governments, although the federal government makes the CST transfers
to the provinces to finance part of the costs.
Primary and Secondary Education
Basic education is publicly financed for both efficiency and equity
reasons. In terms of efficiency, a literate and numerate population is
necessary for an informed electorate that can participate in democratic
society. Therefore, society as a whole is better off when all its citizens
have at least a basic level of education. The equity argument is based on
the fact that basic skills acquired in primary and secondary schools are
usually necessary in order for individuals to secure careers that can
provide reasonable incomes. If basic education were not financed by the
government, many low-income households could not afford to send their
children to school. The result in many cases would be a vicious circle of
poverty in which children from low-income families would lack basic
education and thus secure only poor jobs and earn only low incomes
themselves.
Post-Secondary Education
In Canada, universities are public institutions, and university education is
heavily subsidized by government. In 2016, total revenues for universities
and colleges were $34.8 billion, with 49 percent coming from various
levels of government. Only 28 percent came from student tuition fees,
and the remaining 23 percent came from various other sources.