1 Ontario's Catholic School System

Generations of Ontario Catholics have considered education and religion to be inextricably linked. Catholics in the 19th and early 20th centuries believed that a state-supported, accessible Catholic education system was integral to the very survival of their faith in Protestant-dominated Ontario. The Catholic school system in Ontario had its beginnings with the Schools Act of 1841. This act created a public school system in the United Provinces of Canada and contained a clause allowing Catholics and other religious minorities to establish their own denominational schools. The following decades witnessed a proliferation of Catholic schools and institutions throughout the province. Despite the sectarian hostility, linguistic conflict and chronic lack of funding that plagued its development during the latter half of the century, the Catholic school system persevered, largely because its right to exist had been entrenched in the British North America Act (1867). During the 20th century, Ontario’s Catholic school system faced a number of challenges. The influx of Catholics from southern and central Europe who arrived after the Second World War and the baby boom that occurred simultaneously put a severe strain on the school system’s resources. Furthermore, suburbanization necessitated the creation of numerous new schools in new neighbourhoods and a decline in religious orders meant that many lay teachers had to be hired. A combination of political agitation and community support enabled the school system to overcome these issues. In 1997, the provincial government assumed sole responsibility of the funding of Catholic schools.

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