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November 23, 2015ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION SURVEY FOR CANADA - 2013/2014 
In Nova Scotia 2013/2014, there were 121,029 students enrolled in public elementary and secondary schools, according to Statistics Canada. This is 1.3 per cent lower than enrolment estimates from 2012/2013. The number of kindergarten (primary) children enrolled declined steadily until 2007/08 before exhibiting a large increase in enrolment. Since then, the trend has continued downward again. The increase in 2008 roughly coincides with overall Nova Scotia Population numbers which increased during the economic recession of the late 2000s.
The number of school aged children (here represented by those 5-17 years old) in Nova Scotia has been declining since 1971, from 221,995 to 119,771 in 2015. We do see some coinciding growth (or slower decline) in the number of school aged children in Nova Scotia in years of population stability and growth (see next two charts).
Across Atlantic Canada, enrolments have been generally declining throughout the last 15 years. Sharpest annual declines were seen in Newfoundland and Labrador in the late 90s and early 2000s but have moderated in recent years. Prince Edward Island has shown a general decline, with the exception of enrolment growth in 2010-11 (note that due to its smaller overall enrolment numbers, that year's gain of 1,200 students represented a 6% increase.) Nova Scotia and New Brunswick both showed general annual declines, with overall numbers dipping 25.3 per cent in Nova Scotia between the years of 1997/98 and 2013/14, and 24.1 per cent in New Brunswick for that same time period.
West of Atlantic Canada, increases in enrolment are most often seen in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. Over the 1997/98 to 2013/14 time period, the only province with average growth in positive territory is Alberta, who saw only three years of decline over that time period.
While enrolment in public elementary and secondary may be falling, French Immersion program enrolment in Nova Scotia has grown from about 9,000 in 1997/98 to over 15,000 in 2013/14. First official language programs for the linguistic minority enrolment has also grown, from about 4,200 in 1997/98 to over 5,100 in 2013/14.
Source: Statistics Canada