Opinion: Want young people to stay in Alberta? Invest in post-secondary education

Alberta has many advantages, but its greatest one is our people. Alberta’s strong economy — its burgeoning tech sector and world-renowned strengths in energy, health care and agriculture — is rooted in our people. For generations, the best and the brightest have flocked to Alberta for the opportunity our province provides, but increasingly, young Albertans have to leave to get an education. Many will never come back.

If we want young Albertans to see their future in Alberta, we must support them with access to the educational opportunities they seek. By 2030, the number of young people between 18 and 24 in Alberta will grow by more than 20 per cent. We owe it to them to do all we can to provide them with the opportunity to stay in Alberta to raise their families, start a business or work in the many areas of our economy facing labour shortages.

The trend of leaving Alberta to get a start in life has already begun. Before 2007, Alberta drew more post-secondary students from other parts of Canada than we lost. Since 2007, this trend has reversed, and we are now losing more Alberta students than we are gaining from other parts of Canada.

In 2018-2019, 14,000 students left Alberta to study elsewhere, a larger number than any other province in Canada. The students who leave the province are putting roots down elsewhere. Many will never come back.

These numbers come at a time when our province is facing critical labour shortages. There’s a current need for health-care workers, and by 2030, experts predict an acute need for more engineering, science and business professionals, too. The Government of Alberta anticipates a need for more teachers, information systems analysts and consultants, accounting technicians, and graphic designers. The government forecasts that we will need more than 34,000 new seats by 2030 to meet the demands of our young population and new families moving to Alberta.

Beginning in last year’s provincial budget, the Government of Alberta responded by increasing the number of enrolment spaces for post-secondaries provincewide. This was a welcome move, but it comes after years of reductions. We will continue to lose our young people to other provinces until we add significantly more seats.

As our application numbers continue to rise, gaining entry into our universities is becoming ever more difficult. We are turning away far too many highly talented Alberta applicants. This will only increase without more support from the provincial government.

We know parents are concerned. They want their children to see a future for themselves in Alberta. We also want to offer these students the opportunity to study right here at home and see their talents contribute to a diversified and robust Alberta economy.

Now is the time to address this challenge. We haven’t a moment to lose. Tuition revenue covers less than half the cost of educating a student. We can’t grow our enrolment without the financial support of the Government of Alberta. We will continue to press the Government of Alberta to partner with us to expand our enrolment to meet this demand.

We owe this to young Albertans — and to Alberta’s future.

Bill Flanagan is president and vice-chancellor of the University of Alberta. Ed McCauley is president and vice-chancellor of the University of Calgary.