Laval, Thursday, March 19, 2026 – Quebec parents no longer want to have to deal with service disruptions for their children, whether these stem from administrative uncertainty surrounding funding or from very real budget shortfalls. This is why the Regroupement des comités de parents autonomes du Québec (RCPAQ) remains cautious following the presentation of the Quebec government’s 2026-2027 budget.
Our initial assessment suggests a fragile continuity of the measures implemented in our schools to support students and promote their success. When funding barely keeps pace with the projected increase in network costs, it is direct student services that risk suffering.
While this budget seems to avoid the worst by steering clear of cuts, it leaves very little room for concrete improvements within the network. Yet, students are already experiencing a service deficit and require increasing support. The announced sums appear insufficient to meet the growing needs in schools. Parents expected more substantial measures to ensure real progress and improved services for students.
The announced 2.4% increase reflects an overall rise calculated across the ministry’s total expenditures, rather than the amounts actually allocated to schools. However, we note that funding for private institutions is increasing by just over 4%, significantly higher than the less than 1% increase granted to school service centres and school boards. In a budget that claims to refocus government action on the State’s core missions, including education, it is incomprehensible that funding for the private sector is increasing more than that of the public system.
We remain attentive to the budgetary rules that will frame and clarify the intentions expressed today in order to obtain a clearer picture of the state of funding and the resources available to our education system. These rules must be communicated to school administrators within a reasonable timeframe to ensure a minimum level of predictability and allow for adequate planning for the upcoming school year.
The RCPAQ reiterates this year its firm conviction that it is necessary to establish mechanisms to protect education system funding from economic fluctuations and, above all, political cycles. The objectives we pursue in education are part of a long-term continuum and should never be compromised by hasty decisions dictated by reactivity. The collective investments we make in education must be stable, predictable, and protected. Adequately funding public schools means investing directly in the development, well-being, and prosperity of all Quebec society; it therefore deserves special protection.
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À propos du Regroupement des comités de parents autonomes du Québec
Le RCPAQ porte la voix de parents, francophones et anglophones, engagés dans le réseau scolaire public de leurs régions, et qui représentent les familles de 200 000 élèves, soit 20 % de l’ensemble des élèves du Québec.