The Canadian education system is one of the most decentralized systems in terms of organization and management. Canada is characterized by the absence of a National Education Ministry or a federal education system, instead educational powers are delegated to each of the jurisdictions composing the Confederation.

1. CANADIAN
EDUCATION
SYSTEM

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Canadian Education System
The Canadian education system is one of the most decentralized systems in terms of organization and management.
Canada is characterized by the absence of a National Education Ministry or a federal education system, instead educa-
tional powers are delegated to each of the jurisdictions composing the Confederation.
Canada is geographically divided into three territories (Nunavut, Northern Territories and Yukon) and ten provinces
(Alberta, British Columbia, Prince Edward Island, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario, Quebec, Saskat-
chewan, Newfoundland and Labrador), which are responsible for all of the educational matters inherent in their respec-
tive districts.
According to the British North American Act of 1867, each province and territory is empowered to establish its own auto-
nomous education system and take actions relating to schools, teachers and curricula. To this effect, each of the thirteen
jurisdictions of the country has education departments or ministries that are responsible for the organization, availability
and assessment of elementary and secondary education of its district.
Besides, the federal government deals with specific aspects, such as ensuring education for Eskimos, military children,
persons deprived of their liberty and adults. In addition, it provides financial support to educational centers and promotes
the teaching of minority languages.
Within the Canadian educational offer, there are public schools that cover educational levels, from pre-school to the
completion of secondary school, including education for work.
On the other hand, there are private or “separate” schools that are governed by the guidelines set forth by the relevant
Ministry or Department of education of their respective province or territory. This alternative to public education, in which
a tuition or monthly installment must be paid, offers a great variety of teaching options based on interests, religion, lan-
guage or academic level. In addition, it offers exclusive education for male or female students.
Anyway, about 95% of Canadian students opt for the public education system.
It is worth mentioning the language spoken in Canada. The purpose of the Official Languages Act of 1969 is the defense
of multiculturalism, establishing two official languages in Canada: English and French. Given the level of decentraliza-
tion of this country, each province or territory is free to elect an official language, anyway, English is the most commonly
used.
Finally, it should be noted that Canada has been characterized by having the doors open to foreign students from diffe-
rent countries of the world, offering them a place to be professionally trained and, in turn, getting to know the Canadian
culture.
Educational competences
As stated above, educational responsibilities are fully delegated to each of the districts composing the Canadian con-
federation. In this sense, though they share patterns, each territory or province has an educational model according to
its own history, geography, language, religion, economic activities and other social and cultural variables. In any case,
there are no substantial differences between them.
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3. Canadian Education SystemINEW
The highest regional body in terms of education is the Ministry or Department of Education. This body discharges educa-
tional, administrative and finance management duties under the regulations and laws designed by each territory. Among
its responsibilities, we can mention the development of curricula, education assessment within its jurisdiction, control of
teachers’ labor conditions, funding and technological innovation, among others.
Educational institutions in each jurisdiction are under the authority of said body, the responsible officer (minister) of
which is elected by the legislative body of the relevant territory and appointed by its head of government. In turn, there
is the vice-minister, who is also a public official that deals with the operation of the Ministry. The powers granted to the
authorities are at the discretion of the provincial or territorial governments.
Inside the province or territory, each district is divided into local school boards composed of school districts that deal
with the management of schools. They play a role in the selection of contents to be taught at schools, in the admission
of personnel and students and propose infrastructure or other educational investment projects to authorities. Schools
are also empowered to select and organize the curricula offered by them.
Notwithstanding educational decentralization, there exists the so-called Council of Ministers of Education of Canada
(CMEC) created by provincial and territorial ministers in 1967, whereby national policies on education are agreed upon
and common matters are discussed.
Furthermore, this entity is used as a means of consultation by each of the ministers of education vis-à-vis national orga-
nizations, generating a cooperation link between them. In turn, the CMEC represents Canadian provinces and territories
globally in education matters.
Education levels
It is worth mentioning that the following description of education levels corresponds to a classification adopted by the
majority of the Canadian provinces and territories, however, there are exceptions according to the educational charac-
teristics of each district.
In general, levels are classified in pre-elementary, elementary school, secondary school and higher education (also
called post-secondary education).
Pre-elementary education
Initial education starts, in most of the provinces or territories, at the age of 4 in the so-called kindergartens or maternelles
until the age of 6. Its purpose is to prepare children for elementary education.
Though it is not compulsory in all of the jurisdictions, most Canadian parents send their children voluntarily to kinder-
garten, and in general 4-year-old children attend half-time, whereas 5-year-old attend full time, depending on the school
board.
For children at the nursery stage, there are also the so-called “child care centers” or garderies. They may be public
or state or privately-funded private institutions. In some provinces, within this category, there also exists “home-based
kindergartens”. They are childcare places operating in family homes and managed by homeowners. They are governed
by provincial laws.
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Elementary Education
In most jurisdictions, education is compulsory as from this level , which, according to each specific case, is six to eight
years long and divided into grades. Children start elementary school at the age of 5 or 6 and most of them end it at 12.
In general terms, elementary education’s contents focus on math, languages, social sciences, science and introduction
to arts, including in some cases, learning a second language. Public schools are generally gender-mixed (boys and
girls) and offer secular education in morning schedule.
Secondary education
Usually, this education level is also compulsory and comprises 6 grades, from 12 to 18 years of age.
Only in three provinces , this level is divided into two stages: one called “Middle Level”, comprising 5th, 6th and 7th
grades and then, upper level until 12th grade.
Notwithstanding this classification, the majority of the provinces offers two kind of curricula: academic and vocational.
The first one aims at providing the necessary tools for students to enter university or the “Colleges”. Whereas, vocatio-
nal education is related to the incorporation of students into the labor world, however, it also provides tools to enter a
College.
Those students who complete this cycle, either through the academic or vocational program, are awarded a “Secondary
School” degree that allows them to continue their upper level studies.
Higher education
Post-secondary education starts when a student enter “College” or “Collège d’enseignement général et professionnel”
(Cégep) , which are institutes that offer, in general, two types of courses of study that the student may elect voluntarily;
namely: Pre-university courses of study (two-year long and aimed at training students to enter University) or technical
courses of study (three-year long and aimed at training students in specific vocational courses that allow them to access
the labor market and enter University as well).
Upon completion of college education, students may enter university. Most universities are publicly funded and are
managed by authorities from the jurisdiction where they are located. In any case, they have a high level of academic
autonomy that results in them preparing their own curricula and research programs, defining their own study regimes,
and determining their admission requirements, among others.
Within university education, there are different stages: the first one is completed after three or five years of study upon
the award of a “Bachelor’s Degree”. After one or two years of study, intermediate certificates of study may be awarded.
Then, in the second cycle, after one or two years of study and the presentation of a research thesis, a “Master’s Degree”
is awarded. Finally, in the third cycle, a doctorate’s degree is awarded after three years of study, one of which must be
taken at University.
The Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada is an entity that brings together most Universities of this country
and public and private colleges. It was created in 1911 and its purpose is to encourage cooperation among universities
and the Canadian government, and the industrial sector, the community and foreign institutions as well.
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Compulsory education
The age of mandatory entry to the education system depends on the province or territory and this is also different within
each of them. In most cases compulsory education begins when children start attending elementary school at the age
of 6 or 7, however, in certain cases children are mandatorily required to start attending pre-elementary school at the
age of 5.
Education is mandatory for ten or twelve years concluding when students complete secondary education, at 16 or 18,
depending on the province or territory .
Funding
In Canada, education may be funded by different sources, including the Canadian federation government, local govern-
ments (provinces or territories), certain school boards and funding may be also provided by the private sector. Notwiths-
tanding the various funding sources, it should be noted that Canada spends about 7% of its GDP on education.
Most funding comes from provincial or territorial governments provided either directly or through a combination of pro-
vincial transfers and taxes imposed on citizens, either by the local governments or by school boards vested with taxation
powers.
For purposes of financial redistribution within each district there are provincial schemes in place that allow funds to be
equitably allocated based on the number of students, special needs, location of schools, level and other factors of each
school board.
When it comes to educational levels, primary and secondary education is funded by provincial governments while the
federal government provides funding to a greater extent to higher and technical education, used in payment of teachers,
construction, maintenance and equipment of schools, school transportation, among other.
Vocational training
In Canada vocational training plays a major role under the continuing education policy fostered by this country. The
various territories and provinces in Canada encourage education of people throughout their entire lives, and technical
and vocational education are two areas intended to provide the tools required for the young and adults to have access
to employment.
Since the secondary education level, students are given a chance to receive this type of education with possibilities of
receiving further training within higher education.
As noted above, the decentralization process results in differences among the educational systems depending on each
jurisdiction, therefore, technical and vocational education will change -in terms of structuring- depending on the place
where you study.
In this document, we will take as an example the province of Quebec, one of the most densely populated provinces of
Canada.
The educational system in such province consists of pre-elementary school (one year), elementary school (six years),
secondary school (five years) and post-secondary education (Colleges and Universities).
It should be noted that in this jurisdiction and others vocational training is strongly supported by and present in the curri-
culum of secondary schools (both in public and private middle institutions) while technical education is mainly provided
in post-secondary institutions (in Cégeps, private colleges and governmental schools).
Thus, depending on the study program chosen by the student, after successfully completing the third or fourth grade of
secondary school he or she will have access to vocational training education.
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For any such students who have opted for general education in secondary school, after completing it they may start
post-secondary education programs related to technical education within Colleges which are two-year long for pre-
university education, and three-year long for higher technical education.
Official certifications within vocational training are:
• DEP: Diploma of vocational studies (Diplôme d’études professionnelles). This diploma is obtained upon suc-
cessfully completing study programs which are on average one to two years in duration . Education under DEP
starts in secondary school (third, fourth or fifth grade depending on the school curricular programs).
• ASP: Attestation of vocational specialization (Attestation de spécialisation professionnelle). It extends over six
to twelve months. While not a compulsory requirement, these courses are offered to students who have pre-
viously obtained a DEP.
• AEP: Attestation of vocational studies (Attestation d’études professionnelles). It generally extends over no more
than one year and it is intended to cover specific labor needs required by the labor market.
In addition, technical education provides the following certifications:
• DEC: Diploma of ‘college’ studies (Diplôme d’études collégiales). This diploma provides access to employment
as a technician or technologist and the program is three years in duration.
• AEC: Certificate of ‘college’ studies (Attestation d’études collégiales). This program ranges from 330 to 1,350
hours in duration and is geared towards preparing students for access to the labor market in the same manner as
the DEC.
In turn, there are options for continuing vocational training at different school commissions and continuing technical
training at Cégep. Such offer is subject to the needs of companies and individuals organized on the basis of the official
study programs.
In line with its vision to welcome foreign students into Canada, in Quebec there is a system in place whereby value is
given to competencies acquired through real-life experiences known as RAC (Recognition of Competencies).
This permanent service offered in such province allows rapid access to employment as a result of obtaining an official
certification and further encourages continuing education and training of foreign students who decide to study in this
country.
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Source
Website of the Government of Canada
http://www.mecd.gob.es/
Website of Canada Statistics Agency
http://www.statcan.gc.ca/
Website of Canada Embassy in Argentina
http://www.canadainternational.gc.ca/argentina-argentine
Website of the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada
http://www.cmec.ca/
Website of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
http://www.oecd.org/
Website of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
http://www.unesco.org/
Website of the Universities of Canada
http://www.univcan.ca/
Website of Canada Colleges and Institutes
http://www.collegesinstitutes.ca/
Website of the Government of Quebec
http://www.gouv.qc.ca/
Website of the Canadian Association of Public Schools - International
http://www.caut.ca/
Website of the Canadian Association of Public Schools - International
http://www.caps-i.ca/
Castro Rea, Julián. Canada: la Federación más Descentralizada del Mundo. Revista Mexicana de Ciencias
Políticas y Sociales, year XL, number 161, July-September, 1995.
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Academic structure of Canada Education System*.
* The graphic shows the structure implemented by most districts, but there are exceptions.
Doctoral Degree
Master’s Degree
Bachelor’s Degree
College
Higher Education
Secondary Education
Elementary Education
Pre-elementary school
18 years old
12 years old
6 years old
4 - 5 years old
Compulsory education
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