Sustainable Development Goal 4: Quality education

Canadian ambition under quality education

Canada's ambition^{Footnote 2} under this goal is to ensure Canadians have access to inclusive and quality education throughout their lives. Consequently:

the proportion of Canadians who complete high school is expected to increase over time
more Canadians should obtain a post-secondary degree by 2030

Measuring progress: the Canadian Indicator Framework

In collaboration with federal departments and agencies, Statistics Canada has developed the Canadian Indicator Framework (CIF) for the Sustainable Development Goals. The CIF includes 76 indicators specific to Canada, which measure progress using a set of nationally relevant, objective and comprehensive indicators. CIF indicators for SDG 4 are:

High school completion rate
Postsecondary education attainment rate

What we are doing to support quality education in Canada

The Government of Canada is working with provincial, territorial, and Indigenous partners to build a Canada-wide Early Learning and Child Care (ELCC) system, so all families have access to high-quality, affordable, flexible and inclusive early learning and child care no matter where they live in Canada. Investing in ELCC supports:

enabling parents, particularly mothers, to enter, re-enter, and remain in the workforce
improving graduation rates
promoting lifelong well-being
boosting lifetime earnings
increasing social equity

The Government of Canada and Indigenous partners co-developed the Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care Framework (IELCC). This Framework serves as guide for all actors in this sphere to work towards achieving a shared vision that all Indigenous children have the opportunity to experience high-quality and culturally rooted early learning and child care. In addition to previous investments, through Budget 2021, the Government of Canada committed an additional $2.5 billion over 5 years starting in 2021 to 2022, and $542 million annually ongoing to support early learning and child care programs and services for Indigenous children and families. Guided by Indigenous priorities and distinctions-based envelopes, investments in IELCC will help ensure that more Indigenous families have access to high-quality ELCC programming that meets their needs wherever they live, including by creating up to 3,300 new child care spaces.

In April 2019, the Government of Canada launched a new policy and approach, to support students in First Nations-operated elementary and secondary schools with funding that is comparable to funding in provincial education systems, plus additional funding for language and cultural programming and kindergarten for children age 4 and 5 at First Nations schools. This approach was informed by close work with First Nations between 2016 and 2018.

Following a comprehensive and collaborative review of federal programs supporting Indigenous students who wish to pursue post-secondary education, Budget 2019 announced investments for distinctions-based Indigenous post-secondary education strategies aimed at increasing the access and success of Indigenous students.

The Canada Learning Bond is money that the Government adds to a Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) for children from low-income families. No contributions to the RESP are required to get the Bond. This money helps to pay the costs of a child's full- or part-time studies after high school at apprenticeship programs, CEGEPs, trade schools, colleges or universities.

Through the Canada Student Financial Assistance Program, the Government of Canada offers grants and loans to full-time and part-time students to help students pay for their post-secondary education.

The Canada Apprentice Loans and apprenticeship grants help apprentices complete their training in a Red Seal trade. Other funding programs help employers support the apprentices they hire and train.

Through Canada Service Corps, the Government of Canada promotes civic engagement among youth while providing opportunities to build knowledge and skills. The program funds approximately 100 organizations to deliver volunteer service opportunities for youth aged 15 to 30, and micro-grants for youth-led projects.

The Protocol for Agreements for Minority-Language Education and Second-Language Instruction 2019 to 2023, between the Government of Canada and the governments of the provinces and territories, supports French education in minority language communities, education in English for English-speaking communities in Quebec as well as second-language instruction. Budget 2019 increased funding to support minority-language education by $60 million over 4 years (2019 to 2023). Budget 2021 increased funding for second-language education by $165 million over 3 years (2021 to 2024). More recently, Budget 2023 allocated just over $500 million in additional funding, as part of the 2023 to 2028 Action Plan for Official Languages, to strengthen the minority-language education continuum; support second-language learning; and support teacher recruitment and retention.

What Canada is doing to support quality education abroad

Canada continues to build on its historic support for quality education for the most marginalized around the world, including new funding for girls' and refugees' education. Canada's investments abroad focus on increasing access to gender-responsive, safe, inclusive, and equitable quality basic education and demand-driven skills development for the marginalized and hardest to reach.

Canada has demonstrated leadership in strengthening national education systems, such as through support to national Ministries of Education. In 2023, Canada signed a $120 million sovereign loan agreement for Jordan's education sector and $50 million in budget support to Senegal's National Education Program. Through a $300 million investment over 5 years (2021 to 2026), Canada is working with the Global Partnership for Education to help build stronger education systems in over 90 partner countries, and ensuring all girls and boys are reached with quality learning opportunities.

Supporting education in humanitarian crises, including for refugees and displaced children and youth, remains a priority for Canada. As part of the Together for Learning campaign, Canada is investing $67.2 million in projects supporting the education of children and youth experiencing forced displacement, including $40 million to Canadian civil society organizations for education for refugee and displaced children and youth in Sub-Saharan Africa. In 2023, Canada pledged $87.5 million to Education Cannot Wait (ECW), the United Nations global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises. Canada's contribution will support at least 20 million crisis-affected children in accessing quality education in emergency and crisis situations worldwide. This contribution includes funding to Bangladesh, as part of Canada's strategy to respond to the Rohingya and Myanmar crises and provide education for Rohingya refugees and host communities.

Canada has championed girls' and women's education, particularly those affected by displacement, crisis or conflict. During its G7 presidency in 2018, Canada mobilized an historic investment of over $4.3 billion in support of the Charlevoix Declaration on Quality Education, which included a commitment made by Canada of $400 million. Canada's investment through the Charlevoix Education Initiative supports 55 projects to improve access to quality education and skills training, particularly for women and girls, including refugees and displaced children and youth and children with disabilities, across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East, reaching more than 4 million women and girls.

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Date modified:: 2024-05-01

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