Public vs. private: Montreal’s education landscape

A major city means major demand, but Montreal’s private school community is unlike anywhere else in the country. Quebec has among the highest proportions of students outside the public and private education system, with one in five teens in a private school. In Montreal, it’s one in three. 

Such strong numbers create a competitive, responsive, and robust system offering families a host of schools and programs to choose from, and the ability to provide small class sizes while still supporting a strong sense of community. 

Families considering private education might begin their research using Montreal private school rankings.

“They’re really looking for predictability, structure and strong curriculum,” says Michael Hayes, founder and CEO of SchoolAdvice, which provides admissions consulting for families in Canada and abroad searching for independent schools, particularly in Quebec.

“Parents are looking for private schools that offer really interesting options and something that they can rely upon … (and also) for a school that is a really good fit for their child,” adds Hayes, a former educator who runs the firm with his son, Ryan, who is also a college professor. “They’re not looking for the ‘best school’ or the one that’s going to get them into Harvard, or wherever. They’re really looking for something that is a good fit for their kids.”

Lindsay Woods, director of advancement, marketing and communications at The Study, an all-girls school, said “we really have a nurturing and supportive environment” as well as a strong academic one that gives students the best of both worlds.

“The parent who comes to The Study is looking for their child to have a well-rounded experience … I work with our alumni, and the number one thing I hear from them is ‘I was so prepared.’”

Families often start by narrowing options by age group—private elementary, middle, and high school—and then looking for program strengths, including International Baccalaureate schools and language immersion.

Quebec’s education system is unique in the country, with three distinct offerings: public schools, subsidies for some private schools, and a fully private system. Most of the private schools receiving subsidies are French-language, and the grants help offset their costs or curtail tuition rates.

With changes to certificates of eligibility required for students to receive an English-language education in the province—which are no longer necessary for schools that don’t accept public funds—that part of the private school sector is growing. For official guidance, see the Ministry of Education of Quebec (MELS).

On top of that, issues of large class sizes and teacher shortages, which school systems across the country are grappling with, have led parents to look for alternatives to the public system. Add to that Canadian families from the United States looking to relocate back to the Montreal area, and a growing number of schools are finding they need to manage demand through waitlists, adds Hayes.

Vickie Viens, executive director of La Fédération des établissements d’enseignement privé, which represents 95% of all private schools in Quebec, said that “because of the size of the schools, we are like innovation laboratories, working with different organizations or even people from the university,” such as field researchers.

With less bureaucracy, schools can be more agile and responsive to student needs in their programming, and Viens pointed to when the COVID pandemic hit in 2020, and schools everywhere were forced to shut down.

“We actually coached the public system about how to go online, because we had that in place,” she said. “We have the ability to react very quickly to situations.”

Some private schools in Quebec are also starting to offer Grade 12, as the province’s system ends at Grade 11, followed by two- or three-year programs known as CEGEP (Collège d’enseignement général et professionnel). The addition of Grade 12, which many families perceive as an advantage, simplifies the application process and transition to universities outside Quebec. This option is only available in the private sector in the province.

“It has suddenly grown, and this is another reason we see numbers rising in private schools,” Hayes says, adding that some schools have offered it for many years, though others are newer to the concept. His own firm has started an interactive online Grade 12 program to help meet the demand.

Francophone and Anglophone families “are lining up for Grade 12,” adds Hayes. “It’s a really interesting dynamic in Montreal.”

For Viens, it is another example of how private schools adapt quickly to family needs, adding that typically either the Ontario or New Brunswick curriculum is used.

Kells Academy comprises three locations on the same street for its elementary, high school and Grade 12 programs, and is known for its attention to the individual needs of its students.

“That’s the secret sauce of Kells,” says high school principal Tom Malone. “It’s what we call a personalized approach,” and it serves the diverse student body with international students making up about half.

About six years ago, Kells began offering the Grade 12 diploma, using the Ontario curriculum, as an added option to the Grade 11 Quebec diploma. “It’s been very successful,” he says. “We started with five students; we now have 65 in that program, and we hired three new teachers this year (2025-26) to keep things moving.

“For many kids, they want to have one year between Grade 11 and university,” he adds. “They want to get on their way, and they know where and how they want to specialize. It’s popular for that reason. They may want to be in an Ontario school next. It just meets their needs.”

The school has also just been granted provincial approval for an alternative schedule to be offered to elite athletes, who will be able to study in the morning and then pursue their chosen sport in the afternoon.

A handful of private schools in the Montreal area also give families single-gender options, which Nadine Paree says made all the difference for her own child.

“She was at a very big school, and you’re a bit of a number,” says Paree. “You can’t know all the students when you have 2,000 in your school.”

Paree, who is the associate director of admissions at Trafalgar School for Girls, moved her daughter there “after I saw the power of an all-girls’ education” in a smaller setting. “She said, ‘Oh my gosh mom, my teachers understand; they understand my quirks, they understand what I don’t understand, and they’re able to help.’ We have student support, and it works closely with our teachers, but a lot of our kids don’t need much more because the teachers are already giving them what they need.”

At The Study, Woods said there are four girls’ schools in Montreal, “and as much as single-gender education is a specific choice that parents make, I think that all-girls’ education is definitely here to stay.”

It’s so important to cultivate female leaders and develop their confidence “at this very important time in the development of who they are, these fundamental academic years,” she added.

“I think the most important thing is also just developing all of the skill sets that prepare them to go out and apply them in the real world with such confidence.”

For Montreal parent Kevin, who has two children attending two different private schools, his younger son’s all-boys school has provided the supportive environment they were seeking. “The mantra at elementary has always been to be known and loved, and everybody knows everybody at the school,” he says. “All of the teachers know all of the boys, irrespective of grade.”

For both boys, class size and support “were the two biggest factors, and opportunities. Opportunities in general, for enrichment activities, and opportunities academically, socially, and athletically. But really, the small class sizes and the individualized supports were very important to us.”

But both in the public and private systems, parents of students with special needs continue to face challenges finding programming that serves their needs. For more information, see Special needs and Gifted options in Montreal.

Kells Academy is one school that works closely with families to ensure kids receive the resources and supports they require.

Hayes says while options are limited, most of the calls he handles are to help families because “it is by far and away the hardest option to fill in the private sector,” with online options or placing educators on-site as possible solutions.