Alberta petition to end public funding for private schools fails to meet signature threshold

A citizen-led petition calling on the Alberta government to end public funding for accredited private schools has fallen short of the number of signatures required to trigger further legislative consideration.

In a statement released Tuesday, Chief Electoral Officer Gordon McClure confirmed that just over 124,000 Albertans signed the initiative petition. Under provincial rules, organizers needed approximately 177,000 valid signatures to meet the threshold set out in Alberta’s citizen initiative legislation.

The petition was launched by Calgary teacher Alicia Taylor. It asked voters whether the Government of Alberta should discontinue its practice of allocating public funds to accredited independent schools. In her application, Taylor argued that redirecting funds currently designated for private schools could help address ongoing pressures within the public education system, including classroom size and resource constraints.

Alberta provides partial public funding to accredited private schools under existing policy. Supporters of the funding model have argued it offers families educational choice, while critics contend public dollars should be directed exclusively to the public system. The issue has drawn debate in recent years as school boards across the province report enrolment growth and infrastructure challenges.

With the petition failing to meet the required signature count, the proposal will not proceed to a legislative committee or referendum stage under current rules.