Are young Canadians being properly prepped to earn in the future?
Andrew Lo, chief executive officer at Embark, framed the challenge plainly. “This data shows Canadians are already rethinking the path,” he said. “More parents than ever see trades and apprenticeships as a smart, viable route to a great career, right alongside university. We’re focused on making sure families can save for whichever path their child chooses, without having to bet everything on one outcome.”
AI is making education more expensive, not less
A widespread assumption has been that AI would lower the cost of learning through automation, personalisation, and scale.
The survey suggests Canadians are not buying it. A significant majority (59 per cent) expect they will need to save more for postsecondary education because of AI, compared to just six per cent who expect to save less.
Concern about the cost of postsecondary education overall is near-universal, with 82 per cent of respondents reporting they are worried about it.
That anxiety is well-founded: a four-year university education in Canada was projected to cost an average of $101,319 in 2025 (the first time that figure has crossed the $100,000 threshold) and for parents of newborns, costs are forecast to rise a further 38 per cent to $137,490 over the next 18 years, according to earlier Embark research.
