In 2016-2017, the Parliamentary Budget Officer reported an average of 14,310 offenders in federal custody. The average institution-specific expenditures associated with each inmate were $114,587 per year or $314 per day, per offender, and 96% of these costs are attributable to custody.Impact: The cost per student per year in post-secondary education in Canada was a little over $20,000 in 2012. The cost of one provincial prisoner could pay for 3 post-secondary education students, and one federal prisoner is equivalent to the cost of educating 5 students.