Petition to get Alberta to stop funding private schools fails

EDMONTON — Alberta’s chief electoral officer says a petition campaign by a Calgary teacher to cut government funding to private schools has failed.

A statement from Gordon McClure’s office says a preliminary count shows there weren’t enough signatures to meet the required threshold of about 177,000 names in 120 days.

It says a little more than 124,000 people signed the petition brought forward by teacher Alicia Taylor.

The petition asked: “Should the Government of Alberta end its current practice of allocating public funds to accredited independent (private) schools?”

Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides has said Alberta supports private schools and cutting their funding would put pressure on strained public schools.

Taylor wrote in her application that diverting dollars set aside for private schools would alleviate issues in the public system.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 17, 2026.

The Canadian Press