In terms of the level of distance and online learning activity across Canada, the total K-12 population in Canada for 2022-23 was approximately 5.5 million students. Based on actual and estimated enrollment data, the number of students engaged in K-12 distance and online learning was 360,363 or 6.6% of the overall K-12 student population (see Table 5).
Table 5. Summary of K-12 distance and/or online learning activity by jurisdiction for 2022-23
| # of K-12 students | # enrolled in distance/online learning | Percent involvement | |
| NL | 63,805 | ~950 | 1.5% |
| NS | 131,343 | 2,219 | 1.7% |
| PE | 20,131 | ~175 | 0.8% |
| NB | 102,934 | ~5,451 | 5.3% |
| QC | 1,137,766 | ~50,000 | 4.4% |
| ON | 2,028,688 | ~130,000 | 6.4% |
| MB | 207,814 | ~6,650 | 3.2% |
| SK | 189,924 | 15,521 | 8.2% |
| AB | 766,280 | ~77,000 | 10.0% |
| BC | 680,013 | 68,402 | 10.1% |
| YT | 5,960 | 318 | 5.3% |
| NT | 8,700 | 177 | 2.0% |
| NV | 10,902 | – | – |
| Federal | 114,158 | ~3,500 | 3.0% |
| Total | 5,468,418 | ~360,363 | 6.6% |
Note: ~ symbol means that approximations were provided by one or more sources
In examining the data, jurisdictions can be grouped into three categories. First, the majority of provinces in Western Canada have K-12 distance and online learning participation levels that are much higher than the national average (i.e., Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia). Second, while historically Central Canada has consistently had participation levels near the national average, this year only Ontario fell into this category (although it is possible that Quebec might also be included in this category, as there were no student enrollment data provided by the Québec Ministère de l’éducation et de l’Enseignement for the pilot projects that operated during the 2022-23 school year). Third, most jurisdictions in Atlantic Canada (i.e., Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador) and most jurisdictions in Northern Canada (i.e., Northwest Territories and Nunavut) have a relatively low proportion of K-12 students engaged in distance and online learning.
As it has been stated before, it is difficult to determine why particular jurisdictions end up in each of the categories. There are jurisdictions that have significant levels of legislative and/or regulatory requirements – like British Columbia and Nova Scotia – that are in categories that are at the opposite end of the spectrum (e.g., British Columbia in the high proportion of K-12 distance and/or online learning, while Nova Scotia is in the low proportion category). Similarly, there are jurisdictions that have no legislative and/or regulatory requirements – like Alberta and Newfoundland and Labrador – that are also in opposite categories. There continue to be no real trends for why one jurisdiction has a higher or lower level of engagement in K-12 distance and online learning, and any effort to apply a rationale would be political, ideological, or self-serving.
It should be noted that Quebec continues to remain a true outlier when it comes to its approach to K-12 e-learning. If the approximately 40,000 adult students engaged in distance learning from programs supported by the Société de formation à distance des commissions scolaires du Québec were not included, the number of known distance learning students in Quebec would decrease to approximately 10,000 or approximately 0.9% of all K-12 students in the province. Given there is no recent data available from programs such as Centre de services scolaire de la Beauce-Etchemin or Écoles en réseau, as well as the fact that the Ministère de l’éducation was unable to provide any student data from the pilot projects, Quebec represents a lack of reliable data collection. It is also worth reminding readers that the Government of Quebec argued in the 2021 Karounis c. Procureur Général du Québec case, there is a general belief that distance learning is inferior to in person or classroom-based learning. Essentially, while other provinces are increasing the opportunities for students to learn at a distance or through alternative format (and even creating regulatory regimes to encourage it), Quebec remains resistant to the use of K-12 e-learning.
The 2022-23 school year saw a return to a pre-pandemic trends with respect to the proportion of students engaged in K-12 distance and/or online learning (see Table 6 below).
Table 6. K-12 distance and/or online learning student enrollment in Canada
| Year | # of distance education students | % of students engaged in distance education |
| 1999-2000* | ~25,000 | 0.5% |
| 2008-09 | ~140,000 | 2.7% |
| 2009-10 | 150,000-175,000 | 2.9%-3.4% |
| 2010-11 | 207,096 | 4.2% |
| 2011-12 | 245,252 | 4.9% |
| 2012-13 | 284,963 | 5.2% |
| 2013-14 | 290,185 | 5.4% |
| 2014-15 | 311,648 | 6.0% |
| 2015-16 | 293,401 | 5.7% |
| 2016-17 | 277,603 | 5.4% |
| 2017-18 | 263,686 | 5.1% |
| 2018-19 | 299,320 | 5.9% |
| 2019-20 | 310,582 | 6.0% |
| 2020-21 | 387,385 | 7.3% |
| 2021-22 | 399,847 | 7.6% |
| 2022-23 | ~360,363 | 6.6% |
* (Canadian Teachers Federation, 2000)
Historically, the proportion of students engaged in K-12 distance and online learning has remained stable year after year, with jumps from time to time. For example, after a period of stability from 2011-12 to 2013-14, there was a 0.6% jump in 2014-15. Similarly, there was a slight decrease from 2015-16 to 2017-18, followed by a 0.8% jump in 2018-19. If we exclude the 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years was artificially inflated due to the pandemic, there was stability from 2018-19 to 2019-20, then a 0.6% jump in 2022-23.
Each of these jumps have often been due to significant increases in the number of students engaged in K-12 distance and online learning in a very small number of provinces (often only two or three provinces). For example, the 0.6% jump that occurred in 2014-15 was due to significant increases in participation from Ontario and Saskatchewan. Similarly, the 0.8% jump in 2018-19 was due to dramatic increases in the activity in Quebec, Manitoba, and Alberta. As Table 7 below indicates, the 0.6% jump between 2019-20 and 2022-23 was largely due to significant increases in the proportion of students enrolled in K-12 distance and online learning in Quebec, Ontario, and British Columbia.
Table 7. Summary of K-12 distance and/or online learning activity over the past five years
| # students engaged in distance and/or online learning | |||||
| 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | |
| NL | 1,140 | 1,092 | 1,029 | 936 | ~950 |
| NS | 2,381 | 2,241 | 3,319 | 2,761 | 2,219 |
| PE | ~100 | 133 | ~175 | ~260 | ~175 |
| NB | ~3,270 | ~3,470 | 4,754 | 5,134 | ~5,451 |
| QC | ~40,000 | ~35,000 | ~39,400 | ~55,000 | ~50,000 |
| ON | ~89,000 | ~98,000 | ~122,000 | ~139,000 | ~130,000 |
| MB | ~11,875 | ~13,749 | ~8,173 | ~8,000 | ~6,650 |
| SK | 8,378 | 12,456 | 22,510 | 19,142 | 15,521 |
| AB | 75,806 | 82,857 | 97,527 | ~92,000 | ~77,000 |
| BC | ~65,000 | ~59,000 | ~85,000 | 73,744 | 68,402 |
| YT | 170 | 234 | 389 | ~250 | 318 |
| NT | 130 | 131 | 92 | 120 | 177 |
| NV | ~70 | 19 | ~15 | – | – |
| Federal | ~2,000 | ~2,200 | ~3,000 | ~3,500 | ~3,500 |
| Total | 299,320 | 310,582 | 387,385 | 399,847 | ~360,363 |
One of the interesting trends in Table 7 above (and in Table 8 below for that matter) is the number of jurisdictions where the level of K-12 distance and online learning activity have decreased. In total, eight of the 14 jurisdictions that we tracked had a decrease in the number of students who were engaged in K-12 distance and/or online learning. Additionally, for five of those eight jurisdictions it was the second straight year that they had experienced a decline in participation. This trends suggests that the artificial inflation of participation in K-12 distance and online learning due to the pandemic during the 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years is still in the process of being normalized – and it may be the 2023-24 school year before the data reflects the ‘new normal’ in K-12 e-learning across Canada.
Interestingly, most of the jurisdictions where there had only been a small number of students engaged in K-12 distance and online learning prior to the pandemic experienced very little pandemic effect. One of the reasons may be due to the fact that these provinces and territories had small enough school systems that they were able to manage K-12 remote learning options with a heavy reliance on their traditional K-12 distance and online learning programs. Another may be that due to their generally small numbers of students engaged in K-12 distance and online learning, the proportional impact on their level of participation is often hidden. A 1% change in Nova Scotia or New Brunswick would only require 1,000 students, whereas a 1% change in Alberta or British Columbia would require a change of 6,000-7,000 students. As with previous years, many of the trends in the participation by jurisdiction data are even more noticeable when the proportion of students engaged in K-12 distance and/or online learning is examined (see Table 8).
Table 8. Summary of K-12 distance and/or online learning activity over the past five years
| % students engaged in distance and/or online learning | |||||
| 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | |
| NL | 1.8% | 1.7% | 1.6% | 1.5% | 1.5% |
| NS | 2.0% | 1.8% | 2.7% | 2.1% | 1.7% |
| PE | 0.5% | 0.7% | 0.8% | 1.3% | 0.8% |
| NB | 3.3% | 3.5% | 4.8% | 5.2% | 5.3% |
| QC | 4.0% | 3.5% | 3.9% | 5.5% | 4.4% |
| ON | 4.4% | 4.8% | 5.9% | 6.8% | 6.4% |
| MB | 5.7% | 6.6% | 4.4% | 3.9% | 3.2% |
| SK | 4.5% | 6.7% | 12.2% | 10.3% | 8.2% |
| AB | 10.6% | 11.2% | 13.3% | 12.5% | 10.0% |
| BC | 10.2% | 10.8% | 12.6% | 11.1% | 10.1% |
| YT | 3.1% | 4.2% | 7.1% | 4.6% | 5.3% |
| NT | 1.4% | 1.5% | 1.1% | 1.4% | 2.0% |
| NV | 0.6% | 0.2% | 0.1% | – | – |
| Federal | 1.9% | 2.0% | 2.8% | 3.2% | 3.0% |
| Total | 5.9% | 6.0% | 7.3% | 7.6% | 6.6% |
For example, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, and Ontario all experienced declines in the proportion of K-12 students enrolled in K-12 distance and/or online learning over the past year. Similarly, Nova Scotia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia all experienced a second straight year of decline in the proportion of K-12 students enrolled in K-12 distance and/or online learning. In the case of both Saskatchewan and Alberta, the decline was greater than 2%, whereas the decline in other jurisdictions tended to range between 0.5% and 1%.
In examining the data from a pre-pandemic (i.e., 2019-20) to post-pandemic (i.e., 2022-23) perspective, the proportion of students engaged in K-12 distance and/or online learning in Atlantic Canada was about the same – with the exception of New Brunswick, which experienced almost a 2% increase. Similarly, Ontario experienced an almost 2% increase, while Quebec increased by approximately 1%. Conversely, in Western Canada both Manitoba and Alberta experienced declines – over 3.5% and approximately 2% respectively. With a growth in the proportion of students engaged in K-12 distance and/or online learning of 1.5%, Saskatchewan was the only Western jurisdiction that experienced an increase. British Columbia reported approximately the same proportion of students enrolled in K-12 distance and/or online learning. The jurisdictions in Northern Canada that did provide data both experienced increases too, with Yukon increasing more than 1% and the North West Territories increasing 0.5%.
In a trend that was first mentioned last year, what the above data does not reveal is the significant increase in some jurisdictions with respect to the amount of choice that students and their families have in terms of K-12 distance and/or online learning providers.
Table 9. Number of K-12 distance/or online learning programs per jurisdiction over the past five years
| 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | |
| NL | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| NS | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| PE | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| NB | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| QC | 5+ | 6+ | 7+ | 44+ | 6+ |
| ON | ~81 | ~70 | ~70 | 248 | 527 |
| MB | ~38 | ~38 | ~38 | ~38 | ~38 |
| SK | 14 | 16 | 27 | 36 | 38 |
| AB | 33 | 34 | 36 | 46 | 46 |
| BC | 74 | 69 | 68 | 71 | 69 |
| YT | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| NT | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 02 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Federal | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
While the number of K-12 distance and/or online learning providers has leveled off in Saskatchewan and Alberta, there continues to be significant increases in the number of K-12 distance and online learning programs in Ontario. The growth from ~70 programs in 2020-21 to 248 programs in 2021-22 represented an increase of more than 250%. The growth from 248 programs in 2021-22 to 527 programs in 2022-23 represents another increase of more than 110%. The growth from ~70 programs in 2020-21 to 527 programs in 2022-23 represents an overall increase of more than 650%. As was discussed last year, this growth of distance and/or online learning programs in Ontario may be explained by regulatory changes. The announcements that students would be required to take four courses in order to graduate from high school in March 2019 (i.e., during the 2018-19 school year), which was reduced to two courses in November 2019 (i.e., during the 2019-20 school year), came into effect for students who began grade 9 in September 2020 (i.e., during the 2020-21 school year). The actual implementation Policy/Program Memorandum 167 was eventually released in February 2022 (i.e., during the 2021-22 school year). These regulatory changes likely had as much of an impact on the increase in K-12 distance learning programs as the pandemic. It is also worth noting that there are 60 English-speaking and 12 French-speaking school boards in the province. Traditionally, programs offered by these school boards – as well as the Independent Learning Centre – represented the bulk of the approximately 70-80 distance learning programs in Ontario. The roughly 650% increase in the number of programs represents a significant increase in the number of privately operated K-12 distance learning programs.
Once again Quebec remains an outlier in this data. Following the passage of Bill 144 in 2017, Quebec went from one pilot approved project by one educational establishment or organization in 2019-20 to two pilot approved projects by one or two educational establishments and/or organizations in 2020-21 to 56 distance learning pilot projects by more than 39 educational establishments and organizations in 2021-22. As was referenced in last year’s report, it is unknown how many of these are actual distance learning programs or the extent to which the pilot project is truly focused on the provision of distance learning. Based on responses from the Ministère de l’éducation many, if not all, of these pilot projects are not examples of distance learning (even though our analysis suggest that as many as 56 utilized the ‘comodal’ or ‘comodal asynchronous alternation’ delivery modalities).