Canadians think we can do more to improve one of our most important public institutions, education.
For the last year we have been tracking Canadian public opinion on public education in Canada on behalf of The Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF/FCE). The results below are from an online survey conducted September 26th to October 6th with 2,000 adults in Canada.
Below are some of the key findings and metrics we’ve been tracking over the last two years.
To begin, Canadians across the political spectrum believe public education is an important public expenditure.
90% of Canadians consider public education to be one of the most important public institutions in Canada. This number has not budged for three years, throughout a time when government budgets have been tested.
Beyond the general concept of spending on education in Canada, Canadians even go so far as to say that education, which is a provincial budget item, is one of the most important public expenditures in their province/territory.
This sentiment is felt more strongly among those who are parents themselves (46% of parents with school-aged children strongly agree with this statement), but even for those who are not parents and not accessing public schools- this line item is important. 9 in 10 Canadians who are not parents feel public education is one of the most important public expenditures.
There is also support across the political spectrum, 90%+ of CPC, LPC and NDP voters say public education is one of the most important public expenditures.
But there are concerns about the quality of public education. Canadians rate the quality of their public education as moderate, and even lower in certain areas.
Altogether, 40% rate the quality of the publicly funded education system in their province/territory as excellent or good (just 7% say excellent, however). 39% say the quality is okay. And 21% rate the quality as poor (only 5% saying very poor).
Across the country, ratings vary but are moderate across the board.
Scores range between 29-54%, highest in Newfoundland and Labrador and lowest in Quebec.
A particular and growing challenge is the shortage of teachers.
Three quarters of Canadians feel there is a shortage of teachers in their community. This number has only grown since we began tracking it in 2022, when it was at 67%. This is a 7-point jump in individuals who say there is a shortage of teachers in their community.
Quebec continues to have elevated concerns about a teacher shortage with 88% of Quebec residents saying there is a shortage of teachers in their community. This is followed by those in the North and New Brunswick of which 88% and 78%, respectively say there is a shortage of teachers in their community.
Parents have a higher degree of concern about the issue (79% of parents of children under 18) say there is a shortage of teachers in their community. Still, even for those without children in the school system (either current or ever) the majority feel there is a shortage of teachers.
Such a strong link is likely due to the role Canadians feel teachers play in creating a strong public education system. 80% of Canadians feel teachers play a considerable role in creating a strong, public education system. Considerably higher than any other stakeholders.
Still, Canadians believe a strong public education system is created with collaboration, with teachers leading influence. Two-thirds+ believe CTF/FCE, teachers unions, the Ministry of Education in their province/territory, and school boards all play a role in creating a strong public education system.
A strong quality education system is directly linked to teachers playing a large role in creating that system.
Canadians who say their education system is of good quality are twice as likely to say teachers played a big role in creating that system. For Canadians who say their education system is of poor quality, only 18% believe teachers were able to play a big role.
Addressing the quality of education in Canada is paramount. Not only is it a worthy public expenditure, Canadians feel our public education system is vital to our quality of life and identity.
92% of Canadians say high quality publicly-funded education is important for our quality of life.
90% say public education is a fundamental pillar of equality.
89% say high quality publicly funded education is part of our Canadian identity.
This sentiment is true whether someone is a parent or not, and across the political spectrum.
THE UPSHOT
There is no doubt Canadians place a great deal of importance on our publicly funded education systems. In the words of Canadians, it is one of our most important public expenditures, important for quality of life and central to our identities as Canadians. Still, we feel the system could be better. Given the importance of teachers in the education system and the shortages our communities face- supporting educators in finding solutions to this system challenge is a great place to start.
METHODOLOGY
The survey was conducted with 2,000 Canadian adults from September 26 to October 6, 2024. A random sample of panelists were invited to complete the survey from a set of partner panels based on the Lucid exchange platform. These partners are typically double opt-in survey panels, blended to manage out potential skews in the data from a single source.
The margin of error for a comparable probability-based random sample of the same size is +/- 2.2%, 19 times out of 20.
The data were weighted according to census data to ensure that the sample matched Canada’s population according to age, gender, educational attainment, and region. Totals may not add up to 100 due to rounding.
This survey was paid for by the Canadian Teachers’ Federation.
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