Sustainable Development Goal 4: Quality education – Canada.ca
Ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all are essential for Canada’s economic and social prosperity, and for the well-being of all Canadians.
Canada’s ambition under this goal is to ensure Canadians have access to inclusive and quality education throughout their lives. Consequently:
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:
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, community-based Early Learning and Child Care system, so all families have access to high-quality, affordable, flexible and inclusive early learning and child care no matter where they live.
The Government of Canada worked with Indigenous partners to co-develop the Indigenous Early Learning and Child Care Framework. This Framework serves as guide for all actors in the early learning and child care sphere to work towards achieving a shared vision that all Indigenous children have the opportunity to experience high-quality and culturally strong Early Learning and Child Care. The Government of Canada has committed $1.7 billion over 10 years to support early learning and child care programs and services for Indigenous children and families.
The Canada Learning Bond is money that the Government adds to a Registered Education Savings Plan for children from low-income families. 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, the Government of Canada offers student grants and loans to full-time and part-time students. Grants and loans help students pay for their post-secondary education.
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 Apprentice loans and grants help apprentices complete their training in a Red Seal trade and for employers to help support the apprentices they hire and train.
The Federal-Provincial-Territorial Protocol for Agreements for Minority-Language Education and Second-Language Instruction supports French education in minority language communities, education in English for English-speaking communities in Quebec as well as second-language instruction for the 2019 and 2020 to the 2022 and 2023 period.
