Alberta Students Deserve More

Provincial Policy and Budget Submission

Explore this year's core priorities and the additional areas of advocacy and action that are important to Alberta Students.

ASEC is working on documents that will illustrate the unique needs of both International and Indigenous students across the province

Alberta Students Deserve

Mental Health Supports

Healthy Minds, Thriving Learners

Status of Student Mental Health

It is well documented that young adulthood is a typical period for the onset of mental illness, and worsened mental health.¹⁴,¹⁵ For instance, 26% of Canadian youth aged 16 to 21 report ‘fair’ or ‘poor’ mental health, as compared to 12% of the same cohort at the ages of 12 to 17.¹⁶ Given that 63.5% of Alberta’s post-secondary students were under the age of 25 in the most recent count,¹⁷ protecting campus mental health supports continues to be a top priority for ASEC members in the 2025-2026 academic year. We believe that by continuing to support the Post-secondary Mental Health Grant (PSMHG) as multi-year funding, the Government of Alberta can ensure post-secondary institutions are equipped with the resources they need to support students during their studies.

Increases to post-secondary mental health resources are needed, say 73.2% of students.²¹

A Case for Funding

On-campus counselling centres and services are widespread in Alberta; 96% of the province’s post-secondary institutions report having one or both.²² However, there are still many areas of needed improvement for on-campus mental health services.²²For example, when surveyed regarding their perceptions of health and well-being on campus, less than half of Canadian post-secondary students felt that they were priorities for their institution.²³From the perspective of service providers, capacity limitations have been identified across the province, negatively impacting the support students receive.¹⁹,²⁰

Adequate funding for on-campus support is crucial, given that significant barriers exist for students in accessing private or off-campus mental health services. For instance, while use of on and off-campus counselling services is equal in Canada, almost one third of students indicate that they have not been able to access either on or off-campus services, though they have considered them.²⁴ The incongruence between interest and access may be due in part to the student’s own inability to afford private care,²¹ and/or lack of coordination amongst off- and on-campus services.²⁰

Recommendations

In order to ensure they are able to thrive in their studies, Alberta students deserve robust, accessible and affordable mental health supports.

As such, the Alberta Students’ Executive Council (ASEC) recommends that the Government of Alberta:

Adjust the post-secondary mental health grant (PSMHG) amount to reflect inflation and enrolment increases since its inception in 2018, and continue to index the grant for both factors in future years.

References

(14) Ministry of Advanced Education. (2017, March 10). Advisory panel on post-secondary mental health : final recommendations report. Government of Alberta. https://open.alberta.ca/publications/advisory-panel-on-post-secondary-mental-health-final-recommendations-report

(15) TELUS Health. (2025). TELUS Mental Health Index. https://go.telushealth.com/telus-mental-health-index

(16) Statistics Canada. (2025, January 16). Rising mental health concerns among youth. StatsCAN Plus. https://www.statcan.gc.ca/o1/en/plus/7642-rising-mental-health-concerns-among-youth

(17) Statistics Canada. Table 37-10-0015-01 Postsecondary enrolments, by credential type, age group, registration status, program type and gender

(18) Healthy Campus Alberta. (2025, May 14). Key Insights from CIHI 2025 Survey. https://www.healthycampusalberta.ca/webinars/key-insights-from-the-canadian-institute-for-health-informations-2025-survey-on-navigation-and-early-intervention-of-mental-health-and-substance-use-services/

(19) Healthy Campus Alberta. (2024). Edmonton Regional Gathering Report . https://www.healthycampusalberta.ca/resources/2024-2025-edmonton-regional-gathering-report/

(20) Healthy Campus Alberta. (2025). Calgary Regional Gathering Report . https://www.healthycampusalberta.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/2025-Calgary-Regional-Gathering-Report.pdf

(21) Moghimi, E., Stephenson, C., Gutierrez, G., Jagayat, J., Layzell, G., Patel, C., McCart, A., Gibney, C., Langstaff, C., Ayonrinde, O., Khalid-Khan, S., Milev, R., Snelgrove-Clarke, E., Soares, C., Omrani, M., & Alavi, N. (2023). Mental health challenges, treatment experiences, and care needs of post-secondary students: a cross-sectional mixed-methods study. BMC Public Health , 23 (655), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-15452-x

(22) Heck, E., Jaworska, N., DeSomma, E., Dhoopar, A. S., MacMaster, F. P., Dewey, D., & MacQueen, G. (2014). A survey of mental health services at post-secondary institutions in Alberta. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry. Revue Canadienne de Psychiatrie , 59 (5), 250–258. https://doi.org/10.1177/070674371405900504

(23) American College Health Association. (2022). American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment III: Canadian Reference Group Executive Summary Spring 2022 . https://www.acha.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/NCHA-III_SPRING_2022_CANADIAN_REFERENCE_GROUP_EXECUTIVE_SUMMARY.pdf

(24) Potts, T., & Margetts, G. (2024). Moving Mountains: Student Resilience Against the Cost of Living Pressures . Canadian Alliance of Student Associations. https://assets.nationbuilder.com/casaacae/pages/3601/attachments/original/1707327910/MovingMountains.pdf?1707327910

Alberta Students Deserve

Post-Secondary Funding

Fix the Foundation

The Cracked Foundation

The pattern of declining government investment in Alberta’s post-secondary institutions (PSIs) since 2019 continues to place stress on institutions and students, jeopardizing the quality of post-secondary education in Alberta and ultimately, the future competitiveness of the province.

With government funding accounting for only 42% of institutional budgets in 2025/26,¹ publicly funded institutions have been forced to rely on students and other funding sources to shoulder the increasing financial burden. Between 2020/21 and 2024/25, domestic undergraduate tuition increased 32% in Alberta.³ While alternative funding sources may be more plentiful for larger institutions, sources of viable private funding are severely limited for ASEC members, representing many of the smaller, rural campuses in the province. Post-secondary funding should acknowledge, and be responsive to, the diverse experiences of students across the province, varying based on their institution’s location, size and local environment.

Domestic students continue to benefit from the annual 2% tuition cap introduced by this government in 2023, and the additional regulations on mandatory non-instructional fees (MNIFs) brought in by the recent amendments to the Alberta Tuition Framework. Students are grateful for the greater predictability and transparency that these changes provide, and are pleased to see continued stability for students reflected as a priority in the Mintz panel’s recommendations. However, students are also subject to the increasing financial pressures facing all Canadians, such as steadily rising rent⁴ and soaring food costs.⁵

Furthermore, a staggering 90% of Alberta Students feel that navigating the post-secondary process is complicated;⁶ a symptom of the fact that “our post-secondary system lacks an overall direction.”⁷ We argue that a restoration of adequate funding to support institutions and students, as confirmed by the Mintz panel’s recommendations, is a foundational step towards a clear, unified vision for exceptional post-secondary education in this province.

A Case for Funding

As outlined in the Alberta 2030 10-year strategy, a thriving post-secondary system is essential to increasing innovation in Alberta and fostering productivity.⁷ Indeed, regardless of whether they pursue a certificate, diploma, or degree, Canadian post-secondary graduates are less likely to be unemployed than those who have obtained a high school diploma or below,⁸ and benefit from higher earning potential.⁹ Furthermore, investing in post-secondary education benefits the economy at large; for example, Ontario reports an estimated $1.36 return for every $1 of government investment.¹⁰ Albertans too place great value on obtaining a post-secondary education, with 70% of students indicating that they feel it is hard to succeed in life without one.⁶

Targeted Enrolment Expansion (TEE) provides an opportunity to better align program offerings with industry needs and student demand, helping to stem the flow of students leaving Alberta to pursue post-secondary elsewhere.¹¹ However, it is crucial that TEE think expansively about the wide breadth of skills that support productivity,¹² and avoid funding an overly narrow set of sectors at the expense of the often unpredictable sites of future innovation.¹³ Therefore, ASEC supports the continuation of TEE, insofar as adequate base operating grant increases are made to support core services for expanded student enrolment. Ultimately, increasing the quality and affordability of post-

secondary education in Alberta is a key prerequisite to retaining talented young Albertans and ensuring that young-adults are presented with opportunities for a prosperous, fulfilling life in their home-province.

Recommendations

Over time, the continued chronic underfunding of post-secondary operational grants will only increase the unsustainability of an already overburdened system.

As such, the Alberta Students’ Executive Council (ASEC) recommends that the Government of Alberta:

Institute a funding formula that adds predictability for institutions and accounts for holistic measures including but not limited to: CPI, location, enrolment, and student experience metrics.
Restore funding to at least 50% of institutional revenue at publicly-funded institutions by 2027.

References

(1) Alberta Treasury Board and Finance. (2025). Fiscal Plan: Meeting the Challenge 2025-28. Government of Alberta. https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/5ebd05dc-d598-440b-9da2-25f37cd99a49/resource/43bccd72-36fa-41a4-becd-cb8c28da9683/download/budget-2025-fiscal-plan-2025-28.pdf

(2) Alberta Treasury Board and Finance. (2020). Fiscal Plan: A Plan for Jobs and the Economy 2020-23. Government of Alberta. https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/05bd4008-c8e3-4c84-949e-cc18170bc7f7/resource/79caa22e-e417-44bd-8cac-64d7bb045509/download/budget-2020-fiscal-plan-2020-23.pdf

(3) Statistics Canada. Table 37-10-0045-01 Canadian and international tuition fees by level of study (current dollars).

(4) CMHC. (n.d.). Alberta - Historical Average Rents by Bedroom Type. CMHC Rental Market Survey. Retrieved September 10, 2025, from https://www03.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/hmip-pimh/en/TableMapChart/Table?ableId=2.2.11&GeographyId=48&GeographyTypeId=2&DisplayAs=Table&#

(5) Charlebois, S., Rankin, A., Taylor, S., Cross, B., Keselj, V., Colombo, S., Kenny, T.-A., Keogh, J., Marignani, P. A., Music, J., Nason, R., Ozbilge, A., Taylor, S., Fraser, E., Jackson, E., Kupferschmidt, K., Taylor, G., Corradini, M., Kupferschmidt, C., … McFarlane, J. (2025). Canada’s Food Price Report 2025. https://www.dal.ca/sites/agri-food/research/canada-s-food-price-report-2025.html

(6) Embark. (2024). National and Regional Poll Data . https://www.embark.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Regional-Data-Tables-For-Wesbite-Student-Poll-2024.pdf

(7) Government of Alberta. (2021). Alberta 2030: building skills for jobs: a 10-year strategy for post-secondary education. https://open.alberta.ca/publications/alberta-2030-building-skills-for-jobs-10-year-strategy-post-secondary-education

(8) Statistics Canada. Table 14-10-0118-01 Labour force characteristics by educational degree, annual.

(9) Battaglia, R., & Xu, A. (2024). Proof point: Financial returns after a post-secondary education have diminished. RBC. https://www.rbc.com/en/thought-leadership/economics/featured-insights/proof-point-financial-returns-after-a-post-secondary-education-have-diminished/

(10) Government of Ontario. (2023, March 2). Ontario Putting Public Colleges and Universities on Stable Footing Now and into the Future [News Release]. Ontario Newsroom. https://news.ontario.ca/en/release/1002771/ontario-putting-public-colleges-and-universities-on-stable-footing-now-and-into-the-future

(11) Usher, A. (2022, May 25). The Alberta Exodus. Higher Education Strategy Associates. https://higheredstrategy.com/the-alberta-exodus/

(12) RBC Economics. (2025, March 31). A Smarter Path: The case for postsecondary education reform. RBC. http://www.rbc.com/en/thought-leadership/the-growth-project/a-smarter-path-the-case-for-postsecondary-education-reform/

(13) Council of Canadian Academies. (2015). Some assembly required: STEM skills and Canada’s economic productivity. The Expert Panel on STEM Skills for the Future. https://cca-reports.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/stemfullreporten.pdf

Alberta Students Deserve

Food Security

Feed the Future

Food Insecurity on Campus

Like all Canadians, post-secondary students are grappling with mounting financial pressures. Whether it be the pinch of volatile inflation rates,²⁵ the untenable cost of housing, or increased food prices,²⁶ the cost of living crisis is pushing many students into food insecurity. At a national level, food insecurity is increasing, and becoming more severe.²⁷ Last year, Food Banks Canada recorded an unprecedented hunger count, with monthly food bank visits in March 2024 surpassing 2 million.²⁶ A total of 177,832 of those food bank visits were in Alberta, representing a 92.4% increase in the number of visits since 2019.²⁶

However, data also shows that post-secondary students are especially vulnerable to food insecurity, even when living above the poverty line.²⁶ With food prices predicted to increase another 3-5% in 2025,⁵ the purchasing power of already limited student budgets will be further restricted. Therefore, it is crucial that the government take decisive action to support students facing food insecurity.

Food insecurity doesn’t only impact nutrition. Experiencing food insecurity has been shown to negatively affect numerous aspects of an individual’s life, ranging from their physical and mental health, to their employment and relationships.²⁸ For students, academic performance can also be adversely affected.²⁹ Additionally, several impacts of food insecurity have been identified as being unique to post-secondary students, including the heightened financial precarity that comes from depending on lump sum student loan payments instead of regular monthly income.²⁹

30.9%

42.9%

7.7%

of Albertans were food-insecure in 2024, more than in any other province.²⁷

of Canadian post-secondary students report being food insecure.²³

of Food Bank users were post-secondary students in 2024.²⁶

A Case For Funding

Beyond the concern for individuals’ quality of life, there is also an important financial incentive for provincial governments to address food insecurity. Data shows that food insecurity places an increased burden on Canada’s health care systems through increased visits to acute care and use of mental health care services.³⁰

Addressing the crisis of food insecurity requires a two-pronged approach. Most broadly, tackling the surging cost of living, increasing wages and social assistance, lowering income tax, as well as addressing underlying systemic inequalities that contribute to food insecurity will ensure long lasting change.²⁸,³¹ However, there is also an urgent need for food.

The vast majority of the students’ associations in ASEC’s membership operate programs that support students facing food insecurity. These programs are tailored to unique campus and regional needs, ensuring all students have access to food when they need it; examples include: food pantries, food hampers, and campus food banks.

Some of these programs received the Food Security Grant from the Government of Alberta in 2023-2024, which played an integral role in their successful operation. Without this key source of funding, students’ associations are left to shoulder the financial burden of increased demand for food supports on campus.

Given their existing infrastructure, we believe that the most immediately impactful method of supporting students facing food insecurity is to ensure adequate funding for these campus-based programs. By their very nature, students’ associations are charged under the PSLA with the welfare of students. Data shows that campus food banks can be highly welcoming spaces.³² Additionally, a recent campus food bank survey in Alberta revealed that approximately half of students using the service never access additional food supports off-campus, further highlighting the integral role of these programs.³² Fortifying the funding for campus food security programs will support students’ associations across the province in fulfilling their mandates, and safeguard the wellbeing of Alberta’s students.

Recommendations

Today’s post-secondary students are the future innovators, leaders, and carers of this province; they deserve to be well nourished, and to have the financial security to focus on their studies without compromising on adequate nutrition.

To help achieve this goal, ASEC recommends that the Government of Alberta:

Continue the Food Security Grant, initiated in 2022-2023, including eligibility for post-secondary students’ association applications.

References

(25) Bank of Canada. (n.d.). Inflation: Definitions, graphs and data . Retrieved September 10, 2025, from https://www.bankofcanada.ca/rates/indicators/capacity-and-inflation-pressures/inflation/

(26) Food Banks Canada. (2024). Hunger Count 2024: Buckling under the strain . https://foodbankscanada.ca/hunger-in-canada/hungercount/

(27) PROOF. (2025, May 5). New data on household food insecurity in 2024 . https://proof.utoronto.ca/2025/new-data-on-household-food-insecurity-in-2024/

(28) McNicoll, S., & Curtis, A. (2020). Beyond Hunger: The Hidden Impacts of Food Insecurity in Canada . Community Food Centres Canada. https://cfccanada.ca/CFCC/media/Beyond-Hunger/Beyond-Hunger.pdf

(29) Bessey, M., Frank, L., & Williams, P. L. (2020). Starving to be a student: The experiences of food insecurity among undergraduate students in Nova Scotia, Canada. Canadian Food Studies , 7 (1), 107–125. https://doi.org/10.15353/cfs-rcea.v7i1.375

(30) PROOF. (2022, September 9). What are the implications of food insecurity for health and health care? https://proof.utoronto.ca/food-insecurity/what-are-the-implications-of-food-insecurity-for-health-and-health-care/

(31) PROOF. (2023). Provincial Policy Levers to Reduce Household food Insecurity . https://proof.utoronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/PROOF_FACTSHEET_Provincial-policies-052021.pdf

(32) CFB. (2024). CFB 2024 Campus Hunger Survey . http://lookerstudio.google.com/reporting/18225a1b-ef2b-4b54-b94b-4d6ea74ebfe2/page/p_1yybh646gd?feature=opengraph

Broadly, young people in Canada continue to face barriers to accessing support, with limited hours, locations, and long wait times among the most prevalent.¹⁸ Furthermore, stigma and an absence of culturally sensitive care continue to be noted on Alberta post-secondary campuses.¹⁹ When they are available, culturally inclusive supports have been noted to increase feelings of belonging.¹⁹,²⁰ With this in mind, we advocate for the inclusion and enforcement of student consultation in the reporting and renewal process for the PSMHG, as well as evaluation of the culturally sensitive supports available.

More than 1 in 3 post-secondary students were positive for the Suicide Behavior Questionnaire-Revised (SAQR).23

Moreover, mental health challenges are fundamentally intertwined with other pressures facing students, such as financial and academic stress.¹⁹ For instance, a recent study specifically examining post-secondary students in Ontario found that finances were a barrier to accessing care for 50.5% of respondents.²¹ As such, supporting student mental health requires a holistic view of the challenges facing young people pursuing advanced education, as illustrated by ASEC’s three core priorities.

ADVOCACY OVER THE YEARS

Documents

Presentation