More than 300k Quebec kids eligible for English school, 76 per cent attend: StatsCan
More than 300,000 Quebec children have the constitutional right to education in English new Statistics Canada census data shows.
Statistics Canada is collecting this data for the first time, giving Quebec's English education system a real picture of the situation.
The census found 175,000 school-aged children in Quebec attended an English primary or secondary school in Canada, representing 76.2 per cent of eligible children aged 5 to 17 in this province.
Proximity is an issue for English speakers in some regions of the province.
"There are pockets of English-eligible students for whom it’s just not practical to attend English schools — they’re just too far," said Russell Copeman, executive director of the Quebec English School Boards Association (QESBA).
StatCan says that more than 90 per cent of eligible children lived within 15 kilometres of a minority official language school in 2021. And those living in rural areas see an average distance that’s four times greater than in more densely populated regions.
"The analysis shows that the further eligible school-age children live from a minority official language school, the less likely they are to have attended a minority official language school," said Eric Caron-Malenfant, assistant director of Statistics Canada's demography centre.
Of the 304,000 eligible Quebec kids, nearly 74,000 are pre-school age. QESBA said that their records show about 81,000 children study in the English public sector.
That means there’s a big gap, showing that many students favour private schools or choose to study in French.
"It still leaves about 230,000, according to Statistics Canada, who are eligible for English instruction. And that’s a high number. It’s quite frankly higher than many of us anticipated," said Copeman.
Despite that, the English Montreal School Board (EMSB) has seen a slight uptick in enrolment this year.
"We have schools in certain parts of our sector that are bursting at the seams and then we have some schools that are not in that situation and their numbers have decreased," said EMSB spokesperson Mike Cohen.
MINORITY LANGUAGE CHILDREN OTHER PROVINCES
In provinces and territories other than Quebec, 593,000 have the right to attend regular French public schools, nearly 64.7 per cent of those eligible.
Ontario has the largest number of children with French-language rights — 350,000 — while New Brunswick has the largest proportion with 36 per cent of all children.
With files from The Canadian Press
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING | Former Mississauga, Ont. mayor Hazel McCallion dies at 101
Former Mississauga, Ont. mayor Hazel McCallion, nicknamed 'Hurricane Hazel,' has died. She was 101 years old. Premier Doug Ford said McCallion died peacefully at her home early Sunday morning.

Majority of affordable homes approved under federal program not yet constructed
The federal government has set aside billions of dollars to quickly build affordable housing across the country, but delays in construction suggest many of the projects approved for funding are missing their deadlines.
'Don't be numb to this': Battling despair over gun deaths
When President Joe Biden signed a bill last year to fight gun violence -- the first such measure to pass Congress in a generation -- a substantial majority supported it. But 78 per cent said they believed it would do little or nothing at all, a survey by the Pew Research Center found.
Memphis police disband unit that beat Tyre Nichols
The Memphis police chief on Saturday disbanded the unit whose officers beat to death Tyre Nichols as the nation and the city struggled to come to grips with video showing police pummelling the Black motorist.
As Canada's RCMP marks 150th anniversary, a look at what it says needs to change
After years of reports and allegations detailing a 'toxic' workplace, Canada's RCMP says it is trying to evolve, focusing on diversity in its organization and repairing relationships with communities as it marks its 150th anniversary.
Once-in-a-lifetime discovery: Indigenous jacket that may be a century old turns up in small U.K. town
When 1990s suede fringe jackets started making a comeback last year, a U.K.-based vintage clothing company decided to order four tonnes of suede from a supplier in the United States. Along with that shipment came a once-in-a lifetime discovery.
How to get over the 'mental hurdle' of being active in the winter
When the cold and snow have people hunkering down, these outdoor enthusiasts find motivation in braving the Canadian winter through community and sport.
Tyre Nichols case revives calls for change in U.S. police culture
Tyre Nichols' fatal encounter with police officers in Memphis, Tenn., recorded in video made public Friday night, is a glaring reminder that efforts to reform policing have failed to prevent more flashpoints in an intractable epidemic of brutality.
W5 EXCLUSIVE | Interviewing a narco hitman: my journey into Mexico's cartel heartland
W5 goes deep into the narco heartland to interview a commander with one of Mexico's most brutal cartels. W5's documentary 'Narco Avocados' airs Saturday at 7 pm on CTV.