and territorial comparisons need care because reporting practices by school type and program vary. All numbers, including totals, are randomly rounded and subject to revision. Statistics Canada, Elementary-Secondary Education Survey; Statistics Canada, 2024/2025 release
Sources
- Elementary and secondary education: Enrolment growth slows, as school populations shift toward higher grades, 2024/2025
- Elementary and secondary education: Rising student numbers drive record enrolment in Canadian schools, 2023/2024
- Elementary and secondary school enrolment amid changing immigration levels
- Elementary-Secondary Education Survey (ESES)