Quebec defends $570M in cuts, tells schools to avoid reducing student services if possible

Montreal Gazette

18-06-2025

Facing a backlash, Education Minister Bernard Drainville on Wednesday defended Quebec's decision to slash education funding by $570 million, saying he has asked that the cuts be made without touching student services.
English school boards and French school service centres warn the provincial cuts will directly affect elementary and high school students.
But Drainville pushed back, saying the education system has seen 'record investment' in recent years and those running the province's schools must help bring budgets back into line.
'It's not that it won't be an effort — it will,' he told reporters in Quebec City. 'But after a 58 per cent increase in the education budget since 2018, we believe it's time to make that money work better.'
He added: 'The directive I gave to school (officials) is to use money more efficiently, to respect the budget without touching student services — or at least as little as possible.'
School officials estimated the cuts amounted to at least $510 million, with some suggesting it could reach $1 billion. Drainville said they're in the order of $570 million.
The education budget is growing by five per cent this year, or by about $1.1 billion, the minister said. School officials expected budgets to rise by seven per cent, as they have in previous years.
But Drainville said seven per cent annual growth is not sustainable.
Since 2018, student enrolment grew by eight per cent, he said. Over that period, the number of teachers rose by 19 per cent, while the number of professionals such as speech therapists jumped by 15 per cent. Support staff, such as classroom aides, increased by 24 per cent.
'We're entering a phase where we have to be more efficient,' Drainville said. 'Yes, difficult choices will have to be made, but the goal is to protect student services as much as possible.'
School officials say they were blindsided by Drainville's directive.
'All services will be affected by the cuts, and it will be impossible to fully maintain all services for students,' Dominique Robert, head of the Fédération des centres de services scolaires du Québec, said Monday.
The organization represents French school service centres.
English school boards issued a similar warning.
Joe Ortona, chair of the English Montreal School Board, said more than 90 per cent of his board's budget goes to direct services and salaries.
Ortona, who is also president of the Quebec English School Boards Association, added: 'They're essentially telling us to close schools, cut teachers, cut staff, have overcrowded classrooms, and just put the entire education system in disarray. It's indecent.'
This story was originally published June 18, 2025 at 2:34 PM.