For nearly a decade, provinces, school boards, and school districts have been competing to capture the coveted award: the Toonies for Tuition Trophy. 

Since its inception in 2011, the CCSTA Toonies for Tuition Trophy Challenge encourages some friendly competition amongst the provinces while supporting families who are sending their children to attend Catholic schools in partially or unfunded provinces.

The two trophy categories include the school board/division that raises the most money per FTE student and the province that raises the most funding per FTE.

CCSTA tallies the funds contributed to the program to determine which parties earn the Trophy for the year.

“We’ve really enjoyed watching the friendly competition unfold between the provinces that are fully funded, as they undertake creative and supportive initiatives to donate to Toonies for Tuition,” says CCSTA Executive Director Julian Hanlon.

Saskatchewan Roots: Its History

Former CCSTA President Mike St. Amand and his colleague, Bert Provost, first launched the Trophy Challenge. Saskatchewan took home the honours for the first six years, followed by an Alberta win and then Ontario. For the past two years, Evergreen CSRC No. 2, AB earned the top spot for the school district.

“Mike and Bert brought a competitive and friendly spirit to this initiative,” says Hanlon. “The Trophy Challenge really helped ignite the fundraising efforts and breathe new life into a much-needed cause.”

Read more: Who’s taking home the Trophy? Toonies for Tuition fundraising challenge deadline is May 15

The Toonies for Tuition Initiative is gaining some serious momentum across the country. 

To help support the schools, educators and students taking the lead on building Catholic education opportunities for all students across Canada, CCSTA collaborated with the Ottawa Catholic School Board to launch online marketing materials related to the cause.

Toonies for Tuition is a CCSTA-based initiative that works to raise money in order to help offset tuition funds for families attending Catholic schools in provinces with limited or no funding to the private education system.

And the CCSTA wanted to continue to build its momentum of support from across the country.

“Last year, when the endowment fund committee convened to distribute the funds it was suggested that a short video could be a powerful tool to help school boards and schools promote their campaigns,” explains CCSTA Executive Director Julian Hanlon.

That’s where Catherine Burnham comes in. She is the Atlantic Region Board member with the CCSTA, and she’s also the Director of Development with the Divine Mercy Catholic School in Saint John, NB

She created a video that helped tell the Toonies for Tuition story.

Read more: CCSTA Launches National Toonies for Tuition Campaign Materials

With many newly elected Members of Parliament serving federal ridings across the country, CCSTA took the opportunity to connect with and showcase Catholic education’s impact in Canada.

On Feb. 4, 2020, CCSTA Board of Directors and staff hosted individual meetings on Parliament Hill with MPs from across the country, many of whom are new to the position.

The day-long Lobby Day was an opportunity to connect with politicians at the federal level.

“The Lobby Day is a key area of focus for us, even though education is under provincial jurisdiction,” explains CCSTA Executive Director Julian Hanlon. “We feel it’s very important for federal politicians to be aware of the impact Catholic Education has across Canada, including the number of students attending Catholic Schools.”

Read more: “Very Positive”: CCSTA Connects with newly elected MPs on Parliament Hill