OTTAWA – A think-tank says tuition fees are becoming less affordable for many Canadians and are forcing more and more students to take on heavy debts.
 
The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives says that since 1990, average tuition and compulsory fees for undergraduates have risen by 6.2 per cent annually.
   
That is three times the rate of inflation.
   
The report says it now costs, on average, just under $6200 a year to study at a Canadian university, and that doesn’t include the cost of books or food or lodging.
   
The left-leaning think-tank says that number will top $7300 dollars in four years.
   
The report also shows there is wide divergence in the cost of post-secondary education across the country.
   
It ranges from about $2800 in Newfoundland and Labrador to just over seven-thousand dollars in Alberta.