N.S. tuition second-highest in Canada

[SIZE="3"]Nova Scotia university students are no longer paying the highest tuition in Canada, according to Statistics Canada numbers released Tuesday.

Tuition fees for full-time students enrolled in undergraduate degree programs at Nova Scotia universities dropped by 3.1 per cent, or $236, for the 2009-2010 academic year.

That means Nova Scotia students are now paying, on average, the second-highest tuition fees in the country at $5,696 per year.[/SIZE]
[SIZE="5"][COLOR="Red"]Ontario universities have the highest tuition fees, at $5,951, the report found. Ontario fees increased by five per cent this year, the limit legislated by the provincial government.[/COLOR] [/SIZE]
[SIZE="5"][COLOR="Blue"]Quebec undergraduate students still pay the lowest tuition fees in Canada, an average of $2,272 per year.[/COLOR][/SIZE]
[SIZE="3"]Last year, Stats Can found that Nova Scotia still had the highest undergraduate tuition fees of any province at $5,932 — despite a $200 drop from 2007-2008.

The decline can be attributed to a three-year tuition freeze announced by the provincial government in March 2008.

The government and Nova Scotia's 11 post-secondary schools said the new funding agreement would help make a university education more affordable and attract students to Nova Scotia.[/SIZE]

[SIZE="3"]Tuition averages $4,917 countrywide

This year, Stats Can found that Canadian students in undergraduate programs faced a 3.6 per cent increase in fees for the 2009-10 academic year — the same as the previous year. The average tuition in Canada is $4,917.[/SIZE]
[COLOR="red"][SIZE="3"]Tuition fees in New Brunswick and Newfoundland-Labrador did not change for the 2009-2010 year. University students in Newfoundland are paying an average of $2,619 per year, while students in New Brunswick are paying an average of $5,479.[/SIZE] [/COLOR]

[SIZE="3"]Students attending university in Prince Edward Island are paying an average of $4,710, an increase of four per cent from last year.

Students in two provinces that ended tuition freezes are now paying higher fees. Manitoba fees increased by 4.3 per cent to $3,377 from $3,238. Fees increased in Saskatchewan by 3.4 per cent to $5,238 from $5,064.

In British Columbia, students faced a two per cent increase, bringing the average tuition fee to $4,840, while Alberta students are paying four per cent more, for an average of $5,520 per year.[/SIZE]