Schools in Canada

The responsibility of education in Canada is within each territory and province.  In 1967, an intergovernmental body was founded by the ministers of education, called The Council of  Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC) and is a group that handles policy issues, projects and activities, consulting with federal government and national education organizations, and a way to represent the educational inerests of each province and territories on an international basis.  The CMEC also administers the national official-languages programs as well as acting on a wide range of issues in elementary, secondary, and postsecondary education.

In addition, the CMEC is involved with activities that are related to literacy, and Aboriginal education, and the development and implementation of an on-line learning portal.

Members of The Council of Ministers of Education, Canada include all 13 of the territories and provinces in Canada.

Education in Canada

The federal government, provincial governments and local governments provide education and funding throughout Canada.  Curriculum is overseen by the province, with no input from federal government.  Within each province, under the Department of Education, there are school board districts that administer the educational programs. 

All children are required to attend school starting from the age of 5 to 7 (depending on the child's province of residence) and through to the age of 16.  Most elementary schools start at grade 1, and  are for children who are 6 years of age.  Some provinces have junior kindergarten and kindergarten availability, but not all are publicly funded.

The school "year" consists of about 190 school days, starting after Labour Day in September and ending on the last Friday of June.

Education in Canada is typically divided into three age classifications, including Elementary, Secondary and Post Secondary categories.  Elementary consists of the Primary School and the Public School, (known as elementary and middle school in most parts of the United States) while Secondary consists of the high school, and Post Secondary is the term used for University or College level of education.

About 7% of the Gross Domestic Product in Canada is spent on education.  Since the Constitution Act of 1982, education is also being provided in both English and French languages across Canada- as long as the population of children speaking the minority language of the area is large enough to justify having that language availability.

Divisions by Religion

Originally, the educational systems within each province of Canada were divided by religion.  With the exception of Ontario, Alberta and Saskatchewan, this religious division for educational purposes has been abolished.  In Ontario, Alberta and Saskatchewan, there are publicly funded district school boards for Catholic and sometimes Protestant religions. 

In Quebec, the division between Catholic and Protestant religions was replaced with a French/English division in 1998.  People living in Quebec are required to attend a French school until the end of high school, unless the child's parents attended an English-language school in Canada previously.

Graduation Statistics in Canada

Currently, about one out of every ten Canadian adults do not have a high school diploma.  This includes adults who are Canadian born as well as adults who are immigrants to Canada.    However, the number of high school graduates versus the number of adults who are non-diploma holders is changing, in part due to the availability of publicly funded high school programs offered to the Canadian adult population, and partly due to changes in the labor force that are requiring individuals have at least a high school diploma in order to become employees.

One in seven adults in Canada have a university level degree.