Over the years, the financial support given for operating Canadian schools has shifted from a community-based burden to a legislated provincial government responsibility. Between 1816 and 1846, the school system moved from a clerical operation to a publicly controlled operation. Provincial government monies were then made available, although not necessarily based on need. Since support varied, there was an unevenness in funds received by different communities. After 1850, the government guaranteed local communities a "reasonably constant assistance." In 1901, the North West Territories began making school system grants vary inversely to assessable land value. Other provinces subsequently reformed their grant structure. The remainder of this report reviews education finance history for all Canadian provinces from the 1930s to the present, highlighting varied allocation emphases. As this analysis shows, the equity principle has been interpreted in different, yet similar ways across the provinces. The difference lies mainly in the mechanics, not necessarily the variables used. Teacher salaries and instruction levels offered received most consideration in earlier years. The differential treatment between elementary and secondary schools, with the latter receiving preferential grants, motivated local school boards to implement a curriculum giving more children the opportunity to access higher education. Today, these variables have largely been replaced by per pupil expenditure as an equity divisor. (3 references) (MLH)