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Key Stakeholders in Canadian Education: Part 1

Organizations

In many ways, every person in Canada is a stakeholder in education. Many Canadians have gone through the education system and will likely know someone going into/currently in the education system. Thus, all Canadians are likely to have a vested interest in education in some capacity, particularly organizations, which represent the interests of large swaths of people. The main organizations explored in this section are:

British Columbia, Ontario, & Quebec will be used as example provinces since education is mainly a provincial jurisdiction.

Government

One of the biggest stakeholders in education is the government. They are the prime employer of all teachers and staff in all public schools, as well as a direct influence on the private school system. Their interests mainly lie in the efficiency of the public school system by making sure that costs are low and the quality of education is high.

The Council of Ministers of Education of Canada (CMEC) has been in operation since 1967, united in comparing education policies/objectives/outcomes, exploring implementation of activities/projects/initiatives, liaising with national organizations & the federal government. As demonstrated in the infographic below, there is some variation with education structure across provinces.

Source: Council of Ministers of Education (2021)

• Leadership in the CMEC is located in the Secretariat, which has an Executive Director appointed by CMEC members. According to the CMEC, the Executive Director's responsibilities and priorities include:
• The CMEC remains committed to early development and child care programs.

The CMEC's five priorities for post-secondary education are based on:

1. Supporting access & affordability by balancing tuition costs and financial aid.
2. Exploring the role of employers to play a greater part in preparing students for the work world.
3. Finding the best post-secondary learning outcomes and focusing on them.
4. Researching the key factors of higher education sustainability and accountability.
5. How to better support transition from elementary to secondary, secondary to post-secondary, and post-secondary to work.

Lastly, the CMEC has stated that they have priorities for Indigenous education from 2019-2022 in a three-year plan, listed in their Indigenous Education Plan. The CMEC Indigenous Education Plan infographic presents their main objectives and key actions:

Source: The Council of Ministers of Education of Canada (CMEC)

In British Columbia, the Ministry of Education manages all schools in the province, led by the Minister of Education, who is currently Jennifer Whiteside. The Ministry of Education's oversees the education's organization, delivery, and assessment in the province.

<aside> 💡 The British Columbia Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Training is a separate entity that leads and oversees post-secondary education and trades apprenticeship training, overseen by Minister Anne Kang.

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