Homeschooling in Canada: the rules in every province and territory

Under the Constitution, education is a provincial responsibility (section 93 of the Constitution Act, 1867), and the territories have their own Education Acts. There is no federal homeschooling law, no national registration and no national curriculum. Every province and territory makes school attendance compulsory for children of certain ages, and each recognizes home education as an alternative, usually by excusing a child from attendance when they are being educated at home.

That means your obligations depend on where you live, not where your child last went to school. The rules range from very light (a yearly notice) to quite involved (a plan, progress checks and approval). Compulsory ages also differ: for example, Ontario and New Brunswick require attendance until 18, while Yukon and BC set the upper limit at 16.

• British Columbia: Register your child each year by September 30 with a public or independent school of your choice. Registered homeschooling is not supervised, doesn't have to follow the BC curriculum and isn't funded. The alternative is enrolling in an online learning school, which is publicly funded and teacher-supervised.
• Alberta: Choose a supervised program with a willing associate school board or accredited private school (a teacher visits at least twice a year to evaluate progress, and the program is funded), or a notification-only program that is not supervised by a school authority and receives no funding. Notify every year.
• Saskatchewan: Notify your local school division with the province's notification form and a written education plan. Divisions register and monitor home-based education programs and assess progress under their own policies, so details vary by division.
• Manitoba: Send a Student Notification Form to the provincial Homeschooling Office each year (by September 1 for returning families, or within 30 days of starting), then a progress report in January and in June.

• Ontario: Children must attend school from 6 to 18 unless they are receiving satisfactory instruction at home. Under Policy/Program Memorandum 131, you tell your local school board in writing that you are home schooling. The board accepts that notice unless it has reasonable grounds to doubt the instruction; there is no approval, set curriculum or required testing.
• Québec: Québec has one of the most detailed systems. You send a notice to the Ministry's Direction de l'enseignement à la maison each year (by July 1, or within 10 days of your child leaving a school), then a learning project (projet d'apprentissage), a mid-year status report and two progress reports. Your child must also sit the ministerial exams that apply to their level, and your school service centre can arrange other evaluations.

• Nova Scotia: Register each child every year with the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (not your regional centre for education), and send a progress report at the end of June. Many parents write an anecdotal report rather than using a form.
• New Brunswick: Children aged 5 to 18 must attend school unless the Minister is satisfied they are receiving effective instruction elsewhere. You apply each year on the Annual Home Schooling Application Form through your school district, which forwards it to the Minister. The 2026–27 form gives a September 25 deadline.
• Prince Edward Island: Send a Notice of Intention to Home School to the Department of Education and Early Years before each school year starts. It is a notice rather than an application.
• Newfoundland and Labrador: Apply to home school through NLSchools' regional home schooling coordinators. Home schooling needs written approval before it begins.

• Yukon: Register each year with Aurora Virtual School (English) or École Nomade (French) and submit an education plan. AVS staff help with plans and arrange achievement testing and provincial exams.
• Northwest Territories: Register with a local school before you start. The principal (or a designate) agrees assessment methods with you, monitors progress and gives feedback, and families can receive some money towards materials.
• Nunavut: Your child must be registered in a homeschooling program through the local school and approved by the District Education Authority before homeschooling begins.

Most Canadian homeschoolers pay their own costs, but a few places help:

• Alberta funds supervised home education through the associate school authority. Up to half of the grant can be reimbursed to parents for instructional materials; the parent portion is listed as up to $928.03 per student in Grades 1–12 for 2026/27 (up from $901 in 2025/26). Notification-only programs get nothing.
• Saskatchewan has no single provincial payment, but school divisions may offer grants or reimbursements. Amounts and conditions vary by division.
• Nunavut lets DEAs reimburse approved families up to $1,000 per student per year for programming costs.
• Northwest Territories offers some financial support for materials, depending on full- or part-time home schooling and your community. Yukon's Department of Education also supports registered families through AVS; ask AVS about current reimbursements.

Ontario, Nova Scotia and registered homeschooling in British Columbia come with no government funding. In BC, families who want public funding usually enrol in an online learning school instead, which means following the BC curriculum with a teacher overseeing the program.

In most provinces, homeschooling on its own does not lead to a provincial high school diploma. Diplomas are granted for credits earned through a school, so homeschooled teenagers who want one usually take some courses through a public, private, online or distance-learning school. For example, Ontario's OSSD needs credits granted by a ministry-inspected school, BC's Dogwood diploma needs courses through a school such as an online learning school, and New Brunswick says children who are home schooled are not eligible for its high school diploma. In Québec, home-educated students can earn units towards the secondary school diploma through ministerial exams and evaluations arranged by the school service centre.

A diploma is not the only route to university. Many Canadian universities have admission pages for home-schooled applicants. Requirements vary, but commonly include a parent-prepared transcript of Grade 10–12 work, a portfolio or writing samples, course descriptions and sometimes SAT or ACT scores. Some universities instead ask homeschoolers to complete a set of Grade 12 courses from a recognized provider.

Check the admission page of each university your teen is interested in by Grade 10, so you can plan which courses and tests they need. Adult high school programs are another option later; for instance, Ontario offers routes to the OSSD for adult learners.

Your home education registration doesn't move with you. When you change province or territory, the new place's rules apply from the time you become a resident, so look up its process before you move and register or notify promptly.

• Timing matters. Deadlines differ: for example, Manitoba wants notification within 30 days of starting, Québec within 10 days of your child leaving a school, and BC by September 30. Arriving mid-year is common; contact the new office or school board to ask what to send.
• Expect different paperwork. Moving from a light-touch province (such as Ontario or PEI) to one with plans and reports (such as Québec, Manitoba or Saskatchewan) means more to prepare. Moving to Alberta or Nunavut may open up funding, but only once your program is accepted or approved.
• Keep good records. A short record of what your child has learned, sample work and any assessment results helps the new authority, and helps a school place your child if they enrol later.
• Check high school credits. Credits earned through one province's schools are usually reviewed by the new school, which decides how they count. Ask before you move if your teen is part-way through a diploma.

Start with your province or territory's official home education page, linked from our guide for each one. Provincial and local homeschool associations can explain how the rules work in practice and connect you with other families. HSLDA Canada is a national membership organization that offers legal information for homeschooling families.