Saskatchewan university students will pay the highest tuition in Western Canada this year, a Statistics Canada report says.

According to a study released by the federal agency on Wednesday, a year of tuition in Saskatchewan for the 2016-17 school year will cost, on average, about $7,177 a year.

That's higher than Manitoba ($4,058), Alberta ($5,750) or B.C. ($5,534).

It's also the third highest in Canada after Ontario ($8,114) and Nova Scotia ($7,218).

Students in Newfoundland and Labrador pay the lowest annual tuition: $2,759 annually.

The Opposition New Democrats said the results show that the Saskatchewan Party government is failing students.

Since taking power, the Sask. Party has hiked tuition fees by 35 per cent, the NDP said in a news release.

The Sask. Party has accused the New Democrats of having a bad record on universities, saying that when the NDP was in power, it underfunded post-secondary education and caused major tuition increases.