Ontario’s education system faces a paradox: while the government rushes to add 2,600 new teacher candidate spaces, nearly 48,000 certified teachers remain outside its classrooms. This stark imbalance forces a critical question—will simply increasing the number of seats address the roots of the province’s teacher retention crisis?
Ontario’s push for new teaching candidates comes amid mounting evidence that more educators are leaving the profession or never entering it after certification. A decade ago, the province doubled the length of teachers college to two years to address a surplus; now, officials scramble to reverse course as shortages loom. Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy’s recent budget earmarked $55.8 million over two years, expanding spaces across all schools offering a Bachelor of Education and prioritizing areas like northern communities, French education, and technological subjects.
Yet, the numbers present an uncomfortable reality. According to the Ontario Teachers’ Federation, there are about 48,000 certified but non-practising teachers in the province, vastly outnumbering the government’s new recruits. Union leaders argue that recruitment alone misses the point. Rene Jansen in de Wal, president of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association, notes that “so many teachers that are coming through the teachers colleges decide they’re not going to start teaching.”
The exodus is tied to deteriorating working conditions—aging infrastructure, overcrowded classrooms, and rising classroom violence create an unwelcoming environment. Karen Littlewood of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation highlights that thousands “aren’t working in education right now, and that’s because of the working conditions.” Universities, too, warn that without higher operating funding, expanding capacity risks stretching institutions thinner, threatening educational quality.
Ontario’s predicament underscores a truth: adding more seats may briefly swell teacher numbers, but it fails to resolve why so many certified educators are abandoning the profession. Unless the province focuses on retaining experienced teachers by improving workplace realities and supporting institutions, classrooms will continue to feel empty, regardless of how many new candidates arrive.
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Ontario adding 2,600 teacher candidate spaces as it looks ahead of worsening shortage
