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Education in Canada

Education in Canada is for the most part provided publicly, and is funded and overseen by provincial, territorial and local governments.[18] Education is within provincial jurisdiction and the curriculum is overseen by the province.[19] Education in Canada is generally divided into primary education, followed by secondary education and post-secondary. Within the provinces under the ministry of education, there are district school boards administering the educational programs.[20]

Education in Canada
Educational oversight
Provincial & Territorial
Ministers of Education:

National education budget (2016)
Budget6.0% of GDP[12]
General details
Primary languagesEnglish, French
System typeProvincially controlled
Literacy
Male99%[13]
Female99%[13]
Attainment
Secondary diploma93%[16][17]
Post-secondary diploma68%[14][15]
‡ Includes Elementary, secondary and post-secondary non-tertiary education.

Education is compulsory in every province and territory in Canada, up to the age of 18 for Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nunavut, and Ontario, and up to the age of 16 for other jurisdictions,[21][22][23][note 1][24] or as soon as a high school diploma has been achieved. In some provinces early leaving exemptions can be granted under certain circumstances at 14. Canada generally has 190 (180 in Quebec[25]) school days in the year, officially starting from September (after Labour Day) to the end of June (usually the last Friday of the month, except in Quebec when it is just before June 24 – Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day/Fête nationale du Québec). In British Columbia schools, the Ministry of Education sets the minimum number of instructional hours in a school year, while local school boards have the authority to determine the start and end of the school year, length of the school day, number of non-instructional days, etc. in order to meet the minimum number of instructional hours for that year.[26] While the school year typically runs from the start of September to mid/end of June, there exists local variation throughout the country.

The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) coordinated by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) currently ranks the overall knowledge and skills of Canadian 15-year-olds as the sixth best in the world. Canada is a well performing OECD country in reading literacy, mathematics, and science with the average student scoring 520, compared with the OECD average of 487 in 2018.[27][28] In 2016, the country spent 6.0 percent of its GDP on all levels of education – roughly 1.0 percentage points above the OECD average of 5.0 percent.[12] In 2017, 68 percent of Canadians aged 25 to 64 attained some form of post-secondary education, which is 56.8 percent, or 12.4 percentage points, above the OECD average of 44 percent.[14][15] 57 percent of Canadians aged 25 to 64 had attained a college diploma or university degree along with 11 percent of Canadians attaining certificates, diplomas, and apprenticeships from vocational institutions.[15][29] 61 percent of Canadians aged 25 to 34 attained some form of tertiary education which is also one of the highest among OECD countries, ranking second behind South Korea.[30][31][32][33][34] 31 percent of Canadians aged 25 to 64 have earned a bachelor's degree or higher, which is the same as the OECD average of 31 percent.[14][35][36]

Assessment agencies

The Canadian Education Statistics Council (CESC) works in collaboration with provincial and territorial departments that are responsible for education and training, on the Pan-Canadian Education Indicators Program (PCEIP). The CESC includes both the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC) and Statistics Canada.[37] The CESC submits an annual report, Education Indicators in Canada: An International Perspective,[38][39] "supports the comparison of educational systems in Canada's provinces and territories with member [OECD] countries".[37]

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) coordinates the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) that is intended to evaluate educational systems—OECD members and non-OECD members—by measuring 15-year-old school pupils' scholastic performance on mathematics, science, and reading.[40][41][42]

Canada-wide

The federal government's responsibilities in education are limited to the Canadian Military Colleges, and funding the education of indigenous peoples; all other matters of education in Canada fall under provincial responsibility. As such, there is a lot of variation in the management of education from province to province.

 
1950 Canadian School Train. Pupils attend classes at Nemegos near Chapleau, Ontario.

In 2016, 8.5% of men and 5.4% of women aged 25 to 34 had less than a secondary school diploma (340,000 young Canadians).[43] In many places, publicly funded secondary school courses are offered to the adult population. The ratio of secondary school graduates versus non diploma-holders is changing rapidly, partly due to changes in the labour market that require people to have a secondary school diploma and, in many cases, a university degree. Nonetheless, in 2010, 51% of Canadians had completed a tertiary education, the highest rate in the world.[44] The majority of schools, 67%, are co-educational.

Canada spends about 5.2% of its GDP on education in 2020.[45] The country invests heavily in tertiary education (more than US$20,000 per student).[46] Recent reports suggest tuition fee increases across all provinces ranging from a low of .3% in Ontario to a high of 5.7% in Alberta due to a provide-wide restructuring of fees.[47] Since the adoption of section 23 of the Constitution Act, 1982, education in both English and French has been available in most places across Canada (if the population of children speaking the minority language justifies it). French Second Language education/French Immersion is available to anglophone students across Canada. English Second Language education/English Immersion is also available in Quebec's french language schools.

According to an announcement of Canadian Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Canada is introducing a new, fast-track system to let foreign students and graduates with Canadian work experience become permanent eligible residents in Canada.[48]

Most schools have introduced one or more initiatives such as programs in Native studies, antiracism, Aboriginal cultures and crafts; visits by elders and other community members; and content in areas like indigenous languages, Aboriginal spirituality, indigenous knowledge of nature, and tours to indigenous heritage sites.[49] Although these classes are offered, most appear to be limited by the area or region in which students reside. "The curriculum is designed to elicit development and quality of people's cognition through the guiding of accommodations of individuals to their natural environment and their changing social order"[50]

Subjects that typically get assessed (i.e., language arts, mathematics, and science) assume greater importance than non-assessed subjects (i.e., music, visual arts, and physical education) or facets of the curriculum (i.e., reading and writing versus speaking and listening).[51]

Some scholars view academics as a form of "soft power" helping to educate and to create positive attitudes,[52] although there is criticism that educators are merely telling students what to think, instead of how to think for themselves, and using up a large proportion of classroom time in the process.[53][54] Social promotion policies, grade inflation, lack of corrective feedback for students, teaching methods that slow the development of soft skills compared to past decades, reform mathematics, and the failure to objectively track student progress have also forced secondary schools and colleges to lower their academic standards.[55][56][57]

According to a November 2011 Maclean's opinion piece, Alberta's education system provides better results compared to other provinces, partially because of Alberta's rigorous "provincial standardized exams".[58] According to a 2011 study by the University of Saskatchewan, Albertans have higher grades in university due to the comprehensive education compared to other provinces. Grades are also notably boosted when applying for many universities in Canada to entice Albertan students to go to those universities, such as the University of British Columbia.[58] This also explains why the University of Alberta is quite competitive when applying with an out-of-province education.

Divisions by religion and language

 
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms includes provisions that guarantee English and French first language schools, and reaffirms the pre-existing right of separate schools where applicable.

The Constitution of Canada provides constitutional protections for some types of publicly funded religious-based and language-based school systems.

Section 93 of the Constitution Act, 1867 contains a guarantee for publicly funded religious-based separate schools, provided the separate schools were established by law prior to the province joining Confederation. Court cases have established that this provision did not apply to Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Manitoba, British Columbia, and Prince Edward Island, since those provinces did not provide a legal guarantee for separate schools prior to Confederation.[59] The provision did originally apply to Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Newfoundland and Labrador, since these provinces did have pre-existing separate schools. This constitutional provision was repealed for Quebec by a constitutional amendment in 1997,[60] and for Newfoundland and Labrador in 1998.[61] The constitutional provision continues to apply to Ontario, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. There is a similar federal statutory provision that applies to the Northwest Territories. The issue of separate schools is also addressed in Section 29 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which reaffirms the rights of separate schools found in the Constitution Act, 1867.

Section 23(1)(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the right of citizens who were educated in the minority language in a particular province to have their children educated in the minority language in publicly funded schools.[62] In practice, this guarantee means that there are publicly funded English schools in Quebec, and publicly funded French schools in the other provinces and the territories.

Quebec students must attend a French school up until the end of secondary school unless one of their parents qualifies as a rights-holder under s. 23(1)(b) of the Charter.[63] In Ontario, French-language schools automatically admit students recognized under section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and may admit non-francophone students through the board's admissions committee consisting of the school principal, a school superintendent, and a teacher.

An example of how schools can be divided by language and religion is visible in Toronto, which has four public school boards operating in the city. They include two English first language school boards, the separate Toronto Catholic District School Board and secular Toronto District School Board; and two French boards, the separate Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir and secular Conseil scolaire Viamonde.

Length of study

As education is a provincial matter, the length of study varies depending on the province, although the majority of public early childhood, elementary, and secondary education programs in Canada begin in kindergarten (age five typically by 31 December of that school year) and end after Grade 12 (age 17 by 31 December). After completion of a secondary school diploma, students may go on to post-secondary studies.

Exceptions to the aforementioned length of study include the provinces of Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Quebec, as well as the Northwest Territories. As opposed to the other provinces, the Kindergarten programs in the Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Quebec consist of two years, with the first year open to students age four by 31 December. Ontario established its Junior Kindergarten program in the early 1940s.[64] In 2016, the Government of Nova Scotia announced an expansion of its Pre-Primary program to be made available throughout the province by 2020.[65] Implementation of Junior Kindergarten began in the Northwest Territories during the 2017–18 school year, an expansion of an earlier pilot project in several smaller communities in the territory.[66] In 2019, the Government of Quebec announced the creation of kindergarten classes for four-year-olds in the province's elementary schools.[67][68] The length of study at the secondary level also differs in Quebec, with the final grade of secondary schools in the province being Grade 11/Secondaire V.

Conversely, in Ontario, a student may choose to lengthen their period of study in a secondary school for an additional number of years, colloquially referred to as a victory lap. From 1989 to 2003, secondary education in Ontario formally included a fifth year (intended for students preparing for post-secondary education), known as the Ontario Academic Credit (age 18 by 31 December). Prior to 1989 Ontario secondary schools included Grade 13 (leading to the Secondary School Honours Graduation Diploma). Although OAC was phased out in 2003, a study in 2010 published by academics with Lakehead University noted that the province was only partially successful in its efforts, with a significant minority of students opting to take a fifth year.[69] Approximately 14 percent of students in Ontario opted to take a fifth year as late as 2012.[70] In September 2013, the Government of Ontario introduced a 34-credit threshold (30 credits is required for the Ontario Secondary School Diploma)[note 2] in an effort to limit the length of study for its secondary school students and reduce the financial burden from students returning for a fifth year.[70][71] A "resident pupil" of Ontario has the right to attend a public secondary school until they've received their 34th-course credit, attended the school for seven years, or are age 20 and have not been in a school in the last four years, after which the secondary school reserves the right to refuse further admission to the student.[72]

While the period of study in Canada begins as early as four years old, the age where a child's attendance becomes mandatory varies among the provinces and territories, ranging from ages five to seven.[73] Children who turn five by 31 December are required to begin schooling in British Columbia, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Yukon;[73] although parents are able to apply for a deferment. In Alberta, Newfoundland and Labrador, the Northwest Territories, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, and Quebec, a child is required to attend school at the age of six. Manitoba and Saskatchewan are the only provinces where the minimum compulsory attendance age is seven. Attendance in school is compulsory up to the age of 16 in all provinces except Manitoba, New Brunswick, and Ontario, where attendance is compulsory until the student turns 18,[21][22][23] or as soon as a secondary school diploma has been achieved.

Authorities

Normally, for each type of publicly funded school (such as Public English or Public French), the province is divided into districts (or divisions). For each district, board members (trustees) are elected only by its supporters within the district (voters receive a ballot for just one of the boards in their area). Normally, all publicly funded schools are under the authority of their local district school board. These school boards would follow a common curriculum set up by the province the board resides in. Only Alberta allows public charter schools, which are independent of any district board. Instead, they each have their own board, which reports directly to the province.[74]

History

Primary and secondary education

Primary, intermediate, and secondary education combined are sometimes referred to as K-12 (Kindergarten through Grade 12). Secondary schooling, known as high school, collegiate institute, école secondaire or secondary school, consists of different grades depending on the province in which one resides. Furthermore, grade structure may vary within a province or even within a school division; as to whether or not they operate middle or junior high schools.

Kindergarten programs are available for children in all provinces in Canada and are typically offered as one-year programs for students who turn five in that year. However, the provinces of Nova Scotia, the Northwest Territories, Ontario, and Quebec operate two-year kindergarten programs, with the first year beginning at the age of four. The names of these programs, provincial funding, and the number of hours provided varies. For example, the Department of Education in Nova Scotia refers to Kindergarten as Grade Primary.[75] Full-day kindergarten programs are offered in all provinces except Alberta, Manitoba, Nunavut, Saskatchewan, and Yukon. Students in the Prairie provinces are not required by statute to attend kindergarten. As a result, kindergarten often is not available in smaller towns.

Since the 1940s, Ontario's kindergarten program has consisted of two years: junior kindergarten for four–five-year-olds and senior kindergarten for five–six-year-olds. At Francophone schools in Ontario, these programs are called Maternelle and Jardin.[76] In 2017, Nova Scotia began to implement a kindergarten program (pre-primary, starting at age four), with provincial-wide service available since 2020.[77] In 2017, the Northwest Territories introduced its junior kindergarten program throughout the territory.[66] Quebec offers subsidized preschool programs and introduced an early kindergarten program for children from low-income families in 2013.

Grade 12 presently serves as the final grade in all provincial secondary curriculums, except Quebec, whose secondary schools ends after Secondary V/Grade 11 (age 16 by September 30, Quebec cut off date is earlier); after which students who wish to pursue further studies may attend a post-secondary institution. Quebec is currently the only province where it treats Grade 12 as a part of the tertiary level of education. Grade 11 also served as the end of secondary education in Newfoundland and Labrador, until the province implemented Grade 12 in 1983. Conversely, from 1921 to 2003, Ontario's secondary curriculum lasted a year longer, with secondary schooling ending after Grade 13/Ontario Academic Credit (OAC). Grade 13 was reformed into OAC in 1988, and was offered in secondary schools until 2003, after which the grade was discontinued. A number of Canadian secondary schools offer the International Baccalaureate Program (IB) and Advanced Placement (AP) program. These courses prepare students for first-year university learning and can be used to replace or supplement existing courses in the curriculum. Many universities and colleges across North America offer advanced credits to students who excel in International Baccalaureate and Advanced Placement courses.

Students may continue to receive publicly funded secondary schooling until the ages of 19 to 21 (the cut-off age for secondary school varies between provinces). Depending on the province, those who are the age of majority may continue to attend a standard secondary school, or may be required to attend an adult high school.

Students of secondary school age who have received long-term suspensions or have been expelled, or are otherwise unable or unwilling to attend conventional schools may be offered alternative learning options to complete their secondary education, such as drop-in programs, night school, or distance/online classes. An increasing number of international students are attending pre-tertiary courses at Canadian secondary schools.

Tertiary education

 
2005–2006 Canadian university enrollment in various subjects[78]

Post-secondary education in Canada is provided by universities (research universities, undergraduate universities, and university colleges) and vocational institutions (vocational colleges, career colleges, community colleges, institutes of technology or science, colleges of applied arts or applied technology, and in Quebec, collèges d’enseignement général et professionnel).[79][80] Universities offer bachelor's, master's, professional, and doctoral degrees as well as post-graduate certificates and diplomas while vocational institutions issue diplomas, associate degrees, certificates, and apprenticeships.[81][82] Vocational institutions offer career-focused training that is often practical where these institutions train their graduates to work as semi-professionals in various fields such as the skilled trades and technical careers and for workers in support roles in professions such as engineering, information technology, accountancy, business administration, health care, architecture, and law.[79] University colleges and vocational institutions also offer degree programs where a student can take courses and receive credit that can be transferred to a university.[81]

Nearly all post-secondary institutions in Canada have the authority to grant academic credentials (i.e., diplomas or degrees). Generally speaking, universities grant degrees (e.g., bachelor's, master's, professional or doctorate degrees) while colleges, which typically offer vocationally oriented programs, grant diplomas, associate degrees, and certificates. However, some colleges offer applied arts degrees that lead to or are equivalent to degrees from a university. Private career colleges are overseen by legislative acts for each province. For example, in British Columbia training providers will be registered and accredited with the (PCTIA) Private Career Training Institutions Agency regulated under the Private Career Training Institutions Act (SBC 2003)[83] Each province with their own correlating agency. Unlike the United States, there is no "accreditation body" that oversees the universities in Canada. Universities in Canada have degree-granting authority via an Act or Ministerial Consent from the Ministry of Education of the particular province. Tertiary and post-secondary education in Canada is also the responsibility of the individual provinces and territories. Those governments provide the majority of funding to their public post-secondary institutions, with the remainder of funding coming from tuition fees, the federal government, and research grants. Compared to other countries in the past, Canada has had the highest tertiary school enrollment as a percentage of their graduating population.[84]

University

The traditional path to Canadian higher education is typically through university, as it is by far the most prestigious form of higher education in the country. There is no universally prescribed set definition to what constitutes a "university" in Canada as they come in various forms that serve the different educational needs of various Canadians. Each province has its own legislative meaning of the term but universities do intersect in terms of the types of degrees that they offer, research, competitiveness, location, and global institutional reputation. Canadian universities require students' senior secondary school transcript along with an application for admission. Admissions criteria to a university in Canada involve the grades earned in core senior secondary school courses taken, and an admission GPA based on their senior secondary school courses calculated in the form of a percentage. Applications for admission outline additional academic and extra-curricular achievements that cannot be expressed through a student's secondary school transcript. In the case of more prestigious and selective university programs, an essay, statement of intent, or personal statement of experience must be submitted directly to the university. In addition, letters of reference, examples of extracurricular activities, volunteering and community service endeavors, athletic participation, student awards, and scholarships are also required for acceptance to some of Canada's most prestigious university programs. Generally, Canadian universities base admission with great weight emphasized around a student's academic performance in core senior secondary school courses taken during their grade 11 and 12 years as a measure of academic rigor in addition to assessing a prospective students capability to challenge themselves as predictors of future academic performance at the university level. In addition, most universities in Canada also denote a standardized GPA or an admission average cutoff. This admissions cut off is established based on the competitiveness of applicants applying to individual programs offered at specific universities. A typical competitive program at an esteemed Canadian university could have an admissions cutoff of 90 percent or higher, while mid-tier universities have programs that maintain cut-offs around 80 percent. Lower tier and lesser-known Canadian universities with more liberal application processes could have admission cut offs as low as 65 to 70 percent.

Among the country's most prominent institutions are national research universities that are domestically and internationally ranked such as the University of Toronto and McGill University. Other types of universities across Canada include denomination universities (e.g., Redeemer University College, Yorkville University), undergraduate universities (e.g., Acadia University, MacEwan University, Mount Saint Vincent University, St. Francis Xavier University, University of Winnipeg, Wilfrid Laurier University), liberal arts colleges (e.g., University of Lethbridge, Bishop's University, Mount Allison University, Nipissing University, St. Thomas University, Trinity Western University), art schools (Alberta University of the Arts, Emily Carr University of Art and Design, LaSalle College Vancouver, Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, Ontario College of Art and Design, Vancouver College of Art and Design), online universities with distance education (Athabasca University, University of Fredericton), and military schools (Royal Military College of Canada, which is the military academy of the Canadian Forces, a full degree-granting university, and the only federal institution with degree-granting powers) as well as institutions that serve people in more rural and remote parts of the country such as Brandon University, Royal Roads University, Thompson Rivers University, the University of Northern British Columbia, University of Prince Edward Island, University of the Fraser Valley, and Vancouver Island University.[85]

The quality of universities in Canada is internationally recognized and is home to some of the top universities in the world making it a global leader in scientific and technological research and adducing the delivery of higher education to promising Canadian students and prospective students around the world. There are 30 Canadian universities ranked in the 2023 QS World University Rankings, with the two top-ranking elite universities in the country being McGill ranked 31st and the University of Toronto ranked 34th.[86]

Vocational

Vocational education in Canada is delivered through vocational colleges, career colleges, community colleges, institutes of technology or science, technical schools, colleges of applied arts or applied technology, and in Quebec through collèges d’enseignement général et professionnel. Though it is cheaper in terms of tuition, less competitive to get into, and not as prestigious as going to a four-year university, vocational schools adduce another post-secondary option for students seeking to enter the realm of Canadian higher education. Admissions to vocational schools in Canada have requirements that are less stringent than a university and vary more significantly, but unlike universities, qualifications and entrance standards into vocational institutions are more lax as they do not delineate admission cut-offs so as long as students meet the minimum average requirements and possess the prerequisite courses, they can gain admission to most vocational institutions across the country. Many vocational institutes such as George Brown College and Mohawk College accept a very high proportion of students with averages above 70 percent, although they may place no limiting minimum for acceptance, and consequently take students with averages below 60 percent.

The typical Canadian vocational institute is analogous to that of an American junior college or community college where they offer specialized vocational oriented certifications in an area of training. However, there are some institutions in Canada that offer both vocational training as well as a limited number of 4-year undergraduate university degrees such as Seneca College, Sheridan College, Centennial College of Applied Arts and Technology, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Vancouver Island University, and Thompson Rivers University. There are over 200 community colleges in Canada. They are less academically competitive with lower and less stringent entrance requirements to get into compared with universities and are often found in remote and rural parts of the country.[87]

Post-secondary vocational institutions in Canada offer apprenticeships, certificates, diplomas, and associate degrees. These are programs that offer specialized vocational education in specific employment fields related to the skilled trades and technical careers which generally last two years.[88] In studying at a vocational school, a student can take the necessary courses needed to earn a certification that will allow for entry into jobs (such as becoming a beautician, licensed practical nurse, drafter, web developer, computer network support specialist, paralegal, medical laboratory technician, cardiovascular technologist, optician, or diagnostic medical sonographer, healthcare assistant etc.) requiring some level of tertiary education but not a full four-year university degree. After graduating from a vocational institution, some students continue their education by transferring to a university to complete a bachelor's degree, while others choose to enter the workforce. Apprenticeships are another form of post-secondary vocational education training in Canada, as students combine in class instruction with practical workforce training for careers related to the skilled trades. In addition, a series of exams have to be passed before the student is certified as a journeyperson. Skilled trades programs in Canada typically take four years to complete and by finishing the last level, the person is granted a trades certificate and can work anywhere in Canada if a set known as the Red Seal exams are passed.[89]

Private schools

About 6% of Canadian grade ten students are in private schools, most of which are in Quebec. A Statistics Canada study from 2015 found that these students tend to have higher test scores and future educational attainment than their public school counterparts. Rather than enjoying superior resources and educational practices, the most likely explanation for this discrepancy is the higher expectation of success that students experience from their parents, teachers, and fellow students.[90]

Private universities

In the past, private universities in Canada maintained a religious history or foundation. However, since 1999, the Province of New Brunswick passed the Degree Granting Act[91] allowing private universities to operate in the Province.[92][93] The University of Fredericton is the newest university to receive designation in New Brunswick.

Trinity Western University, in Langley British Columbia, was founded in 1962 as a junior college and received full accreditation in 1985. In 2002, British Columbia's Quest University became the first privately funded liberal arts university without a denominational affiliation (although it is not the first private liberal arts university). Many provinces, including Ontario and Alberta, have passed legislation allowing private degree-granting institutions (not necessarily universities) to operate there.

Many Canadians remain polarized on the issue of permitting private universities into the Canadian market. On the one hand, Canada's top universities find it difficult to compete with the private American powerhouses because of funding, but, on the other hand, the fact that the price of private universities tends to exclude those who cannot pay that much for their education could prevent a significant portion of Canada's population from being able to attend these schools.

In addition to the issue of access, some Canadians take issue with protections instituted within the Charter of Rights and Freedoms as ruled by the Supreme Court of Canada in 2001 and consistent with federal and provincial law that (private) faith-based universities in Canada based on the long-established principles of freedom of conscience and religion can exempt themselves from more recent human rights legislation when they insist in their "community covenant" code signed by staff, faculty and students that they act in accordance with the faith of the school. The covenant may require restraint from those acts considered in contradiction with the tenets of their faith such as homosexual relationships, sex outside marriage or more broadly abstain from consuming alcohol on campus or viewing pornography.[94] However, private-Christian based schools do not preclude homosexual or lesbian students from attending.[95] Some faith-based universities have been known to fire staff and faculty which refused to adhere or whose actions were in opposition with the tenets of the faith, although in some provinces, their dismissals have been successfully challenged in court based on the circumstances.[96]

Religious schools

Each province deals differently with private religious schools. In Ontario, the Catholic system continues to be fully publicly funded while other faiths are not. Ontario has several private Islamic, Christian and Jewish schools all funded through tuition fees. Since the Catholic schools system is entrenched in the constitution, the Supreme Court has ruled that this system is constitutional. However, the United Nations Human Rights Committee has ruled that Ontario's system is discriminatory, suggesting that Ontario either fund no faith-based schools, or all of them.[97] In 2002 the government of Mike Harris introduced a controversial program to partially fund all private schools, but this was criticized for undermining the public education system and the program was eliminated after the Liberals won the 2003 provincial election.

In other provinces, privately operated religious schools are funded. In British Columbia the government pays independent schools that meet rigorous provincial standards up to 50% of the per-student operating cost of public schools. The province has a number of Sikh, Hindu, Christian, and Islamic schools. Alberta also has a network of charter schools, which are fully funded schools offering distinct approaches to education within the public school system. Alberta charter schools are not private and the province does not grant charters to religious schools. These schools have to follow the provincial curriculum and meet all standards but are given considerable freedom in other areas. In all other provinces, private religious schools receive some funding, but not as much as the public system.

Levels in education

As the education system in Canada is managed by the varying provincial governments in Canada, the way the educational stages are grouped and named may differ from each region, or even between districts and individual schools. The ages are the age of the students when they end the school year in June.

  • Early childhood education
    • CPE Pre-school (French: Garderie or Jardin), Pre-Kindergarten, Pre-Primary or Junior Kindergarten (JK, ages 3–5 average age 4) (Nova Scotia and Ontario)[98]
    • Grade Primary, Senior Kindergarten or Kindergarten (French: Maternelle) (SK, ages 4–6 average age 5)
  • Elementary education
    • Grade 1 (ages 5–7, average age 6), they start in the calendar year when they turn 6 (For example, someone born in July would be the average and be 6 all of grade 1, while someone born in December will be 5 when they start grade 1 and turn 6 during grade 1 and be one of the youngest while someone born in January will start grade 1 at age 6 and turn 7 during grade 1 and be one of the oldest.)
    • Grade 2 (ages 6–8 average age 7),
    • Grade 3 (ages 7–9 average age 8)
    • Grade 4 (ages 8–10 average age 9)
    • Grade 5 (ages 9–11 average age 10 )
    • Grade 6 (ages 10–12 average age 11)
  • Intermediate education
    • Grade 7 (ages 11–13 average age 12) (Secondary School Starts here in Quebec)
    • Grade 8 (ages 12–14 average age 13) (in some parts of B.C. high school starts in Grade 8)
    • Grade 9 (ages 13–15 average age 14)
  • Secondary education
    • Grade 10 (ages 14–16 average age 15)
    • Grade 11 (ages 15–17 average age 16)(Secondary education in Quebec stops here)
    • Grade 12 (ages 16–18 average age 17)[note 3]
  • Tertiary education
    • College: In Canada, the term college usually refers to a community college or a technical, applied arts, or applied science school. These are post-secondary institutions granting certificates, diplomas and, in some cases, bachelor's degrees. In Quebec, a diploma is also required from a college (CEGEP) to attend university and take the following forms:
      • Pre-university program, two years (typically Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, or Arts)
      • Professional program, three years (e.g. Paralegal, Dental Hygienist, Nursing, etc.)
    • University: A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university provides undergraduate (bachelor's degree), graduate (master's degree), and postgraduate (Ph.D.) education.
    • Graduate (or postgraduate)

Grade structure by province

The following table shows how grades are organized in various provinces. Often, there will be exceptions within each province, both with terminology for groups, and which grades apply to each group.

  Alberta
()
  Elementary Junior High Senior High  
  Kindergarten 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12  
  British Columbia
(source)[failed verification]
  Primary Intermediate (Primary in Richmond) Secondary  
  Kindergarten 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12  
  Manitoba[100]   Early Years Middle Years Senior Years  
  Kindergarten 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12  
  New Brunswick
()
  Elementary Middle School High School  
  Kindergarten 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12  
  Newfoundland and Labrador
()
  Primary Elementary Junior High Senior High  
  Kindergarten 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Level I (10) Level II (11) Level III (12)  
  Northwest Territories
()
  Primary Intermediate Junior Secondary Senior Secondary  
  Kindergarten 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12  
  Nova Scotia
()
Elementary Junior High Senior High  
Pre-Primary Primary 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12  
  Ontario[101] Elementary Secondary  
Junior Kindergarten / Maternelle Senior Kindergarten / Jardin 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12  
  PEI
()
  Elementary Intermediate School Senior High  
  Kindergarten 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12  
  Quebec   Primary School Secondary School College
Garderie/Pre-Maternelle Maternelle 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 (Sec I) 8 (Sec II) 9 (Sec III) 10 (Sec IV) 11 (Sec V) first second third
  Saskatchewan
(source[dead link])
  Elementary Level Secondary Level
Kindergarten 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12  
  Yukon
()
  Elementary Junior Secondary Senior Secondary  
  Kindergarten 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12  

Notes:

  • In British Columbia some schools may group together the higher Elementary and lower Secondary Grades. These schools are referred to as Middle Schools or Jr. Secondary Schools. Some Elementary Schools consist solely of grades K–5. Likewise, some Secondary Schools may only have grades 11 and 12. In addition, some school districts may use just elementary (K–7) and secondary (8–12) schools. British Columbia informally subcategorizes the Elementary level into "Primary" (K–3) and "Intermediate" (4–6 or 7).
  • In Ontario, the terms used in French schooling consist of Maternelle in regard to Junior Kindergarten and Jardin in regard to Kindergarten. This differs from Quebec's Maternelle, which is the equivalent of Ontario's Kindergarten.
  • In Manitoba, grade 9 to grade 12 was for a short time referred to as Senior 1 to Senior 4.
  • In Newfoundland and Labrador, Level IV is used to collect missed grades that prevented a student from getting their graduation.
  • In Nova Scotia the terms for groups, and grades they apply to varies significantly throughout the province. A common, but not universal, organization is shown.
  • In Quebec college is two or three years, depending on what a student selects, based usually on what their post-secondary plans are. College in Quebec overlaps what other provinces consider the boundary between secondary education (high school) and post-secondary education (college and university). E.g. "Sec I" = "Secondary Year One" = "Grade 7"
  • In Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, schools are now set up as elementary schools with grades K-5, middle schools with grades 6–8, and high schools with grades 9–12; however, high school graduation requirements only include courses taken in grades 10–12.
  • In Saskatchewan Elementary school is most often from K–8 and high school from 9–12. High school graduation requirements only taken grades 10–12 and require 24 credits to graduate.

Provincial and territorial departments and ministries

Provincial and territorial departments and ministries
Provincial Education(Wikipedia) Provincial Department Or Ministry(External Link)
Education in Alberta Alberta Education
Education in British Columbia Ministry of Education
Education in Manitoba Department of Education and Training
Education in New Brunswick Ministry of Education, Ministère de l'Éducation
Education in Newfoundland and Labrador Ministry of Education
Education in Northwest Territories Department of Education, Culture and Employment
Education in Nova Scotia Department of Education
Education in Nunavut
Education in Ontario Ministry of Education
Education in Prince Edward Island Department of Education
Education in Quebec Ministère de l'Éducation
Education in Saskatchewan Ministry of Education
Education in Yukon Department of Education, Culture and Employment

[102][103]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ In Ontario, if a 17 year-old student's birth date falls between end of the school year to 31 December, they may withdraw from the school at the end of that current school year.
  2. ^ Exemptions to the credit threshold exists, which includes students with special education needs.
  3. ^ In Ontario, a student may take up additional years of secondary education, commonly known as a victory lap. A "resident pupil" of Ontario may attend a public secondary school until they've received their 34th course credit, or have attended the institution for seven years, after which, the school reserves the right to refuse further admission. "Victory lappers" are typically grouped as a part of the Grade 12 student population, and make up an average of 4% of all students enrolled in Ontario secondary schools each year.[99]

Further reading

  • Axelrod, Paul. The Promise of Schooling: Education in Canada, 1800–1914 (1997)
  • Burke, Sara Z., and Patrice Milewski, eds. Schooling in Transition: Readings in Canadian History of Education (2012) 24 articles by experts
  • Di Mascio, Anthony. The Idea of Popular Schooling in Upper Canada: Print Culture, Public Discourse, and the Demand for Education (McGill-Queen's University Press; 2012) 248 pages; building a common system of schooling in the late-18th and early 19th centuries.
  • Foght, H.W. ed. Comparative education (1918), compares United States, England, Germany, France, Canada, and Denmark online
  • Gidney, R.D. and W.P.J. Millar. How Schools Worked: Public Education in English Canada, 1900–1940 (2011) 552pp; additional details
  • Harris, Robin S. A history of higher education in Canada, 1663–1960 (1976)

Historiography

  • Bruno-Jofré, Rosa. "History of education in Canada: historiographic 'turns' and widening horizons". Paedagogica Historica (2014), Vol. 50 Issue 6, pp 774–785

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External links

  • Education data from Statistics Canada

education, canada, this, article, factual, accuracy, compromised, date, information, reason, given, dead, outdated, links, please, help, update, this, article, reflect, recent, events, newly, available, information, june, 2021, most, part, provided, publicly, . This article s factual accuracy may be compromised due to out of date information The reason given is Dead outdated links Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information June 2021 Education in Canada is for the most part provided publicly and is funded and overseen by provincial territorial and local governments 18 Education is within provincial jurisdiction and the curriculum is overseen by the province 19 Education in Canada is generally divided into primary education followed by secondary education and post secondary Within the provinces under the ministry of education there are district school boards administering the educational programs 20 Education in CanadaEducational oversightProvincial amp TerritorialMinisters of Education List of Ministers AB Adriana LaGrangeBC Rob Fleming 1 MB Ian Wishart 2 NB Dominic Cardy 3 NL Dale Kirby 4 NS Karen Casey 5 NWT Alfred Moses 6 NU Paul Quassa 7 ON Stephen Lecce 8 PEI Doug Currie 9 QC Jean Francois RobergeSK Gordon Wyant 10 YK Doug Graham 11 National education budget 2016 Budget6 0 of GDP 12 General detailsPrimary languagesEnglish FrenchSystem typeProvincially controlledLiteracyMale99 13 Female99 13 AttainmentSecondary diploma93 16 17 Post secondary diploma68 14 15 Includes Elementary secondary and post secondary non tertiary education Education is compulsory in every province and territory in Canada up to the age of 18 for Manitoba New Brunswick Nunavut and Ontario and up to the age of 16 for other jurisdictions 21 22 23 note 1 24 or as soon as a high school diploma has been achieved In some provinces early leaving exemptions can be granted under certain circumstances at 14 Canada generally has 190 180 in Quebec 25 school days in the year officially starting from September after Labour Day to the end of June usually the last Friday of the month except in Quebec when it is just before June 24 Saint Jean Baptiste Day Fete nationale du Quebec In British Columbia schools the Ministry of Education sets the minimum number of instructional hours in a school year while local school boards have the authority to determine the start and end of the school year length of the school day number of non instructional days etc in order to meet the minimum number of instructional hours for that year 26 While the school year typically runs from the start of September to mid end of June there exists local variation throughout the country The Programme for International Student Assessment PISA coordinated by the Organisation for Economic Co operation and Development OECD currently ranks the overall knowledge and skills of Canadian 15 year olds as the sixth best in the world Canada is a well performing OECD country in reading literacy mathematics and science with the average student scoring 520 compared with the OECD average of 487 in 2018 27 28 In 2016 the country spent 6 0 percent of its GDP on all levels of education roughly 1 0 percentage points above the OECD average of 5 0 percent 12 In 2017 68 percent of Canadians aged 25 to 64 attained some form of post secondary education which is 56 8 percent or 12 4 percentage points above the OECD average of 44 percent 14 15 57 percent of Canadians aged 25 to 64 had attained a college diploma or university degree along with 11 percent of Canadians attaining certificates diplomas and apprenticeships from vocational institutions 15 29 61 percent of Canadians aged 25 to 34 attained some form of tertiary education which is also one of the highest among OECD countries ranking second behind South Korea 30 31 32 33 34 31 percent of Canadians aged 25 to 64 have earned a bachelor s degree or higher which is the same as the OECD average of 31 percent 14 35 36 Contents 1 Assessment agencies 2 Canada wide 2 1 Divisions by religion and language 2 2 Length of study 2 3 Authorities 3 History 4 Primary and secondary education 5 Tertiary education 5 1 University 5 2 Vocational 6 Private schools 6 1 Private universities 6 2 Religious schools 7 Levels in education 7 1 Grade structure by province 8 Provincial and territorial departments and ministries 9 See also 10 Notes 11 Further reading 11 1 Historiography 12 References 13 External linksAssessment agencies EditThe Canadian Education Statistics Council CESC works in collaboration with provincial and territorial departments that are responsible for education and training on the Pan Canadian Education Indicators Program PCEIP The CESC includes both the Council of Ministers of Education Canada CMEC and Statistics Canada 37 The CESC submits an annual report Education Indicators in Canada An International Perspective 38 39 supports the comparison of educational systems in Canada s provinces and territories with member OECD countries 37 The Organisation for Economic Co operation and Development OECD coordinates the Programme for International Student Assessment PISA that is intended to evaluate educational systems OECD members and non OECD members by measuring 15 year old school pupils scholastic performance on mathematics science and reading 40 41 42 Canada wide EditThe federal government s responsibilities in education are limited to the Canadian Military Colleges and funding the education of indigenous peoples all other matters of education in Canada fall under provincial responsibility As such there is a lot of variation in the management of education from province to province 1950 Canadian School Train Pupils attend classes at Nemegos near Chapleau Ontario In 2016 8 5 of men and 5 4 of women aged 25 to 34 had less than a secondary school diploma 340 000 young Canadians 43 In many places publicly funded secondary school courses are offered to the adult population The ratio of secondary school graduates versus non diploma holders is changing rapidly partly due to changes in the labour market that require people to have a secondary school diploma and in many cases a university degree Nonetheless in 2010 51 of Canadians had completed a tertiary education the highest rate in the world 44 The majority of schools 67 are co educational Canada spends about 5 2 of its GDP on education in 2020 45 The country invests heavily in tertiary education more than US 20 000 per student 46 Recent reports suggest tuition fee increases across all provinces ranging from a low of 3 in Ontario to a high of 5 7 in Alberta due to a provide wide restructuring of fees 47 Since the adoption of section 23 of the Constitution Act 1982 education in both English and French has been available in most places across Canada if the population of children speaking the minority language justifies it French Second Language education French Immersion is available to anglophone students across Canada English Second Language education English Immersion is also available in Quebec s french language schools According to an announcement of Canadian Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Canada is introducing a new fast track system to let foreign students and graduates with Canadian work experience become permanent eligible residents in Canada 48 Most schools have introduced one or more initiatives such as programs in Native studies antiracism Aboriginal cultures and crafts visits by elders and other community members and content in areas like indigenous languages Aboriginal spirituality indigenous knowledge of nature and tours to indigenous heritage sites 49 Although these classes are offered most appear to be limited by the area or region in which students reside The curriculum is designed to elicit development and quality of people s cognition through the guiding of accommodations of individuals to their natural environment and their changing social order 50 Subjects that typically get assessed i e language arts mathematics and science assume greater importance than non assessed subjects i e music visual arts and physical education or facets of the curriculum i e reading and writing versus speaking and listening 51 Some scholars view academics as a form of soft power helping to educate and to create positive attitudes 52 although there is criticism that educators are merely telling students what to think instead of how to think for themselves and using up a large proportion of classroom time in the process 53 54 Social promotion policies grade inflation lack of corrective feedback for students teaching methods that slow the development of soft skills compared to past decades reform mathematics and the failure to objectively track student progress have also forced secondary schools and colleges to lower their academic standards 55 56 57 According to a November 2011 Maclean s opinion piece Alberta s education system provides better results compared to other provinces partially because of Alberta s rigorous provincial standardized exams 58 According to a 2011 study by the University of Saskatchewan Albertans have higher grades in university due to the comprehensive education compared to other provinces Grades are also notably boosted when applying for many universities in Canada to entice Albertan students to go to those universities such as the University of British Columbia 58 This also explains why the University of Alberta is quite competitive when applying with an out of province education Divisions by religion and language Edit The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms includes provisions that guarantee English and French first language schools and reaffirms the pre existing right of separate schools where applicable The Constitution of Canada provides constitutional protections for some types of publicly funded religious based and language based school systems Section 93 of the Constitution Act 1867 contains a guarantee for publicly funded religious based separate schools provided the separate schools were established by law prior to the province joining Confederation Court cases have established that this provision did not apply to Nova Scotia New Brunswick Manitoba British Columbia and Prince Edward Island since those provinces did not provide a legal guarantee for separate schools prior to Confederation 59 The provision did originally apply to Ontario Quebec Saskatchewan Alberta and Newfoundland and Labrador since these provinces did have pre existing separate schools This constitutional provision was repealed for Quebec by a constitutional amendment in 1997 60 and for Newfoundland and Labrador in 1998 61 The constitutional provision continues to apply to Ontario Saskatchewan and Alberta There is a similar federal statutory provision that applies to the Northwest Territories The issue of separate schools is also addressed in Section 29 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms which reaffirms the rights of separate schools found in the Constitution Act 1867 Section 23 1 b of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the right of citizens who were educated in the minority language in a particular province to have their children educated in the minority language in publicly funded schools 62 In practice this guarantee means that there are publicly funded English schools in Quebec and publicly funded French schools in the other provinces and the territories Quebec students must attend a French school up until the end of secondary school unless one of their parents qualifies as a rights holder under s 23 1 b of the Charter 63 In Ontario French language schools automatically admit students recognized under section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and may admit non francophone students through the board s admissions committee consisting of the school principal a school superintendent and a teacher An example of how schools can be divided by language and religion is visible in Toronto which has four public school boards operating in the city They include two English first language school boards the separate Toronto Catholic District School Board and secular Toronto District School Board and two French boards the separate Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir and secular Conseil scolaire Viamonde Length of study Edit As education is a provincial matter the length of study varies depending on the province although the majority of public early childhood elementary and secondary education programs in Canada begin in kindergarten age five typically by 31 December of that school year and end after Grade 12 age 17 by 31 December After completion of a secondary school diploma students may go on to post secondary studies Exceptions to the aforementioned length of study include the provinces of Nova Scotia Ontario and Quebec as well as the Northwest Territories As opposed to the other provinces the Kindergarten programs in the Northwest Territories Nova Scotia Ontario and Quebec consist of two years with the first year open to students age four by 31 December Ontario established its Junior Kindergarten program in the early 1940s 64 In 2016 the Government of Nova Scotia announced an expansion of its Pre Primary program to be made available throughout the province by 2020 65 Implementation of Junior Kindergarten began in the Northwest Territories during the 2017 18 school year an expansion of an earlier pilot project in several smaller communities in the territory 66 In 2019 the Government of Quebec announced the creation of kindergarten classes for four year olds in the province s elementary schools 67 68 The length of study at the secondary level also differs in Quebec with the final grade of secondary schools in the province being Grade 11 Secondaire V Conversely in Ontario a student may choose to lengthen their period of study in a secondary school for an additional number of years colloquially referred to as a victory lap From 1989 to 2003 secondary education in Ontario formally included a fifth year intended for students preparing for post secondary education known as the Ontario Academic Credit age 18 by 31 December Prior to 1989 Ontario secondary schools included Grade 13 leading to the Secondary School Honours Graduation Diploma Although OAC was phased out in 2003 a study in 2010 published by academics with Lakehead University noted that the province was only partially successful in its efforts with a significant minority of students opting to take a fifth year 69 Approximately 14 percent of students in Ontario opted to take a fifth year as late as 2012 70 In September 2013 the Government of Ontario introduced a 34 credit threshold 30 credits is required for the Ontario Secondary School Diploma note 2 in an effort to limit the length of study for its secondary school students and reduce the financial burden from students returning for a fifth year 70 71 A resident pupil of Ontario has the right to attend a public secondary school until they ve received their 34th course credit attended the school for seven years or are age 20 and have not been in a school in the last four years after which the secondary school reserves the right to refuse further admission to the student 72 While the period of study in Canada begins as early as four years old the age where a child s attendance becomes mandatory varies among the provinces and territories ranging from ages five to seven 73 Children who turn five by 31 December are required to begin schooling in British Columbia New Brunswick Nova Scotia and Yukon 73 although parents are able to apply for a deferment In Alberta Newfoundland and Labrador the Northwest Territories Ontario Prince Edward Island and Quebec a child is required to attend school at the age of six Manitoba and Saskatchewan are the only provinces where the minimum compulsory attendance age is seven Attendance in school is compulsory up to the age of 16 in all provinces except Manitoba New Brunswick and Ontario where attendance is compulsory until the student turns 18 21 22 23 or as soon as a secondary school diploma has been achieved Authorities Edit Normally for each type of publicly funded school such as Public English or Public French the province is divided into districts or divisions For each district board members trustees are elected only by its supporters within the district voters receive a ballot for just one of the boards in their area Normally all publicly funded schools are under the authority of their local district school board These school boards would follow a common curriculum set up by the province the board resides in Only Alberta allows public charter schools which are independent of any district board Instead they each have their own board which reports directly to the province 74 History EditMain article History of education in CanadaPrimary and secondary education EditPrimary intermediate and secondary education combined are sometimes referred to as K 12 Kindergarten through Grade 12 Secondary schooling known as high school collegiate institute ecole secondaire or secondary school consists of different grades depending on the province in which one resides Furthermore grade structure may vary within a province or even within a school division as to whether or not they operate middle or junior high schools Kindergarten programs are available for children in all provinces in Canada and are typically offered as one year programs for students who turn five in that year However the provinces of Nova Scotia the Northwest Territories Ontario and Quebec operate two year kindergarten programs with the first year beginning at the age of four The names of these programs provincial funding and the number of hours provided varies For example the Department of Education in Nova Scotia refers to Kindergarten as Grade Primary 75 Full day kindergarten programs are offered in all provinces except Alberta Manitoba Nunavut Saskatchewan and Yukon Students in the Prairie provinces are not required by statute to attend kindergarten As a result kindergarten often is not available in smaller towns Since the 1940s Ontario s kindergarten program has consisted of two years junior kindergarten for four five year olds and senior kindergarten for five six year olds At Francophone schools in Ontario these programs are called Maternelle and Jardin 76 In 2017 Nova Scotia began to implement a kindergarten program pre primary starting at age four with provincial wide service available since 2020 77 In 2017 the Northwest Territories introduced its junior kindergarten program throughout the territory 66 Quebec offers subsidized preschool programs and introduced an early kindergarten program for children from low income families in 2013 Grade 12 presently serves as the final grade in all provincial secondary curriculums except Quebec whose secondary schools ends after Secondary V Grade 11 age 16 by September 30 Quebec cut off date is earlier after which students who wish to pursue further studies may attend a post secondary institution Quebec is currently the only province where it treats Grade 12 as a part of the tertiary level of education Grade 11 also served as the end of secondary education in Newfoundland and Labrador until the province implemented Grade 12 in 1983 Conversely from 1921 to 2003 Ontario s secondary curriculum lasted a year longer with secondary schooling ending after Grade 13 Ontario Academic Credit OAC Grade 13 was reformed into OAC in 1988 and was offered in secondary schools until 2003 after which the grade was discontinued A number of Canadian secondary schools offer the International Baccalaureate Program IB and Advanced Placement AP program These courses prepare students for first year university learning and can be used to replace or supplement existing courses in the curriculum Many universities and colleges across North America offer advanced credits to students who excel in International Baccalaureate and Advanced Placement courses Students may continue to receive publicly funded secondary schooling until the ages of 19 to 21 the cut off age for secondary school varies between provinces Depending on the province those who are the age of majority may continue to attend a standard secondary school or may be required to attend an adult high school Students of secondary school age who have received long term suspensions or have been expelled or are otherwise unable or unwilling to attend conventional schools may be offered alternative learning options to complete their secondary education such as drop in programs night school or distance online classes An increasing number of international students are attending pre tertiary courses at Canadian secondary schools Tertiary education EditSee also Higher education in Canada U15 Group of Canadian Research Universities List of universities in Canada and List of colleges in Canada 2005 2006 Canadian university enrollment in various subjects 78 Post secondary education in Canada is provided by universities research universities undergraduate universities and university colleges and vocational institutions vocational colleges career colleges community colleges institutes of technology or science colleges of applied arts or applied technology and in Quebec colleges d enseignement general et professionnel 79 80 Universities offer bachelor s master s professional and doctoral degrees as well as post graduate certificates and diplomas while vocational institutions issue diplomas associate degrees certificates and apprenticeships 81 82 Vocational institutions offer career focused training that is often practical where these institutions train their graduates to work as semi professionals in various fields such as the skilled trades and technical careers and for workers in support roles in professions such as engineering information technology accountancy business administration health care architecture and law 79 University colleges and vocational institutions also offer degree programs where a student can take courses and receive credit that can be transferred to a university 81 Nearly all post secondary institutions in Canada have the authority to grant academic credentials i e diplomas or degrees Generally speaking universities grant degrees e g bachelor s master s professional or doctorate degrees while colleges which typically offer vocationally oriented programs grant diplomas associate degrees and certificates However some colleges offer applied arts degrees that lead to or are equivalent to degrees from a university Private career colleges are overseen by legislative acts for each province For example in British Columbia training providers will be registered and accredited with the PCTIA Private Career Training Institutions Agency regulated under the Private Career Training Institutions Act SBC 2003 83 Each province with their own correlating agency Unlike the United States there is no accreditation body that oversees the universities in Canada Universities in Canada have degree granting authority via an Act or Ministerial Consent from the Ministry of Education of the particular province Tertiary and post secondary education in Canada is also the responsibility of the individual provinces and territories Those governments provide the majority of funding to their public post secondary institutions with the remainder of funding coming from tuition fees the federal government and research grants Compared to other countries in the past Canada has had the highest tertiary school enrollment as a percentage of their graduating population 84 University Edit The traditional path to Canadian higher education is typically through university as it is by far the most prestigious form of higher education in the country There is no universally prescribed set definition to what constitutes a university in Canada as they come in various forms that serve the different educational needs of various Canadians Each province has its own legislative meaning of the term but universities do intersect in terms of the types of degrees that they offer research competitiveness location and global institutional reputation Canadian universities require students senior secondary school transcript along with an application for admission Admissions criteria to a university in Canada involve the grades earned in core senior secondary school courses taken and an admission GPA based on their senior secondary school courses calculated in the form of a percentage Applications for admission outline additional academic and extra curricular achievements that cannot be expressed through a student s secondary school transcript In the case of more prestigious and selective university programs an essay statement of intent or personal statement of experience must be submitted directly to the university In addition letters of reference examples of extracurricular activities volunteering and community service endeavors athletic participation student awards and scholarships are also required for acceptance to some of Canada s most prestigious university programs Generally Canadian universities base admission with great weight emphasized around a student s academic performance in core senior secondary school courses taken during their grade 11 and 12 years as a measure of academic rigor in addition to assessing a prospective students capability to challenge themselves as predictors of future academic performance at the university level In addition most universities in Canada also denote a standardized GPA or an admission average cutoff This admissions cut off is established based on the competitiveness of applicants applying to individual programs offered at specific universities A typical competitive program at an esteemed Canadian university could have an admissions cutoff of 90 percent or higher while mid tier universities have programs that maintain cut offs around 80 percent Lower tier and lesser known Canadian universities with more liberal application processes could have admission cut offs as low as 65 to 70 percent Among the country s most prominent institutions are national research universities that are domestically and internationally ranked such as the University of Toronto and McGill University Other types of universities across Canada include denomination universities e g Redeemer University College Yorkville University undergraduate universities e g Acadia University MacEwan University Mount Saint Vincent University St Francis Xavier University University of Winnipeg Wilfrid Laurier University liberal arts colleges e g University of Lethbridge Bishop s University Mount Allison University Nipissing University St Thomas University Trinity Western University art schools Alberta University of the Arts Emily Carr University of Art and Design LaSalle College Vancouver Nova Scotia College of Art and Design Ontario College of Art and Design Vancouver College of Art and Design online universities with distance education Athabasca University University of Fredericton and military schools Royal Military College of Canada which is the military academy of the Canadian Forces a full degree granting university and the only federal institution with degree granting powers as well as institutions that serve people in more rural and remote parts of the country such as Brandon University Royal Roads University Thompson Rivers University the University of Northern British Columbia University of Prince Edward Island University of the Fraser Valley and Vancouver Island University 85 The quality of universities in Canada is internationally recognized and is home to some of the top universities in the world making it a global leader in scientific and technological research and adducing the delivery of higher education to promising Canadian students and prospective students around the world There are 30 Canadian universities ranked in the 2023 QS World University Rankings with the two top ranking elite universities in the country being McGill ranked 31st and the University of Toronto ranked 34th 86 Vocational Edit Vocational education in Canada is delivered through vocational colleges career colleges community colleges institutes of technology or science technical schools colleges of applied arts or applied technology and in Quebec through colleges d enseignement general et professionnel Though it is cheaper in terms of tuition less competitive to get into and not as prestigious as going to a four year university vocational schools adduce another post secondary option for students seeking to enter the realm of Canadian higher education Admissions to vocational schools in Canada have requirements that are less stringent than a university and vary more significantly but unlike universities qualifications and entrance standards into vocational institutions are more lax as they do not delineate admission cut offs so as long as students meet the minimum average requirements and possess the prerequisite courses they can gain admission to most vocational institutions across the country Many vocational institutes such as George Brown College and Mohawk College accept a very high proportion of students with averages above 70 percent although they may place no limiting minimum for acceptance and consequently take students with averages below 60 percent The typical Canadian vocational institute is analogous to that of an American junior college or community college where they offer specialized vocational oriented certifications in an area of training However there are some institutions in Canada that offer both vocational training as well as a limited number of 4 year undergraduate university degrees such as Seneca College Sheridan College Centennial College of Applied Arts and Technology Kwantlen Polytechnic University Vancouver Island University and Thompson Rivers University There are over 200 community colleges in Canada They are less academically competitive with lower and less stringent entrance requirements to get into compared with universities and are often found in remote and rural parts of the country 87 Post secondary vocational institutions in Canada offer apprenticeships certificates diplomas and associate degrees These are programs that offer specialized vocational education in specific employment fields related to the skilled trades and technical careers which generally last two years 88 In studying at a vocational school a student can take the necessary courses needed to earn a certification that will allow for entry into jobs such as becoming a beautician licensed practical nurse drafter web developer computer network support specialist paralegal medical laboratory technician cardiovascular technologist optician or diagnostic medical sonographer healthcare assistant etc requiring some level of tertiary education but not a full four year university degree After graduating from a vocational institution some students continue their education by transferring to a university to complete a bachelor s degree while others choose to enter the workforce Apprenticeships are another form of post secondary vocational education training in Canada as students combine in class instruction with practical workforce training for careers related to the skilled trades In addition a series of exams have to be passed before the student is certified as a journeyperson Skilled trades programs in Canada typically take four years to complete and by finishing the last level the person is granted a trades certificate and can work anywhere in Canada if a set known as the Red Seal exams are passed 89 Private schools EditAbout 6 of Canadian grade ten students are in private schools most of which are in Quebec A Statistics Canada study from 2015 found that these students tend to have higher test scores and future educational attainment than their public school counterparts Rather than enjoying superior resources and educational practices the most likely explanation for this discrepancy is the higher expectation of success that students experience from their parents teachers and fellow students 90 Private universities Edit In the past private universities in Canada maintained a religious history or foundation However since 1999 the Province of New Brunswick passed the Degree Granting Act 91 allowing private universities to operate in the Province 92 93 The University of Fredericton is the newest university to receive designation in New Brunswick Trinity Western University in Langley British Columbia was founded in 1962 as a junior college and received full accreditation in 1985 In 2002 British Columbia s Quest University became the first privately funded liberal arts university without a denominational affiliation although it is not the first private liberal arts university Many provinces including Ontario and Alberta have passed legislation allowing private degree granting institutions not necessarily universities to operate there Many Canadians remain polarized on the issue of permitting private universities into the Canadian market On the one hand Canada s top universities find it difficult to compete with the private American powerhouses because of funding but on the other hand the fact that the price of private universities tends to exclude those who cannot pay that much for their education could prevent a significant portion of Canada s population from being able to attend these schools In addition to the issue of access some Canadians take issue with protections instituted within the Charter of Rights and Freedoms as ruled by the Supreme Court of Canada in 2001 and consistent with federal and provincial law that private faith based universities in Canada based on the long established principles of freedom of conscience and religion can exempt themselves from more recent human rights legislation when they insist in their community covenant code signed by staff faculty and students that they act in accordance with the faith of the school The covenant may require restraint from those acts considered in contradiction with the tenets of their faith such as homosexual relationships sex outside marriage or more broadly abstain from consuming alcohol on campus or viewing pornography 94 However private Christian based schools do not preclude homosexual or lesbian students from attending 95 Some faith based universities have been known to fire staff and faculty which refused to adhere or whose actions were in opposition with the tenets of the faith although in some provinces their dismissals have been successfully challenged in court based on the circumstances 96 Religious schools Edit Each province deals differently with private religious schools In Ontario the Catholic system continues to be fully publicly funded while other faiths are not Ontario has several private Islamic Christian and Jewish schools all funded through tuition fees Since the Catholic schools system is entrenched in the constitution the Supreme Court has ruled that this system is constitutional However the United Nations Human Rights Committee has ruled that Ontario s system is discriminatory suggesting that Ontario either fund no faith based schools or all of them 97 In 2002 the government of Mike Harris introduced a controversial program to partially fund all private schools but this was criticized for undermining the public education system and the program was eliminated after the Liberals won the 2003 provincial election In other provinces privately operated religious schools are funded In British Columbia the government pays independent schools that meet rigorous provincial standards up to 50 of the per student operating cost of public schools The province has a number of Sikh Hindu Christian and Islamic schools Alberta also has a network of charter schools which are fully funded schools offering distinct approaches to education within the public school system Alberta charter schools are not private and the province does not grant charters to religious schools These schools have to follow the provincial curriculum and meet all standards but are given considerable freedom in other areas In all other provinces private religious schools receive some funding but not as much as the public system Levels in education EditAs the education system in Canada is managed by the varying provincial governments in Canada the way the educational stages are grouped and named may differ from each region or even between districts and individual schools The ages are the age of the students when they end the school year in June Early childhood education CPE Pre school French Garderie or Jardin Pre Kindergarten Pre Primary or Junior Kindergarten JK ages 3 5 average age 4 Nova Scotia and Ontario 98 Grade Primary Senior Kindergarten or Kindergarten French Maternelle SK ages 4 6 average age 5 Elementary education Grade 1 ages 5 7 average age 6 they start in the calendar year when they turn 6 For example someone born in July would be the average and be 6 all of grade 1 while someone born in December will be 5 when they start grade 1 and turn 6 during grade 1 and be one of the youngest while someone born in January will start grade 1 at age 6 and turn 7 during grade 1 and be one of the oldest Grade 2 ages 6 8 average age 7 Grade 3 ages 7 9 average age 8 Grade 4 ages 8 10 average age 9 Grade 5 ages 9 11 average age 10 Grade 6 ages 10 12 average age 11 Intermediate education Grade 7 ages 11 13 average age 12 Secondary School Starts here in Quebec Grade 8 ages 12 14 average age 13 in some parts of B C high school starts in Grade 8 Grade 9 ages 13 15 average age 14 Secondary education Grade 10 ages 14 16 average age 15 Grade 11 ages 15 17 average age 16 Secondary education in Quebec stops here Grade 12 ages 16 18 average age 17 note 3 Tertiary education College In Canada the term college usually refers to a community college or a technical applied arts or applied science school These are post secondary institutions granting certificates diplomas and in some cases bachelor s degrees In Quebec a diploma is also required from a college CEGEP to attend university and take the following forms Pre university program two years typically Social Sciences Natural Sciences or Arts Professional program three years e g Paralegal Dental Hygienist Nursing etc University A university is an institution of higher education and research which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects A university provides undergraduate bachelor s degree graduate master s degree and postgraduate Ph D education Graduate or postgraduate One or two years leading to a Master s degree Three or more years leading to a Doctoral degree Grade structure by province Edit The following table shows how grades are organized in various provinces Often there will be exceptions within each province both with terminology for groups and which grades apply to each group Alberta source Elementary Junior High Senior High Kindergarten 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 British Columbia source failed verification Primary Intermediate Primary in Richmond Secondary Kindergarten 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Manitoba 100 Early Years Middle Years Senior Years Kindergarten 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 New Brunswick source Elementary Middle School High School Kindergarten 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Newfoundland and Labrador source Primary Elementary Junior High Senior High Kindergarten 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Level I 10 Level II 11 Level III 12 Northwest Territories source Primary Intermediate Junior Secondary Senior Secondary Kindergarten 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Nova Scotia source Elementary Junior High Senior High Pre Primary Primary 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Ontario 101 Elementary Secondary Junior Kindergarten Maternelle Senior Kindergarten Jardin 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 PEI source Elementary Intermediate School Senior High Kindergarten 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Quebec Primary School Secondary School CollegeGarderie Pre Maternelle Maternelle 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Sec I 8 Sec II 9 Sec III 10 Sec IV 11 Sec V first second third Saskatchewan source dead link Elementary Level Secondary LevelKindergarten 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Yukon source Elementary Junior Secondary Senior Secondary Kindergarten 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Notes In British Columbia some schools may group together the higher Elementary and lower Secondary Grades These schools are referred to as Middle Schools or Jr Secondary Schools Some Elementary Schools consist solely of grades K 5 Likewise some Secondary Schools may only have grades 11 and 12 In addition some school districts may use just elementary K 7 and secondary 8 12 schools British Columbia informally subcategorizes the Elementary level into Primary K 3 and Intermediate 4 6 or 7 In Ontario the terms used in French schooling consist of Maternelle in regard to Junior Kindergarten and Jardin in regard to Kindergarten This differs from Quebec s Maternelle which is the equivalent of Ontario s Kindergarten In Manitoba grade 9 to grade 12 was for a short time referred to as Senior 1 to Senior 4 In Newfoundland and Labrador Level IV is used to collect missed grades that prevented a student from getting their graduation In Nova Scotia the terms for groups and grades they apply to varies significantly throughout the province A common but not universal organization is shown In Quebec college is two or three years depending on what a student selects based usually on what their post secondary plans are College in Quebec overlaps what other provinces consider the boundary between secondary education high school and post secondary education college and university E g Sec I Secondary Year One Grade 7 In Yellowknife Northwest Territories schools are now set up as elementary schools with grades K 5 middle schools with grades 6 8 and high schools with grades 9 12 however high school graduation requirements only include courses taken in grades 10 12 In Saskatchewan Elementary school is most often from K 8 and high school from 9 12 High school graduation requirements only taken grades 10 12 and require 24 credits to graduate Provincial and territorial departments and ministries EditProvincial and territorial departments and ministries Provincial Education Wikipedia Provincial Department Or Ministry External Link Education in Alberta Alberta EducationEducation in British Columbia Ministry of EducationEducation in Manitoba Department of Education and TrainingEducation in New Brunswick Ministry of Education Ministere de l EducationEducation in Newfoundland and Labrador Ministry of EducationEducation in Northwest Territories Department of Education Culture and EmploymentEducation in Nova Scotia Department of EducationEducation in Nunavut Department of EducationEducation in Ontario Ministry of EducationEducation in Prince Edward Island Department of EducationEducation in Quebec Ministere de l EducationEducation in Saskatchewan Ministry of EducationEducation in Yukon Department of Education Culture and Employment 102 103 See also Edit Canada portal Education portalAcademic grading in Canada Canadian Language Benchmarks Higher education in Canada Homeschooling in Canada International students in Canada List of Canada accredited schools abroad Lists of schools in Canada List of colleges in Canada List of universities in Canada List of school districts in Canada Open educational resources in Canada Indigenous education in CanadaNotes Edit In Ontario if a 17 year old student s birth date falls between end of the school year to 31 December they may withdraw from the school at the end of that current school year Exemptions to the credit threshold exists which includes students with special education needs In Ontario a student may take up additional years of secondary education commonly known as a victory lap A resident pupil of Ontario may attend a public secondary school until they ve received their 34th course credit or have attended the institution for seven years after which the school reserves the right to refuse further admission Victory lappers are typically grouped as a part of the Grade 12 student population and make up an average of 4 of all students enrolled in Ontario secondary schools each year 99 Further reading EditAxelrod Paul The Promise of Schooling Education in Canada 1800 1914 1997 Burke Sara Z and Patrice Milewski eds Schooling in Transition Readings in Canadian History of Education 2012 24 articles by experts Di Mascio Anthony The Idea of Popular Schooling in Upper Canada Print Culture Public Discourse and the Demand for Education McGill Queen s University Press 2012 248 pages building a common system of schooling in the late 18th and early 19th centuries Foght H W ed Comparative education 1918 compares United States England Germany France Canada and Denmark online Gidney R D and W P J Millar How Schools Worked Public Education in English Canada 1900 1940 2011 552pp additional details Harris Robin S A history of higher education in Canada 1663 1960 1976 Historiography Edit Bruno Jofre Rosa History of education in Canada historiographic turns and widening horizons Paedagogica Historica 2014 Vol 50 Issue 6 pp 774 785References Edit Minister of Education Province of British Columbia Government of British Columbia Retrieved December 16 2016 Minister s Welcome Manitoba Education Government of Manitoba Retrieved February 25 2010 Members of the Executive Council Government of New Brunswick Retrieved February 25 2010 Minister Education Government of Newfoundland and Labrador Archived from the original on January 2 2010 Retrieved February 25 2010 Biography of Hon Marilyn More Minister NS Department Education Government of Nova Scotia Retrieved February 25 2010 ECE Home Page Government of Northwest Territories Retrieved February 25 2010 Welcome Government of Nunavut Archived from the original on May 29 2008 Retrieved February 25 2010 Rookie MPP Stephen Lecce takes on a tough education file thestar com June 20 2019 Retrieved August 30 2020 Education and Early Childhood Development Introducing the Minister Government of Prince Edward Island Retrieved February 25 2010 Saskatchewan Ministry of Education Ministry Overview Education Government of Saskatchewan Retrieved July 9 2019 Minister of Education Hon Patrick Rouble Education Government of Yukon Government of Yukon Archived from the original on January 27 2010 Retrieved February 25 2010 a b Education Indicators in Canada An International Perspective 2018 PDF Statistics Canada December 11 2018 p 93 Retrieved August 27 2019 a b CIA World Factbook Canada US Central Intelligence Agency Retrieved July 21 2009 a b c Education Indicators in Canada An International Perspective 2018 PDF Statistics Canada December 11 2018 p 32 Retrieved August 27 2019 a b c Education Indicators in Canada An International Perspective 2018 PDF Statistics Canada December 11 2018 p 24 Retrieved August 27 2019 Education Indicators in Canada An International Perspective 2018 PDF Statistics Canada December 11 2018 p 33 Retrieved August 27 2019 International Educational Attainment PDF p 4 Retrieved August 27 2019 Scholey Lucy 2015 federal budget disappointing for post secondary students CFS Archived from the original on June 3 2015 Retrieved June 1 2015 Canada 1956 the Official Handbook of Present Conditions and Recent Progress Canada Year Book Section Information Services Division Dominion Bureau of Statistics Ottawa Queen s Printer 1959 a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Cite journal requires journal help Minister of Trade and Commerce The Right Honourable C D Howe 1956 Canada 1956 the Official Handbook of Present Conditions and Recent Progress Canada Year Book Section Information Services Division Dominion Bureau of Statistics Ottawa Queen s Printer a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Cite journal requires journal help a b Going to School in Manitoba Manitoba Education and Training www edu gov mb ca Retrieved February 1 2019 a b Law Document English View Ontario ca July 24 2014 Retrieved February 1 2019 a b Government of New Brunswick Canada May 18 2010 New Brunswick Education www2 gnb ca Retrieved February 1 2019 Summary of Home Schooling Laws Across Canada Homeschool today PDF homeschool today Retrieved February 22 2021 Basic school regulation for preschool elementary and secondary education legisquebec gouv qc ca Retrieved February 2 2019 School Calendars Province of British Columbia PISA 2018 Insights and Interpretations PDF OECD 2018 p 6 Canada Student performance PISA 2018 OECD Educational attainment of the population aged 25 to 64 by age group and sex Statistics Canada September 19 2017 Retrieved August 27 2019 International Educational Attainment PDF p 6 Retrieved August 27 2019 Canada Overview of the education system EAG 2018 OECD 2018 Retrieved August 27 2019 Education Indicators in Canada An International Perspective 2018 PDF Statistics Canada December 11 2018 p 27 Retrieved August 27 2019 Educational attainment of the population aged 25 to 64 by age group and sex Organisation for Economic Co operation and Development OECD Canada provinces and territories Statistics Canada p 27 Archived from the original on May 20 2021 Retrieved August 27 2019 Canada Education at a Glance PDF OECD 2018 pp 1 2 Retrieved August 27 2019 Education Indicators in Canada An International Perspective 2018 PDF Statistics Canada December 11 2018 p 26 Retrieved August 27 2019 Educational attainment and labour force status OECD a b Overview Council of Ministers of Education Canada CMEC Pan Canadian Indicators Retrieved January 27 2020 Education Indicators in Canada An International Perspective 2019 Report Tourism and the Centre for Education Statistics Statistics Canada and CMEC December 10 2019 p 145 Education Indicators in Canada An International Perspective 2018 PDF Statistics Canada December 11 2018 p 142 ISSN 1920 5910 Retrieved January 27 2020 About PISA OECD PISA Retrieved February 8 2018 PISA 2018 Insights and Interpretations PDF OECD 2018 p 6 Canada Student performance PISA 2018 OECD Government of Canada Statistics Canada May 4 2017 Young men and women without a high school diploma www150 statcan gc ca Retrieved February 1 2019 Grossman Samantha September 27 2012 And the World s Most Educated Country Is Time Government expenditure on education total of GDP Canada WorldBank October 24 2022 Retrieved March 14 2023 Financial and human resources invested in Education PDF OECD 2011 Retrieved July 4 2014 Tuition fees for degree programs 2022 2023 OneClass 2022 Canada Is Opening Doors To Students The Education Blog August 19 2008 Archived from the original on April 26 2009 Wotherspoon R 2006 Teachers work in Canadian aboriginal communities Comparative Education Review 50 4 672 694 doi 10 1086 507060 S2CID 145362037 Shaker P 2009 Preserving Canadian exceptionalism Education Canada 49 1 28 32 Volante L 2007 Educational quality and accountability in Ontario Past present future Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy 58 2 21 Nelles W 2008 Zwaagstra Michael Clifton Rodney Long John 2010 What s Wrong with Our Schools and How We Can Fix Them Toronto Rowman amp Littlefield p 190 ISBN 978 1607091578 Reynolds Cynthia October 31 2012 Why are schools brainwashing our children Maclean s Rogers Retrieved December 5 2012 Bassiri Mehrnaz June 16 2017 Students Will Keep Learning Less Until We Finally Let Them Fail Huffington Post Retrieved June 20 2017 North American high schools and universities are pumping out under educated skills lacking graduates who don t know how to learn because they never mastered the process of learning They don t know how to fail because they never had to overcome failures And they don t know how to succeed because everything has been handed to them Stokke Anna May 2015 What to Do about Canada s Declining Math Scores Education Policy commentary 427 C D Howe Institute Retrieved September 27 2017 Cote James Allahar Anton 2007 The Student as a Reluctant Intellectual Ivory Tower Blues A University System in Crisis University of Toronto Press pp 96 126 ISBN 978 0802091819 retrieved July 13 2017 The majority of students are hampered by insufficient preparation at the secondary school level lack of personal motivation and disillusionment a b Dehaas Josh November 28 2011 Why Alberta s education system is better Maclean s Opinion Zinga Dawn 2008 Ontario s Challenge Denominational Rights in Public Education Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy 80 ISSN 1207 7798 Amendment from Quebec www solon org Retrieved February 2 2019 Constitution Amendment Proclamation 1998 Newfoundland Act www solon org Retrieved February 2 2019 Government of Canada Department of Justice November 9 1999 Charterpedia Section 23 Minority language educational rights www justice gc ca Retrieved February 2 2019 Charter of the French language s 73 Prochner Larry 2011 Early Childhood Care and Education in Canada Past Present and Future UBC Press p 211 ISBN 978 0 7748 4129 0 Nova Scotia to further expand pre primary classes this fall CBC News Canadian Broadcasting Corporation April 10 2019 Retrieved June 27 2019 a b Northwest Territories PDF Childcare Resource and Research Unit Childcare Canada 2019 p 121 Retrieved June 28 2019 The Canadian Press Quebec education minister heads to New York to learn about 4 year old kindergarten Corus News Global News Retrieved June 12 2019 Lau Rachel Quebec government pushes on with plan to enroll 4 year olds in preschool Corus News Global News Retrieved June 12 2019 Brady Patrick Allingham Philip November 18 2010 Pathways to university The Victory Lap Phenomenon in Ontario PDF Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy 113 Archived from the original PDF on April 10 2011 a b Brown Louise Rushowy Kristin March 27 2012 Ontario budget Hard lessons for teachers some students Toronto Star Torstar Corporation Retrieved February 1 2021 Four Year Secondary School Program Thirty four credit Threshold Ontario Ministry of Education Queen s Printer for Ontario April 25 2013 Retrieved June 28 2019 Attendance Rights Justice for Children and Youth Canadian Foundation for Children Youth and the Law 2013 Retrieved June 28 2019 a b Kindergarten is optional depending on where you live Globalnews ca globalnews ca March 1 2018 Retrieved December 11 2018 About Alberta Charter Schools education alberta ca Archived from the original on September 25 2016 Retrieved February 2 2019 Learning Outcomes by GRADE Learning Outcomes Framework documents Province of Nova Scotia 2008 Education Facts Retrieved November 1 2009 Nova Scotia completes rollout of pre primary program across the province Statistics Canada education data Archived from the original on October 20 2008 Retrieved February 8 2016 a b Post secondary education Government of Canada May 17 2017 Retrieved August 26 2019 Usher A 2018 The State of Post Secondary Education in Canada 2018 Toronto PDF Higher Education Strategy Associates p 6 Retrieved August 26 2019 a b Quality Education for All Canadian Report for the UNESCO Ninth Consultation of Member States on the Implementation of the Convention and Recommendation against Discrimination in Education PDF Council of Ministers of Education Canada 2018 p 24 Retrieved August 26 2019 Usher A 2018 The State of Post Secondary Education in Canada 2018 Toronto PDF Higher Education Strategy Associates pp 3 6 Retrieved August 26 2019 PCTIA About Us amp Contact Information Archived from the original on July 6 2011 Retrieved July 29 2010 Glen A Jones ed 2012 Higher Education in Canada Different Systems Different Perspectives Routledge Usher A 2018 The State of Post Secondary Education in Canada 2018 Toronto PDF Higher Education Strategy Associates p 4 Retrieved August 26 2019 QS World University Rankings 2023 QS Quacquarelli Symonds Limited Retrieved September 1 2022 Usher A 2018 The State of Post Secondary Education in Canada 2018 Toronto PDF Higher Education Strategy Associates p 7 Retrieved August 26 2019 Miller Zoe 12 of the biggest differences between attending a university in the United States and in Canada Insider Retrieved August 30 2019 Usher A 2018 The State of Post Secondary Education in Canada 2018 Toronto PDF Higher Education Strategy Associates pp 8 9 Retrieved August 26 2019 Frenette Marc Chan Ping Ching Winnie November 27 2015 Why Are Academic Prospects Brighter for Private High School Students Statistics Canada retrieved June 21 2018 Degree Granting Act New Brunswick Department of Justice Archived from the original on April 2 2003 The Degree Granting Act establishes a framework for evaluating the quality of programs leading to a degree offered by all public and private institutions except those created by an Act of the New Brunswick Legislature prior to the Act coming in force that is before March 1 2002 Degree Granting Act New Brunswick Department of Post Secondary Education Training and Labour Archived from the original on January 4 2007 Todd Douglas January 16 2013 Proposed Christian law school at Trinity Western under fire because of university s anti gay rules Vancouver Sun Archived from the original on January 19 2013 Tamminga Monique March 27 2013 Trinity Western University law school proponents fire back at critics Langley Times Archived from the original on March 14 2016 Retrieved October 31 2013 Timeline Same Sex Rights in Canada See 1991 CBC Retrieved October 30 2012 UN says funding of Catholic schools discriminatory CBC ca November 5 1999 Archived from the original on June 12 2008 Retrieved March 31 2008 Education Facts Ontario s Education System Queen s Printer Ontario September 8 2009 Quick Facts Ontario Schools 2005 06 Retrieved November 1 2009 Schools in Manitoba Manitoba Education Retrieved November 1 2014 Education Facts Schools and School Boards Ontario Ministry of Education Retrieved November 1 2014 Council of Ministers of Education Canada August 18 2003 CMEC Provincial and Territorial Departments of Education in Canada Archived from the original on April 7 2007 Retrieved April 12 2007 About Canada Society Learning Resources Provincial Territorial Ministries Government of Canada August 5 2002 Archived from the original on June 24 2007 Retrieved April 12 2007 External links EditEducation in Canada at Wikipedia s sister projects Definitions from Wiktionary Media from Commons News from Wikinews Quotations from Wikiquote Texts from Wikisource Textbooks from Wikibooks Resources from Wikiversity Education data from Statistics Canada Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Education in Canada amp oldid 1147910357, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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