Primary and Secondary Schools in Canada

The education system in Canada is highly regarded and a major priority of the Canadian government, at both the national and provincial levels.  The country plays host to both public and private schools, serving students at each level of their education, and while each type of school—public and private—must conform to the educational curriculum and policy established by the province in which its located, private schools maintain the authority to make their own decisions with regard to admissions, tuition and personnel.  The public schools in Canada, at both the primary and secondary level, are fully funded by the national government, accounting for approximately 7 percent of GDP as of 2011.

Because education is largely a provincial responsibility under the Canadian constitution, there are some slight variations between the education systems of the 10 different provinces.  For example, education is compulsory for students in Canada from age 6 through 16, save for Ontario, New Brunswick and Manitoba where students must attend school until age 18.  Additionally, there are certain provinces in which students, under certain circumstances, can take a leaving examination as early as 14 years of age.

Kindergarten is available to children in every province of Canada, but because this stage of education is not compulsory, there are some differences amongst the provinces in terms of the funding amount provided for kindergarten and the hours children attend.  Junior kindergarten, a program that is roughly equivalent to the U.S. preschool or pre-kindergarten stage, is only available on a public basis in the province of Ontario.

Every child in Canada begins their compulsory education at approximately age 6 in Grade One.  This is the beginning of 8 years of primary (elementary) education that will end with the completion of Grade Eight.  The only exception to this model is found in Quebec, where primary or elementary school spans from Grade One through Grade Six, with students also beginning their studies at 6 years of age.  As you can see, the length of what most Canadian provinces call “primary” or “elementary” education differs from that of the United States and many other countries throughout the world (8 years instead of 6 years), as grades 7 and 8 in most other countries is considered junior high school, middle school, or lower secondary school—a level that is not included in any of the Canadian provinces.

Once Canadian students complete their elementary school education, usually at age 14, they are promoted to high school—the secondary level of studies—where 4 years of general education (English, French Mathematics, Science, etc.) is provided, spanning from Grade 9 to Grade 12.  In French-speaking Quebec, however, students are promoted to secondary school at age 12 to attend the école secondaire, which translates literally to secondary school.  There they will spend 5 years, in grade levels titled “Secondary I through Secondary V, the U.S. equivalent to grades 7-11.  Following secondary school in Quebec, students have the option of attending one of the “colleges,” and taking the two-year university preparatory course of study, or enrolling in the three-year professional program that leads directly to a position in the Canadian workforce.  In all other provinces, once a student successfully completes secondary school, he/she is then eligible to apply for tertiary school (university, junior college, vocational school, etc.) admission.

In a survey taken three years ago it was found that 1 out of 10 Canadians did not possess a high school diploma, and only 1 in 7 Canadians went on to earn a university degree.  Recently, however, those statistics have been drastically improving due to changes in the labor market that now require individuals to have, at minimum, a high school diploma and, in certain instances, a university degree.