The various accumulating problems in Canadian school finance are not independent occurrences but part of a national trend that reflects important shifts in public philosophy. The first chapter briefly outlines the basic elements of educational finance: the sources of revenue, the amount of revenue, the allocation and budgeting of that revenue, and the kind and amount of services to be provided. Chapter 2 discusses the governance of education, noting that national priorities and interest groups and international social and economic trends have shifted the process of deciding how education is to be governed away from the provinces and onto the federal government. Chapter 3 examines taxation as a method of supporting education. The fourth and fifth chapters examine provincial grants and grant plans, types of grants, and the structure of grant plans in each province. Chapter six focuses on publicly supported religious schools and the assignment of property taxes to support them. Chapter 7 deals with budgets, defining and commenting on how they differ at various levels and noting particular approaches. The eighth chapter examines expenditures on elementary and secondary education, and chapter 9 discusses thoughts for the future. An index is included and 64 references are cited. (WTH)