Education in Canada is a very high priority of the government. Jurisdiction of the public education system, as well its curriculum, is overseen by each province. As a result, one can expect to see slight variations in the educational systems of each province (the type of programs offered, minimum and maximum age requirements, etc.), but there are more similarities in these systems.

Canada’s system of education has four general levels: pre-elementary, elementary, secondary and post-secondary education. Consider each of them. 

The curriculum in kindergartens includes learning the alphabet, gaining basic pre-reading and mathematics skills, music, art, and play. Though such programs are far from rigid, the main aim of any pre-school is to prepare a child for success at the next level of education – primary school.

Junior high school starts when a student completes the 6th grade of primary school. The school includes two years, during which students master the program of the 8th and 9th grades. They are taught many of the same subjects in which they received instruction in primary school, although the difficulty increases substantially.  Other subjects are also added to the curriculum in intermediate school, most notably foreign language instruction—French, Spanish, English (for Quebec students), etc.

High school is a four year program, but in the Province of Ontario only, students can take advantage of a fifth year of high school, usually referred to as Grade 12+. The curriculum in all of Canada’s high schools is designed to prepare students for a college or university education and/or provide them with the skills to succeed vocationally once they graduate.

Generally speaking, universities grant degrees (e.g., bachelor's, master's or doctorate degrees) while colleges, which typically offer vocationally-oriented programs, grant diplomas and certificates. However, some colleges offer applied arts degrees that lead to or are equivalent to degrees from a university.