Newly announced schools in Edmonton will focus largely on capacity needs in the outer edges of the city.

The province’s 2026 budget, introduced last month, earmarks provincial funding for eight new schools and two replacement schools in the city.

“It’s incredibly urgent. Our population as a province has grown tremendously over the last two or three years,” said Edmonton Minister Demetrios Nicolaides. “That has cascaded into our school divisions.”

The education minister announced details on Edmonton AM ahead of a Monday news conference.

There will be four new schools for the Edmonton public division, including K-9 schools in Aster, River’s Edge and Stillwater. A K-6 school is in the works for Crystallina Nera on the northern edge of the Anthony Henday.

Edmonton Catholic will build a new K-9 in Kirkness. The one new high school on the list will be in Windermere/Glenridding Heights. The list also includes a replacement school at the St. Alphonsus School site.

Conseil scolaire Centre-Nord is approved for two new schools and one replacement school. Those will be located in southwest Edmonton and north Edmonton. There also will be a replacement for École Jean-Claude Mahé.

“These schools will collectively create more than 8,400 student spaces,” Nicolaides said.

All 10 projects are in either the planning or design phase.

The province said more than 80,000 students have joined Alberta schools in the last three years.

The locations and types of schools are selected based on guidance from the schools divisions, according to the education minister.

“We look at their top choices. I like to provide them with a lot of deference. They know their communities best. They know their classrooms,” Nicolaides said.

“These are new projects that are being added to the capital plan. There are now 37 active school projects under way,” he said.

The Education Ministry says in the 2026-2027 fiscal year there will be 12 schools opening around Alberta.

Following a similar announcement in Calgary, Alberta Teachers’ Association President Jason Schilling said the new projects will help with enrolment pressures, but that he wants to see more done to address current class sizes.

Nicolaides pointed to the province’s “schools now” initiative, which seeks to add 200,000 new and updated student spaces by 2031-2032.