Dear John,

My name is Paige MacPherson and I’m the Associate Director of Education Policy here at the Fraser Institute.

As a mom of three young kids, nothing is more important to me than ensuring a quality education for all Canadian children.

That’s why I watched the COVID school closures – and the serious costs they inflicted on students – very closely.

When the pandemic hit at the beginning of 2020, entire populations “stayed home and saved lives” in the face of uncertainty about the severity and transmissibility of the virus.

Quickly, however, data emerged about the actual risk posed by COVID-19 to various age groups.

It was clear early on that children were at very low risk from COVID-19. And there was no good evidence showing that school closures would slow the transmission.

What there was evidence of very early on – raised in 2020 and based on years of established research – was that school closures would do more harm than good.

Those harms are now clear. Canadian kids have suffered historic learning loss – new international test scores confirm it.

Some kids left school altogether. Many faced mental health crises. Inequality has deepened.

This shouldn’t surprise anyone in government. Data rolled in from mid-2020 onward showing school closures would negatively impact kids, and showing their low risk of severe COVID-19 illness.

This new data should have guided Canadian governments’ responses to the risk, balancing virus transmission with the well-being of people and the economy.

But, as we know, school closures ended up spanning three school years, and Canadian governments did not change their response based on the data.

Here in my home province of Nova Scotia, the government closed schools for 125 days – the most in Canada aside from Ontario. A review of test scores since then show steep drops in math scores in both provinces.

And according to a Mental Health Commission of Canada survey, for young people the top concern was not the virus – but rather isolation and loneliness.

This is very likely the reason why another study of ours this year showed that Canadian parents are increasingly looking to independent schools and homeschooling for more choice in how their children are educated.

John, the Fraser Institute is one of the only organizations doing this type of crucial research.

Many people would like to move on and forget about all the bad decision-making made during the pandemic, and forget the harm it imposed on our children.

But we won’t let them. If we don’t get Canadian students back on track, research shows their lifetime earnings will take a significant hit – as will our economy as a whole. We owe it to the next generation of Canadians to make sure that our children receive high-quality education and that our education policy is reflective of sound evidence!

If you agree, I’d like to ask you to make a donation to the Fraser Institute today. We don’t take government money to conduct our research – we rely on supporters like you!

Thank you so much for your support. From my family to yours, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and all the best for 2024!

Sincerely,

Paige MacPherson
Associate Director, Education Policy
The Fraser Institute