Unlike most industrialized countries, Canada does not have a federal education system. The "Constitution Act" confers on the provinces exclusive authority over education at all levels of formal instruction. Each province (Canada is comprised of 10 provinces and 3 territories) sets its own policy and operates its own system according to its regional, historical and cultural characteristics. While this results in some differences between provincial education systems, these differences are minor overall, allowing students to easily move between provincial jurisdictions. The most senior educational decision making body at the national level is CMEC (Canadian Ministers of Education in Canada) comprised of provincial and territorial Ministers of Education who meet to discuss inter-provincial education initiatives.

While the federal government has no role in setting education policy, it plays a key economic and social policy role that has historically impacted the development of distance education. Federal government programs that expand the telecommunications infrastructure, support human resource development, encourage research and innovation, and ensure economic competitiveness have been instrumental in providing distance education with new resources and opportunities to expand to new learner groups.

While the national government supports the evolution of distance education through infrastructure, and research and development programs, the provincial governments are responsible for the implementation and on-going operation of distance education. While each province decides individually on distance education policy, there is a synergy in the type of distance education developments across provinces. This synergy can be attributed to a well-developed network of communication and collaboration structures at the provincial, institutional, and practitioner levels.

Individual practitioners have also formed strong professional networks. An important feature of Canadian distance education evolution has been a knowledgeable and collegial practitioner base that facilitates the sharing of information, and the development of initiatives across institutions and provincial boundaries. This dynamic informal network shares best practices and lessons learned, collaborates on joint projects and funding submissions, and evaluates new distance education directions and technologies.

Partnership Between Federal Government, Provinces, Institutions & Practitioners

The evolution of distance education in Canada has been a partnership between the federal government’s role in fostering new communications systems and research into instructional applications, the provincial government’s role in implementing new structures and technologies, the role of institutions in fostering collaboration, and practitioners in sharing the skills and knowledge required for the effective development and delivery of learning.

There is no formal system of accreditation for universities in Canada. The only national ‘standards’ for ensuring the quality of universities are the criteria for membership in the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC). These standards are rigorous and ensure that institutions have a solid base of physical, financial, and human resources, and that they have the structure and policies in place to function as a university.

*Source: "The Evolution of Distance Education in Canada," by Elizabeth Mitchell