rates, secondary school graduation rates, and higher
education attendance rates among people age
twenty-five to twenty-nine. Between 1986 and 1996,
there was a 43 percent increase in female university
graduates, with the largest increase in engineering
and applied sciences and social sciences and related
fields. Among males, the largest increase in gradu-
ates was in the fields of education, recreational and
counseling services, and humanities and related
fields. The 1996 census confirmed that it was becom-
ing more difficult for women without a high school
diploma to join the Canadian labor force (only 56
percent) than men of the same educational level (86
percent). The census did not reveal a major shift to
science and technology programs of study, in spite of
the rapid pace of technological change.
Education Reform Act of 1998 The 1996 census
confirmed that aboriginal people fifteen years and
older had significantly lower levels of schooling than
non-aboriginal populations. Fifty-four percent of
this aboriginal population did not have a high
school diploma. Only 4.5 percent of the population
were university graduates. Since 1981, the percent-
age of aboriginal people earning an advanced de-
gree increased from 19 percent to 23 percent in
- The Education Reform Act of 1998 was ap-
proved as part of Canada’s Aboriginal Action Plan
to improve the quality of education among the
aboriginal, or First Nations, schools. Between 1998
and 2000, $36 million was allocated to support over
320 initiatives in the categories of special education,
language and culture, information technology, pa-
rental and community involvement, professional de-
velopment and training, student retention and
achievement, career development and school-to-
work transition, and building institutional and gov-
ernance capacity.
Impact Major educational trends in Canada in the
1990’s indicated that 8 percent of the national bud-
get was directed to higher education. Ontario and
Quebec had the highest increase in university gradu-
ates; Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland, New
Brunswick, and Manitoba experienced a decrease
from the previous decade. There was a substantial in-
crease in two-year college enrollments. Bilingual ed-
ucation programs produced a significant decrease
in tensions between ethnic groups, and there was
greater government support for the aboriginal pop-
ulation. By 1999, women made up the majority of en-
rolled students at both two- and four-year institu-
tions of higher learning. At the graduate level, there
was now an equal number of men and women en-
rolled. Among the G7 nations, Canada had the sec-
ond-highest expenditure per student, surpassed
only by the United States. Provincial govern-
ments emphasized accountability and the use of
educational institutions to create alliances with the
private-sector industry to offer specialized programs
of study. In the 1990’s, Canada had the highest
percentage of students using the Internet, again
explained in part by the widely dispersed population.
Canadian universities offer one of the most advanced
educational learning environments, with wired resi-
dences, classrooms, and on-campus Web access.Further Reading
Battiste, Marie Ann, and Jean Barman, eds.First Na-
tions Education in Canada: The Circle Unfolds.Van-
couver: University of British Columbia Press, 1995.
Overview of aboriginal education in Canada.
Dunning, Paula.Education in Canada: An Overview.
Toronto: Canadian Educational Association, 1997.
Basic reference work addressing Canadian educa-
tion from preschool to higher education.
Guppy, Neil, and Scott Davies.Education in Canada:
Recent Trends and Future Challenges.Ottawa: Statis-
tics Canada, 1998. A straightforward analysis of
educational trends from the 1960’s to the 1990’s.
Lewington, Jennifer, and Graham Orpwood.Over-
due Assignment: Taking Responsibility for Canada’s
Schools.New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1993. A
critique of the Canadian educational system at all
academic levels.
Manzer, Ronald A.Public Schools and Political Ideas:
Canadian Educational Policy in Historical Perspective.
Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1994. A pro-
fessor emeritus of political science at the Univer-
sity of Toronto examines the political factors that
underpin Canadian educational policy.
Pan-Canadian Education Indicators Program.Edu-
cation Indicators in Canada: Report of the Pan-
Canadian Education Indicators Program, 1999.Ot-
tawa: Statistics Canada, 2000. Provides a wealth of
educational statistics.
William A. PaquetteSee also Bloc Québécois; Business and the econ-
omy in Canada; Demographics of Canada; Educa-
tion in the United States; Employment in Canada;286 Education in Canada The Nineties in America