VICTORIA—The BC Teachers’ Federation responded today to the government’s 2026 provincial budget, which maintained status quo funding for public education at a time of cuts to other areas.

Budget 2026 includes $634 million over three years in new funding for teachers, student services, and inclusive learning. This figure reflects student enrollment estimates and the rising number of students with complex needs.

BCTF President Carole Gordon said that while it’s positive that public education was not a target of dramatic cuts, the budget doesn’t address long-standing issues like the overall funding shortfall for inclusive education, and it adds pressure on families who need more support.

“This budget stays the course for public education and provides some consistency. However, we know that kids deserve robust and forward-looking investment in their learning environments,” Gordon said.

“Status quo means government funding still won’t cover the real cost of inclusive education to school districts, for example. That means school districts must either pull that money from other services or allow students with some of the most complex needs to go without,” Gordon said.

Even when districts make up for the funding shortfall, 46% of surveyed teachers have said they still felt that students with disabilities or diverse needs were having their needs only slightly or not at all met.

Gordon said it was positive to see the funding for the expansion of school-based childcare, which will support families and help with recruitment and retention of education assistants, who are some of teachers’ closest partners in the care and support of students.

However, she expressed concern about the pause on the $10-a-day daycare expansion and other moves that will hurt families, such as a tax bump on the lowest income bracket and barriers to support for families of kids with complex needs.

“Education does not exist in isolation, and when governments choose restraint over investment, classrooms feel the impact. When families struggle, schools do their best to step in to support kids,” Gordon said.

During a period of fiscal restraint, the Federation emphasized the importance of taxpayer funds going toward public schools. Budget 2026 maintains the funding formula for independent schools, including elite private schools, with more than $600 million in operating funding.

“Public schools welcome every child through their doors, and we know that working families will feel the impacts of restraint,” Gordon said.

Highlights of the budget:

• $3.9 billion in capital spending for K–12 school projects
• $167 million for the Classroom Enhancement Fund for additional teachers for all students, special education teachers, psychologists, and counsellors
• $415.1 million to fund public school enrolment; $46.2 million for independent school enrollment.

Media contact:

Amy Smart
Assistant Director, Media and Public Relations
BC Teachers’ Federation
asmart@bctf.ca
604-871-1881