Quebec delays implementation of new French curriculum to September 2027

Quebec Education Minister Sonia Lebel responds to the Opposition during question period at the legislature in Quebec City, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jacques Boissinot

MONTRÉAL — The Quebec government is delaying the rollout of its new French curriculum in elementary and secondary schools by one year to September 2027, following criticism that the Education Department was moving too quickly.

Education Minister Sonia LeBel says the program, announced by her predecessor Bernard Drainville in August 2025, will now be launched at the beginning of the 2027-28 academic year instead of September 2026.

Employees in the education sector had criticized the original timeline as being rushed, after the new curriculum had been tested in 55 classrooms last September. In a news release on Tuesday, the government said the extra year will give the Education Department more time to analyze results from the 55 pilot projects and properly train staff.

In the release, LeBel said the extra year will give teachers “the time they need to master the new curriculum before teaching it, analyze the available teaching materials and choose what is best for their students.”

The new program emphasizes daily reading and writing, with a stronger focus on Quebec culture, and includes interactive activities like debates and role-playing. It also makes it mandatory that students learn a list of 2,700 words by the end of elementary school — work that had previously been optional. The list used to contain 3,000 words, but the new curriculum removes certain words like priest and pastor to reflect their decline in common usage.

Under the new program, students will be required to attend five cultural activities during the year, such as theatre shows or museum exhibits, as a way to expose them to Quebec culture.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 11, 2026.

Pierre Saint-Arnaud, The Canadian Press