Kira Schulz and her daughter Skyelar Schmidt walk through the grounds of École Edwards Elementary School in Airdrie, Alta., on July 4. Ms. Schulz is concerned about overcrowding in schools after learning that her daughter Skyelar's school will convert its library and music room into classrooms to accommodate rising enrolment.Amir Salehi/The Globe and Mail
Kira Schulz is standing in the field behind her daughter’s elementary school in the Alberta city of Airdrie and trying to make sense of space.
If the school adds modular classrooms to accommodate new students – the local school division has asked the government for several – where will the children play, Ms. Schulz wonders.
Inside the school, the issue of space is even more vexing.
Earlier this year, the school in this fast-growing city north of Calgary informed parents that in order to accommodate an extra grade, going from K-5 to K-6, the library, the music room and the wellness centre would have to be converted to classroom space to accommodate approximately 175 new students.
Alberta population boom causing a conundrum over electoral boundaries
“There’s been a massive drive to increase populations everywhere right now, but we have zero infrastructure to keep up with it,” Ms. Schulz said of the province.
Indeed, the problem Airdrie is facing of crowded schools is one many towns and cities throughout Alberta are struggling with.
Critics say the “Alberta is Calling” campaign, a government initiative to attract new residents, has been a victim of its own success, with the number of people migrating to the province outpacing the number of new schools needed for their children.
The government says it is taking “bold action” by investing billions to build or renovate new schools.
Population growth in Alberta has been setting records in recent years, including adding 202,324 new residents in 2023, the largest annual increase in the province’s history.
Skyelar flips through a book while standing beside her mother at a Little Free Library in Airdrie, Alta., on July 4, 2025.Amir Salehi/The Globe and Mail
Much of Alberta’s growth is because of international migration. But a large number of people from other provinces, mostly Ontario and B.C., have been drawn to Alberta.
Last year, 43,750 people from other parts of Canada moved to the province, a number shy of the record 55,107 people from elsewhere in the country who moved to Alberta in 2023.
Sarah Parchewsky, a Calgary parent of three, says surging population growth is pushing class sizes and teachers to their limits.
Last year, at her daughter’s elementary school, there were 46 students in a Grade 3 and 4 split class overseen by two rotating teachers, and the school library has had to be turned into a classroom, Ms. Parchewsky said.
“We keep getting more and more people coming to Calgary, but where is the infrastructure? How are we actually going to make things better for our school system?” she said.
Alberta Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides says federal immigration policies are partly to blame.
“Interprovincial migration and out-of-control federal immigration have led to a surge in the number of students within the province, and this has placed a significant strain on our education system,” he said in a statement e-mailed to The Globe and Mail.
“But we are taking bold action,” he said. That includes a “historic” $8.6-billion to build or renovate more than 130 schools across the province, an investment that will create more than 200,000 student spaces in Alberta.
Frustrated parents say this work should have begun years ago, and the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA), which is set to go on strike next month if a deal can’t be reached with the province, says that crowded classrooms is a main issue for them.
A survey of teachers conducted by the union and released earlier this year found that 69 per cent said their class sizes increased this year over last.
Alberta population surge causing raft of political and financial problems for the province
As well, 90 per cent said there has been an increase in the complexity of the students they have in their classrooms but a decrease in the supports needed, says ATA president Jason Schilling.
“We’re seeing that 40 seems to be the new 30 in Alberta when it comes to classroom size,” he said. “Teachers are struggling to keep up with the demands of their classrooms.”
Julie Kusiek, chair of the Edmonton Public School Board, says that “unprecedented enrolment growth” has meant approximately 5,000 new students each year, the equivalent, she said of five new kindergarten to Grade 9 schools annually.
The board currently has 13 new school projects under way, although the first one isn’t expected to open until 2028. The board of trustees has also requested 10 additional new schools in the next provincial budget.
“Certainly, Alberta went calling. The call was answered, and now it’s time to build the schools and invest in our students in public education,” Ms. Kusiek said. “Every year, more and more of our schools get to 100-per-cent capacity or greater, and that trend is only going to continue until we get more schools opening.”
Kielan Buzzard, whose six-year-old daughter attends the same school in Airdrie as Ms. Schulz’s child, says that crowded schools means that students aren’t getting the education they deserve.
“We’ve got teachers that are burnt out. We’ve got a lack of resources and specialized programs. How are students going to get the attention and support they need?” she said.
Michael Radziwon says that overcrowding poses particular challenges for his 11-year-old daughter, who was diagnosed with ADHD and autism last year.
“She’s definitely not getting the support she needs,” said Mr. Radziwon, who lives in Airdrie. “She has difficulty just finding a quiet space.”
With large class sizes and students such as his daughter, Mr. Radziwon said, teachers are faced with an almost impossible task that hurts students’ ability to learn.
“How is a teacher supposed to do their job when they’re faced with a class of 37 kids and that kind of classroom composition? It’s just so unfair to everyone,” he said.