Egalitarianism in Canadian Higher Education: Retrospect and Prospect

Abstract

Canada is often cited as an exception to academic capitalism, and features the egalitarianism in conducting and managing higher education. Over the years, Canadian universities served to provide comparable university education to a population that was sparsely distributed over an immense geographical area. The increasing scarceness of resources for higher education, fuelled by a largely neoliberal process of globalization, has been causing changes in Canadian higher education towards forming a differentiated university sector. Nevertheless, the traditions die hard. With a predominant social value deeply rooted in equity and social justice, Canadian higher education and universities continue to profile many aspects of the egalitarian legacy. Drawing on the notions of liberalism (pure liberalism, compensatory liberalism and neoliberalism) and academic capitalism, this paper analyzes the data displayed in Maclean’s University Rankings and CAUT’s (Canadian Association of University Teachers) Almanac of Post-Secondary Education in Canada, and illustrates the above points.