PRINCE ALBERT — The Prince Albert Catholic School Division takes part each year in the Toonies for Tuition campaign.
At the board's regular meeting on Monday, May 26, CFO Greg McEwen reported that the campaign raised $6,441,99. This was a slight decrease from the $6,526.63 raised last year.
Each year, a trophy is presented for the highest provincial and highest school board/division winner, and the Catholic division claimed the award last year.
The Canadian Catholic Trustees Association has the original trophy and wants to pass it on to the division. Director of Education Lorel Trumier said this happened due to special circumstances.
“We were at the Saskatchewan Catholic School Board Association Spring Assembly and a representative from the Canadian Catholic Trustees Association, the executive director (Rose Burton Spohn) was there,” Trumier explained. “She was at our table, and we were talking about Toonies for Tuition, and she said she had the original trophy. We believe that to be a trophy that (late longtime trustee) Bert Provost purchased.”
"She said I would really like to return this. Our school division has its name on it many years in a row for the highest number of dollars raised per capita for the Toonies for Tuition campaign,” Trumier added.
Albert Provost was one of the pioneers of the fundraiser and a longtime advocate for Catholic education.
“We'll obviously reach out to his family to see if they would like to keep it, and if not, then we will definitely have a home for it at our school division office,” Trumier said.
Individual school donation totals were not provided this year.
The initiative began in 2011 and was spearheaded in Canada by Provost, who passed away in 2024.
The goal is to raise two dollars per student in the division for the endowment fund of the Canadian Catholic School Trustees Association.
Trumier said she was pleased to see that the division hit the Toonie goal for the year.
"We really thank our families and our staff, and our students for their support in this campaign. As we know, Catholic Education is not funded across Canada for all students who are wanting Catholic education. It's not all publicly funded. And this helps to support many, many students across the country,” Trumier said.
The board approves the fundraiser annually. Many families in Canada need to pay tuition to attend Catholic schools. The CCSTA, through the Toonies for Tuition Endowment Fund, alleviates the burden on these families who live in provinces where Catholic education has limited or no public funding.
Every Catholic school division fundraised for the initiative in 2025 to help bring the Catholic education experience to students who may not have this opportunity.
