Provinces' Responsibilities Concerning Education

In Canada, the responsibility of education is taken on by provincial governments. School boards, which fall under the umbrella of a provinces’ ministry of education, are democratically elected, are central to the political ecosystem, and [“have been partners with communities and provincial governments for as long as Canada has been a country”.](https://www.cdnsba.org/all-about#:~:text=In Canada%2C education is the,Canada has been a country.) The Canadian constitution dictates that provincial governments have the right to manage school board operations and public school systems within their respective province. There is not that large of a difference between provinces in that respect. For example, [“in most provinces, locally elected school trustees/commissioners set and administer an annual budget; hire and promote teachers and administrators; set local school policies; build schools; and purchase supplies”](https://www.cdnsba.org/all-about#:~:text=In Canada%2C education is the,Canada has been a country.).

Within provinces, appointed ministers of education run their respective ministries of education where they have complete autonomy over funding and instruction of the schools in their province. At the same time, there is also a ministry of advanced education which is headed by a similarly appointed minister. They set policy and funding structures concerning post-secondary institutions. Each province does, however, allocate funding to schools slightly differently.

It is important to understand the way in which provincial governments fund their individual education systems to contextually gaps the entirety of this page. If you want to learn more about funding click here.

The following links provide direct case studies of different Ontario and British Columbia provincial government party policies.

<aside> 📍 Click here for the Government of British Columbia on Education

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<aside> 📍 Click here for the Government of Ontario on Education

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