Origin Story: Boarding in Canada
Where it came from, where it's been, and where it's going
Find a list of schools
What people teach their young is often what they think is most important. And so what people teach their children … in school gives us a very good sense of what the values of society are. What is it that you would like your children to learn? What is it that you’d like the next generation to learn?”
—Margaret MacMillan
The oldest boarding school in Canada, King’s Collegiate School (now King’s-Edgehill School) was founded by United Empire Loyalists in 1788. It was given royal assent by King George III the following year, the first instance that honour was bestowed outside Britain. Beginning with just 12 boys in a private home near Windsor, Nova Scotia, the school quickly set an educational standard for the region and, later, the country. It continues to hold a place in the national consciousness today. Because of the age and importance of the buildings, King’s College is a National Historic Site, a designation it has held since 1923.
King’s was created at moment of heightened political anxiety in the wake of the American Revolution. While there were schools in New York and New England, there were none in the British colonies that remained after American independence. The initial goal of the school was to prevent young men from traveling abroad to receive an education, men that would be needed to stay to administer and defend the colonies. While the school remained small, its alumni took prominent roles in military, legal, religious, and political life (including two fathers of Confederation).
King’s set the tone for other boarding schools that would be created in the British Empire outside of the UK. They were established so that the children of British ex-patriots could receive an authentically British education, as well as to retain and augment the human resources required to maintain the colonies. Schools throughout the commonwealth were organized in the same manner as their British counterparts—there were houses and headmasters, forms and terms—and reflected the values of Victorian England. The educational environment was much as we might imagine: high brow, strict, and reflective of all the class distinctions of the age. Leadership was an important topic, in part because it was of prime interest to many of the political leaders who sent their children to board. Further, the benefits were unequivocal—merely having gone to boarding school, regardless of any academic achievement there, was often considered a reasonable prerequisite to positions of leadership in business and political life.
Many of the best-known Canadian schools were founded in the late 19th century: Pickering College, 1842; Bishop Strachan School, 1867; Stanstead College, 1872; Ashbury College, 1891; St. Andrew's College, 1899. Life there, at least in the early days, was spartan and challenging in ways that no boarding school is today. At Upper Canada College, Frederick Hutt, a student in the 1830s, wrote to his brother, "I hope you will send plenty of nuts and cakes as I can hardly subsist on what we get."
Ted Rogers, founder of Rogers Communication, went to board when he was seven. Having had a nanny at home, he recalled that “I went from having somebody brushing my teeth for me to being caned if my teeth weren’t clean enough. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it was a bit of a shock.” He later described the school as his "a surrogate father" in the absence of his own father, who had passed away prior to his enrolment.
There was a strong association with the military, something that was still very prominent when Rogers arrived. The Cadet Corps of Upper Canada College was begun in 1869, and through its 127-year history it remained an integral part of school life. Students took part in regular drills and exercises, including those with active rounds. Boys were expected be prepared for deployment at any time, as occasionally they were. During the Fenian Raids of 1866 UCC students were mobilized to guard military buildings and the port in Toronto.
The cadet program was an expression of the spirit of volunteerism and the Victorian militia movement, and it maintained an ongoing association with the national military. Between 1875 and 1937 UCC produced six commanding officers of The Queen’s Own Rifles. During WWI, 1,089 volunteered for military service, and 176 gave their lives. In 1919, membership in the corps became compulsory for all students. None of this was unique to a particular to UCC school, with boarding schools and many public schools following suit. Many cadet corps remained active into the 1960s and 70s.
In time, however, the cadet programs began to feel less relevant, more relics of an earlier time. Which indeed they were, especially when real rifles were replaced with wooden ones, or when real training evolved into a kind of pantomime of military training, and when the relationship with the military became less explicit. At UCC the corps was formally retired in 1987, one of last of its kind in Canada. (Two schools, St. Andrews College and Bishop’s College School have active cadet corps, though for the most part the programs have evolved, becoming more akin to outdoor education programs than military training.)
“It's quite fashionable to say that the education system's broken,” says education researcher Sugata Mitra. “It's not broken. It's wonderfully constructed. It's just that we don't need it anymore.” As Mitra believes, that’s because it was designed for another time, and was created for a very specific context:
… [the school system] came from the last and the biggest of the empires on this planet. [The British Empire] Imagine trying to run the show, trying to run the entire planet, without computers, without telephones, with data handwritten on pieces of paper, and traveling by ships. But the Victorians actually did it. What they did was amazing. They created a global computer made up of people. It's still with us today. It's called the bureaucratic administrative machine. In order to have that machine running, you need lots and lots of people. They made another machine to produce those people: the school. The schools would produce the people who would then become parts of the bureaucratic administrative machine. They must be identical to each other. They must know three things: They must have good handwriting, because the data is handwritten; they must be able to read; and they must be able to do multiplication, division, addition and subtraction in their head. They must be so identical that you could pick one up from New Zealand and ship them to Canada and he would be instantly functional.”
Many of the characteristics of the educational system that the Victorians developed remain with us today. That said, many don’t. Pickering College, despite a long history, was an early adopter of a more open, less punitive, more collaborative approach to education. In the 1932 edition of the school yearbook, “The Voyageur,” the editor reflected in his address on the changes that had been adopted by the school:
When in September 1927 Pickering College began to function once more as an educational institution, we, as the student body, were presented with a new conception of how a school should be operated. The conception was, as aptly expressed by the first editor of the Voyageur, “education without tears.” No longer were we obliged to submit to the tyranny of a group of elderly school masters whose word was law. We were allowed to come and go as we pleased on our own responsibility. Instead of stern task masters we found a group of young but competent teachers who were willing to meet us half way and to consider our point of view.
In 1930, Joseph McCully, headmaster of Pickering College wrote “we have realized that it is impossible to force boys to become educated; long hours of fatiguing drill and arduous driving on the part of the staff may succeed in cramming the heads of small boys with a vast collection of heterogeneous and unrelated facts, but such a result is not education.” Instead, he goes on, the goal of education should be to provide mentorship, and in providing an opportunity to develop talents and resiliency. Taylor Statton, head of character development at Pickering College, wrote in 1930 that:
The ‘habit of obedience’ forced upon the impressionable nature of a child does not develop judgment and will, but does develop that fatal facility in following other people’s wills, which tends to make us a hopeless mob—mere sheep, instead of wise, free, strong individuals. The habit of submission to authority, the long, deeply impressed conviction that to ‘be good’ is to ‘give up’—that there is virtue in the act of surrender—this is one of the sources from which we continually replenish human weakness … Those who know no other way of modifying a child’s behaviour than through ‘making him mind’ suppose that if he were not make to mind he must be utterly neglected. … the rich years of childhood should be passed in the acquiring the habits of self-direction.
You’d be hard pressed to find a better description of what boarding, in the decades since, would become. It’s an understanding based in the very modern idea that kids aren’t just “empty vessels who need to be sat down in a room and filled with curricular content.”
As the 20th century progressed, schools sought means to promote the habits of self-direction that Statton championed at Pickering College and in the summer camps that he founded and which continue to bear his name. Boarding schools, more than any other, proved to be particularly agile and able to provide the kinds of experiences that Statton was thinking of.
Learn about your U.S. college and university choices [Read more]
Well-being and belonging at Trinity College School [Read more]
Trinity College School’s financial assistance program [Read more]
The progressive Kindergarten program at Hudson College [Read more]
Toronto, Ontario — Located in the heart of Toronto, UCC provides transformational learning experiences with exceptional day and boarding programs. Our highly sought-after graduates are awarded International Baccalaureate and OSSD diplomas. View School Profile.
Grades:
SK to 12 (Boys)
Type:
Liberal Arts, International Baccalaureate
Tuition:
$36,750 to $71,875
Living:
Boarding/Day
Enrollment:
1200
Avg. Class:
20 to 25
|
Oakville, Ontario — Appleby College in Oakville is recognized globally as one of Canada's leading independent schools. Breadth, excellence, innovation and caring are the characteristics that define the essence of the Appleby experience. View School Profile.
Grades:
7 to 12 (Coed)
Type:
Liberal Arts
Tuition:
$41,030 to $81,870
Living:
Day/Boarding
Enrollment:
785
Avg. Class:
12 to 16
|
Waterloo Region (Breslau), Ontario — SJK offers an enriched environment of exploration and experiential learning. Through its IB curriculum, SJK provides exciting experiences and guides students to discover their talents and passions. Go beyond at SJK. View School Profile.
Grades:
JK to 12 (Coed)
Type:
Progressive, International Baccalaureate
Tuition:
$19,720 to $73,700
Living:
Day/Boarding
Enrollment:
470
Avg. Class:
10 to 17
|
Toronto, Ontario — Branksome Hall is Toronto’s only all-girls, all-years International Baccalaureate (IB) World School developing the leaders of tomorrow through the nurturing of curiosity and critical thinking at every age. View School Profile.
Grades:
JK to 12 (Girls)
Type:
Liberal Arts, International Baccalaureate
Tuition:
$37,130 to $75,020
Living:
Day/Boarding
Enrollment:
960
Avg. Class:
16 to 22
|
Lakefield, Ontario — Focussed on Community First, Outdoors Every Day, and Authentic Learning, LCS offers a world-class, individualized, day/boarding program (Grades 9 -12) designed for students to be leaders who care, connect and contribute. View School Profile.
Grades:
9 to 12 (Coed)
Type:
Liberal Arts
Tuition:
$38,600 to $79,200
Living:
Boarding/Day
Enrollment:
425
Avg. Class:
15
|
Scarborough, Ontario — RCS’s purpose is to unleash the potential in each student and set them on the path for a successful life. We provide rigorous academics with individual attention in a diverse, energizing, and caring environment. View School Profile.
Grades:
7 to 12 (Coed)
Type:
Progressive
Tuition:
$22,800
Living:
Day/Boarding
Enrollment:
300
Avg. Class:
10 to 15
|
Toronto, Ontario — The Bishop Strachan School is a leading independent JK-Grade 12 day & boarding school for girls. Students build the academic skills to thrive at university and beyond. Over $2 million available in financial assistance. View School Profile.
Grades:
JK to 12 (Girls)
Type:
Progressive, Reggio Emilia
Tuition:
$35,800 to $69,145
Living:
Day/Boarding
Enrollment:
1000
Avg. Class:
18 to 20
|
Windsor, Ontario — JK- 12/IB/AP , inter-faith/R.C.co-ed day, and boarding located in Windsor, ON Family of Schools includes Nursery, Elementary and Secondary Schools, athletic facilities, performing arts wing (music and dance studios). View School Profile.
Grades:
JK to 12 (Coed)
Type:
Traditional, International Baccalaureate
Tuition:
$10,950 to $50,000
Living:
Day/Boarding
Enrollment:
250
Avg. Class:
10 to 16
|
Rosseau, Ontario — Through extraordinary learning opportunities rooted in meaningful outdoor education experiences in our unique natural environment, RLC graduates develop the skills, knowledge and confidence to take on any challenge. View School Profile.
Grades:
7 to 12 (Coed)
Type:
Progressive
Tuition:
$11,350 to $66,300
Living:
Boarding/Day
Enrollment:
120
Avg. Class:
15 to 18
|
Toronto, Ontario — Havergal has been preparing young women to make a difference since 1894 through its innovative curriculum and future-ready programming with a focus on wellness and student agency. View School Profile.
Grades:
JK to 12 (Girls)
Type:
Liberal Arts
Tuition:
$36,950 to $68,540
Living:
Day/Boarding
Enrollment:
1000
Avg. Class:
18 to 22
|
Belleville, Ontario — At Albert College, every student is an 'A' student. From Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 12 our students experience all 5 of the Albert 'A’ s; Academics, Arts, Athletics, Active Citizenship and Adventure programming. View School Profile.
Grades:
PS to 12 (Coed)
Type:
Traditional
Tuition:
$18,700 to $75,400
Living:
Boarding/Day
Enrollment:
303
Avg. Class:
15
|
Port Hope, Ontario — At TCS, an excellent education means students remain open to learning throughout life and doing something positive with what they have learned. View School Profile.
Grades:
5 to 12 (Coed)
Type:
Traditional
Tuition:
$28,000 to $77,500
Living:
Day/Boarding
Enrollment:
570
Avg. Class:
12 to 16
|
|
featured
St. Margaret's School is a girl-centred day and boarding school, an IB World School (DP Candidate), and Canada’s first all-girls STEM-X school. Leadership skills are a core focus.
|
|
featured
Located in the heart of Toronto, McDonald International Academy offers programs for grades 9 to 12 . Our average class size is 10 to 20 students.
|
|
featured
Independent Kindergarten to Grade 12 boarding and day school in Victoria, BC, Canada focusing on outstanding preparation for life. Find out how a SMUS education can benefit your family.
|
|
featured
Our belief is “Forward Learning. Transforming People”. We focus on developing 21st century learning skills through collaborative discussions and inquiry-based thinking to prepare students with global competencies.
|
|
featured
SPIRE ACADEMY is an international, high school and post graduate sports performance training and education academy, located within a world class event and wellness complex.
|
|
featured
An English school in a French milieu, Stanstead College is located on the Quebec-Vermont border, offering rigorous university-prep, Grades 7 to 12, in a secure, family-focused learning environment.
|
|
featured
We are a therapeutic boarding school for Gr. 1-12 students requiring individualized academic, clinical, and behaviour-management solutions in small class sizes and professional home stay or boarding environments
|
|
featured
Our unique, daily Advisor Program ensures every student is surrounded by a strong network of highly qualified, dedicated faculty and staff whose mission is to provide academic, emotional, and social guidance and support.
|
|
featured
The Hill Academy is Canada's premier private school for dedicated student-athletes. Students are challenged in a supportive, environment to explore the boundaries of their academic, athletic and leadership potential.
|
|
featured
Robert Land Academy, established in 1978, is a private military-inspired boarding school (Gr 5-12) helping boys to experience validation, realize their potential and gain admission to post-secondary programs.
|
|
featured
North Star Academy Laval is the only private English high school in Laval. We offer small classroom sizes for individualized attention. We teach not only for school but for life! Certificate of eligibility not required.
|
|
featured
GNS is an independent JK-12 International Baccalaureate boarding and day school in Victoria, BC, that challenges and supports each of our students to do their best through truth and courage in learning and in life.
|
|
featured
Private Secondary School in Stratford, Ontario dedicated to providing a holistic education that values happiness, academic excellence, personal growth, and social responsibility.
|
Brookes Westshore, an IB World School on beautiful Vancouver Island, BC, offers grades 4 to 12 and both day and boarding programmes, with an average class size of 15 students.
|
Niagara Christian Collegiate offers both middle school and secondary school programs from Grades 6-12. Graduating students achieve top university placements around the world. We accept both day and boarding students.
|
Markham, Ontario; IB School; OSSD; OSSD online credit course; NOIC ACADEMY’s annual university enrolment rate is 100% and more than 85% of graduates are admitted by University of Toronto.
|
Set in 220 acres of North Yorkshire countryside, Queen Ethelburga’s Collegiate welcomes girls and boys from 3 months old to 19 years, with 81% A*/A achieved at A Level. Fees range from £16,005 to £19,200 per term.
|
In a welcoming environment , HFAS assists our exceptional learners to reach their potential and to succeed. We focus on personal responsibility, initiative, independence, organization, self-regulation and time management
|
Since 1964, SSS Rome has provided International Boarding and Day Students with a culturally inspiring and rigorous academic IB education in the heart of Ancient Rome.
|
Queen Margaret's School is a gender inclusive independent day/boarding university preparatory school in Duncan, BC that focuses on preparing young trailblazers...no two journeys are the same.
|
Canadian College Italy provides a nurturing environment on our beautiful historic campus so that students may experience an intellectual awakening — a passion for the pursuit of reason, human connection, and curiosity.
|
Merrick Preparatory offers grades 9-12 and a University Qualification Year to students preparing for successful admission to degree programs in the world's top universities, in a safe and secure family environment.
|
Heuristic & autodidactic, inspired by Sudbury & democratic models. Students are self-directed, and holistically empowered. Voluntary attendance, year-round calendar, agency, & consent inspire free learning. Also Forest
|
At Kells, flexibility is the key. We develop programs allowing students to work within their comfort zone, which may be above, below or at grade level. The result is students who outperform even their own expectations.
|
SJR is the world’s leading school in Debating and Public Speaking. It has produced 18 Rhodes scholars and 3 math olympiads. 98% of SJR graduates are accepted to their first choice university program.
|
Faith is at the center of all we do at MCI- from the court, to the stage, to the classroom. We work to provide a safe space for students to ask questions, dig deeper, grow into who God is calling them to be.
|
Since 1861, The Sacred Heart School of Montreal, the city’s only all-girls English Catholic high school, has been preparing girls to change the world. We offer grades 7 to 12, day school and boarding.
|
Unisus empowers global minded citizens and was founded by leaders at the top Independent Schools in BC. The school is rooted in the IB/Innovation/Technology, Entrepreneurship/ Outdoor Education - Offering Day & Boarding.
|
Bodwell High School in North Vancouver is a boarding school that enrolls 650 students. Tuition starts at $21,500. We provide Education for a Changing World. The school's motto is "Strength in Diversity."
|
Ridley College is an acclaimed co-educational IB boarding and day school that prepares meaningful and flourishing lives by teaching the habits of mind, body, and spirit, and the values needed to lead in a global society.
|
Columbia International College is Canada’s largest private boarding school, offering Grade 9 to 12 programs. #1 in scholarships awarded by universities. The University of Toronto's official Global Partner School.
|
Benefitting from its safe and beautiful Nova Scotia location, King's-Edgehill facilitates the opportunity for every student to Be More – in the classroom, on the sports fields, on stage, in the community and beyond.
|
RJC is a Grades 10-12 boarding school accredited by the Saskatchewan Ministry of Education. RJC is student and community-focused all while offering excellent academics and exceptional athletic and fine arts programs.
|
This traditional private school in Ottawa, Ontario offers Grades 4 to 12 with 100 boarding and 600 day school students. Tuition is from $30,585 to $71,720.
|
Grade 9-12 students are encouraged to be confident servant-leaders. Student diversity provides a global perspective of life and faith. Great Lakes' graduates are accepted by colleges and universities of their choice.
|
Trafalgar Castle offers a close-knit, academically challenging environment where girls feel a strong sense of belonging and discover their unique talents and interests.
|
A Canadian Private Secondary Boarding school, located in the heart of London, Ontario. LIA is authorized to grant the Ontario Secondary School and International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme.
|
Nile Academy offers small class sizes and a low student-to-teacher ratio, while also following the Ontario Curriculum, ensuring our students are well prepared for the rest of their educational pursuits here in Canada.
|
Beginning in Grade 8, our unique Shawnigan journey purposefully guides students through a distinct, unparalleled and bold educational experience on our stunning waterfront campus on Canada’s beautiful West Coast.
|
MLWS-KPU offers a truly unique high school experience. Students receive the support and community of small high school classes along with the academic opportunities of learning within world-class university facilities.
|
At Haven, we equip our students with critical thinking skills, a global perspective, and a respect for core values of honesty, loyalty, perseverance, and compassion.
|
Our intercultural environment offers an individualized approach to learning with STEM+A and project based learning as our key emphases. Our students enjoy a dynamic academic & residential life program.
|
Collège Bourget is a day & boarding school situated between Montreal & Ottawa. The school offers Quebec's french program from Grade 7 till Grade 11 and english program from Grade 10 till Grade 12.
|
With a tradition dating back to 1899, St. Andrew's remains the single largest all-boys boarding school in Canada. Our 126-acre campus provides our students with an ideal setting for learning and growth.
|
Luther College High School values excellence in teaching and cares for our students as individuals in our tight-knit community. Our focus in on the whole student - social, emotional, intellectual, physical and spiritual.
|
Brentwood is a leading university prep school that brings to life student choice through its bold tripartite program. We are a true boarding school, not merely a school with boarding, and the ocean is our playground.
|
Pickering College's fully-integrated Global Leadership Program (JK to Grade 12) inspires students to become agents of courageous, ethical and positive change with the confidence, knowledge and skills to shape the future.
|
Trillium School is a private school that offers programs from pre-school to grade twelve in Markham with Montessori-based kindergarten.
|
Since 2002, J. Addison has provided a stimulating education for students. Located at the corner of Woodbine and Valleywood Drive in Markham, ON, Canada, you will find our state-of-the-art 58,000 sq. ft. facility.
|
The Gow School is a college-prep boarding and day school for students, grades 6-12, with dyslexia and similar language-based learning disabilities.
|
We offer a supportive environment for girls’ learning with a strong sense of community. We encourage the love of learning in a place of belonging that nurtures resilience, inspires creativity, and celebrates diversity.
|
Notre Dame is a private, independent co-educational high school with an exceptional educational & boarding experience with a balance of strong academic, athletic and spiritual growth in a safe & caring prairie community.
|
Bishop's College School is an English boarding and day school for students in grades 7 through 12. Small in size and culturally diverse, BCS is an IB World School offering the IB Diploma Programme and Canadian curricula.
|
A private Christian college prep school with students from 60 countries, providing students with a unique opportunity to learn high academics, faith education and multicultural immersion.
|
Dewey’s educational goals follow the philosophies of John Dewey, preparing students through “student-centred learning" and "learning by doing", while emphasizing the cultivation of the "three New Liberal Arts".
|
Day schools vs. boarding schools
Comparing day and boarding schools (October 17, 2019)
Tips on schools, scholarships and studying abroad
(June 25, 2019)
Education without borders
International boarding school checklist (May 23, 2019)
Coed boarding schools
Find the top private coed boarding schools (May 15, 2019)
