Canada

Overview of Education System

The 13 education systems in Canada are under provincial/territorial responsibility; thus, there is no integrated national system or national curriculum. Ministries or departments of education in the countryʼs 13 jurisdictions (10 provinces and three territories) are responsible for developing their own curricula and have the authority to develop and administer provincial/territorial assessments.^a Education services are delivered locally through boards of education, school boards, public schools, and independent schools, while the ministry or department of each jurisdiction provides leadership, develops policy and legislation, oversees system governance, sets curriculum learning standards, and builds accountability frameworks in partnership with school boards.³

The ages for compulsory education in Canada vary across jurisdictions but generally range from 5 to 18. In some jurisdictions, parents have the option of enrolling their children in school one year earlier, deferring enrollment until the next school year, or homeschooling them.

Preprimary education is not mandatory in most Canadian jurisdictions, but several early childhood service programs are available prior to Grade 1. These programs may be offered by public or private schools or by other private institutions. For instance, full day kindergarten programs have been implemented in British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec.⁴

Quebec is the only province in Canada that offers universal early childhood educational development programs for children under age 3. Most jurisdictions offer universal preprimary education programs for children age 3 or older that can be attended for one year in most jurisdictions and for up to two years in Ontario. Targeted early childhood educational development and preprimary education programs are available in about half of Canadian jurisdictions, although the type of coverage, eligibility criteria for coverage, and topics covered in the curriculum guidance documents differ among jurisdictions.

Because Canadaʼs education systems are managed by different provincial and territorial governments, the educational levels are grouped differently and named from one jurisdiction to another. Generally, there are two school levels: elementary and secondary. Outside of Quebec and depending on the jurisdiction, the elementary level can range from kindergarten to Grade 8 and the secondary level can range from Grades 7 to 12. In Quebec, elementary school can range from kindergarten to Grade 6. Secondary level education consists of five years of studies divided into two cycles, the first comprising Secondary I and II and the second comprising Secondary III to V. The mandatory number of school days per year also varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, ranging from 180 to 200 days. British Columbia and Alberta prescribe the minimum number of hours of instruction, ranging from 843 to 1,000, depending on the grade level.