Ontario announces pause on school curriculum changes, including kindergarten overhaul

An empty classroom is shown at a school in Toronto, Monday, Sept. 14, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette (Nathan Denette/THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Ontario has announced a pause on planned school curriculum changes that were set to take effect in September, including the introduction of early reading, math and STEM lessons in kindergarten classrooms.

Education Minister Paul Calandra said during a news conference on Friday that he has directed the Ministry of Education to pause any planned curriculum changes for one year “so that a more central and consistent curriculum can be brought forward for Ontario.”

The pause will impact a series of curriculum changes that were planned for September, including an overhaul of the kindergarten curriculum to focus on what the PC government previously described as “back to the basics” fundamentals.

A new financial literacy requirement that was supposed to be included as part of the Grade 10 math curriculum in Ontario is also now on hold. Some of the other curriculum changes that will also be paused include additional lessons on the Holocaust and a mandatory learning unit on the Holodomor famine and the experiences and history of Black Canadians as part of the Grade 10 curriculum.

Speaking with reporters, Calandra said that the pause is necessary both to allow for the introduction of a “more consistent” provincewide approach to curriculum and to ensure “teachers can have the time they need to properly implement that in their classrooms.”

The pause comes just one year after many of the curriculum changes were first announced.

In a statement provided to CTV News Toronto, Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation President-Elect Martha Hradowy called the pause “the right move.”

“The process has been rushed, with little meaningful consultation with the teachers and education workers expected to deliver it. OSSTF/FEESO is looking to work with the government to get this right — to ensure students benefit from a curriculum that is thoughtful, well-supported, and built with frontline expertise,” Hradowy said.

Calandra said that the curriculum changes will now take effect at the beginning of the 2026-2027 school year.