I’ve spent the past week in classrooms across Ontario, watching as teachers stretch themselves thin trying to support growing numbers of students with diminishing resources. In a Grade 3 class in Hamilton, I observed a dedicated teacher attempting to provide individualized attention to 32 students, including four with identified learning disabilities and two English language learners.
“We’re doing our best, but it feels like we’re being set up to fail,” shared the teacher, who requested anonymity due to concerns about professional repercussions. “Five years ago, I had 24 students and educational assistant support three days a week. Now I have more students with greater needs and EA support just one day weekly.”
This reality is playing out in classrooms nationwide as Canada’s public education system faces unprecedented pressures. From British Columbia to Nova Scotia, a concerning pattern is emerging: increasing privatization, funding constraints, and policy shifts that educators say undermine the foundation of public education.
According to Statistics Canada data released in September, per-pupil funding has failed to keep pace with inflation in six provinces over the past decade when adjusted for cost-of-living increases. Meanwhile, the Canadian Teachers’ Federation reports that 87% of educators have observed increased classroom sizes in their schools since 2019.
Parents are noticing too. A recent Angus Reid poll found that 72% of Canadian parents with school-aged children believe public education quality has declined in their province over the past five years. This perception is driving some families toward private education options – a trend that risks creating a two-tiered system where quality education becomes increasingly tied to financial means.
“We’re witnessing a slow-motion dismantling of public education,” explains Dr. Nina Thompson, education policy researcher at Ryerson University. “It’s happening through budget constraints, curriculum changes that haven’t been properly resourced, and the gradual normalization of parent fundraising for basic educational needs.”
The impacts are most severe on already vulnerable communities. In Winnipeg’s North End, principal Robert Chalmers describes the challenges facing his elementary school, where approximately 40% of students come from households below the poverty line.
“When resources are stretched thin, the inequities become more pronounced,” Chalmers notes. “Our parent council raises maybe $3,000 annually, while schools in wealthier areas might raise $30,000. That creates wildly different learning environments within the same public system.”
The growing dependence on parent fundraising represents a fundamental shift away from the principle that all children deserve equitable access to quality education regardless of their postal code or family income.
In Alberta, recent curriculum changes have added another layer of complexity. Elementary teacher Maria Gonzalez expresses frustration at implementing new learning frameworks without adequate support. “We received new math and language arts curricula with barely any professional development or new resources. Parents are confused, teachers are overwhelmed, and students are caught in the middle.”
The challenges extend beyond K-12 education. Provincial funding for post-secondary institutions has generally declined as a percentage of operating budgets over the past two decades, according to the Canadian Association of University Teachers. This has resulted in higher tuition, increased reliance on international student fees, and greater corporate influence in campus decision-making.
Education advocates argue these developments collectively threaten the democratizing function of public education – its capacity to provide social mobility and prepare an informed citizenry regardless of socioeconomic background.
“Public education is more than just academic learning; it’s about creating a society where everyone has a fair chance,” says Jean Beauchamp, president of the Quebec Provincial Association of Teachers. “When we undermine that system, we’re making a statement about what kind of country we want Canada to be.”
The pandemic has amplified existing inequities while creating new ones. Remote learning revealed stark digital divides, with students from lower-income households often lacking reliable internet access or dedicated learning spaces. School support staff report seeing more students struggling with mental health challenges and academic gaps that haven’t been adequately addressed due to resource constraints.
Some provincial governments have responded to educational challenges by exploring partnerships with private entities. In Ontario, millions in contracts have been awarded to private tutoring companies to address pandemic learning loss, rather than bolstering in-school supports. Critics view this as further diverting funds from the public system while introducing profit motives into educational recovery.
The push toward educational technology, accelerated during the pandemic, has also raised concerns about the growing influence of tech companies in classrooms. “We need to ask who benefits most from these digital learning platforms,” suggests Dr. Thompson. “Is it our students, or the companies collecting their data and creating future customers?”
Despite these challenges, there are grounds for hope. In communities across Canada, parents, educators and students are organizing to defend public education. In Vancouver, a coalition of parent groups successfully lobbied their school board to reject a proposal that would have closed three neighborhood schools. In Halifax, student-led protests resulted in the restoration of previously cut arts programs.
“What gives me optimism is seeing communities recognize what’s at stake and step up,” says Megan Lawrence, a parent organizer in Saskatoon. “Public education belongs to all of us, and more people are realizing they have both the right and responsibility to shape its future.”
For any meaningful change to occur, Canadians must recognize public education as a common good worth fighting for – not just for families with school-aged children, but for society as a whole.
The evidence suggests strong public education systems correlate with healthier democracies, reduced inequality, and stronger social cohesion. As we navigate complex global challenges, from climate change to technological disruption, these outcomes become more crucial, not less.
The teacher I met in Hamilton summed it up powerfully as her students filed out at day’s end: “Every morning, I welcome 32 different futures into my classroom. What we decide about public education today determines what possibilities those futures hold.”
The question facing Canadians now is whether we’ll choose to invest in those possibilities or allow them to be diminished through neglect or deliberate policy choices that undervalue our public education system and the democratic promise it represents.
