Canada is the second largest country in the world by land area. It is composed of ten provinces and three territories and has two official languages, English and French. Its administrative organization contributes to the diversity of educational policies and school curricula across the country. Responsibility for education lies with the provinces and territories, resulting in multiple education systems rather than a single national system. The Council of Ministers of Education, Canada ensures a degree of coordination among jurisdictions, without imposing a common curriculum.
This decentralized organization makes it difficult for a single body to emerge that could guide all issues related to mathematics education. Nevertheless, a strong tradition of critical reflection and research in mathematics education has developed in Canadian universities, contributing to international debates in the field.
The Canadian Mathematical Society (CMS) / Société mathématique du Canada (SMC) is the principal scholarly association for mathematics in Canada and serves as the Canadian adhering organization to the International Mathematical Union (IMU). It supports research, university-level teaching, and various outreach initiatives. The Canadian representative to the International Commission on Mathematical Instruction (ICMI) is appointed by the CMS.
In the field of mathematics education, the Canadian Mathematics Education Study Group (CMESG) / Groupe Canadien d'étude en didactique des mathématiques plays a central role by bringing together researchers (both in mathematics and in mathematics education), mathematics teacher educators, and mathematics teachers from across the country through annual meetings and collective publications (proceedings of the annual meetings).
Other groups also contribute—often at the provincial or territorial level—to the dissemination of research in mathematics education and/or to the professional development of mathematics teachers. Examples include the Association Mathématique du Québec (AMQ), the British Columbia Association of Mathematics Teachers, the Centre for Mathematics Education (Fields Institute), and the Groupe de Didactique des Mathématiques du Québec (GDM). These organizations sponsor regular meetings or other activities (in person or online, e.g., the Fields Institute MathEd Forum) and publications.
Canadian universities are the primary sites for research in mathematics education, often in close connection with schools and teacher education. National scientific meetings, particularly those organized by the Canadian Mathematics Education Study Group (CMESG), provide important venues for exchange among Canadian researchers. The Canadian research community is also well integrated into international networks.
Within the Canadian landscape, it is important to distinguish between professional journals aimed mainly at teachers and scholarly research journals. In several provinces, publications overseen by professional associations support the development of teaching practice by offering reflections and analyses, classroom activities, and reports on classroom experiences. Examples include Bulletin AMQ and Envol in Quebec, Delta-K in Alberta, Vector in British Columbia, and the Ontario Mathematics Gazette. Alongside these, peer-reviewed scholarly journals serve a different function. Intended primarily for researchers, teacher educators, and graduate students, they stimulate reflection and research in mathematics education. The two main ones are For the Learning of Mathematics and the Canadian Journal of Science, Mathematics and Technology Education. There is also the Revue Québécoise en Didactique des Mathématiques, which publishes open-access research papers from the French-speaking community (from Canada and abroad).
Teacher education falls under provincial and territorial responsibility and is offered primarily through universities. Over the past decades, several reforms have modified the length and structure of teacher education programs, with increased attention to professional practice, inclusion, and equity.
In Canada, elementary teachers are generalists. The typical requirement is a postsecondary Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.), whose duration varies (generally 4–5 years). In some provinces and territories, it is also possible to complete a first postsecondary degree in a discipline of choice, followed by a second degree (1–2 years) in education. During their initial preparation, elementary teachers take disciplinary courses (including one or more mathematics courses), mathematics education (didactics) courses, general education courses, and in-school practicum courses.
Secondary teachers, by contrast, are specialists. Most provinces require a specialized bachelor’s degree in mathematics or a related discipline (often 3–4 years), followed by a professional teacher education program (1–2 years) that includes mathematics education courses, general education courses, and in-school practicum courses. In Québec, most secondary mathematics teachers rather complete an integrated four-year initial teacher education program. In some provinces and territories, such as Nunavut, Yukon, and Northwest Territories, teacher education is adapted to cultural and linguistic contexts, particularly to respond to the needs of Indigenous communities.
In the absence of a single national curriculum, each province and territory develops its own mathematics curricula, assessment frameworks, and pedagogical resources. Nevertheless, certain convergences exist, particularly around the development of problem solving, mathematical reasoning, numeracy, and the integration of digital technologies.
Official curriculum resources are generally made available online by the Ministries or Departments of Education of the various provinces and territories. In several jurisdictions, programs take into account the French–English linguistic duality. Also, curricula in several provinces and territories encourage the integration of Indigenous cultural perspectives into mathematics teaching. The British Columbia curriculum, for example, emphasizes the integration of those perspectives, including inviting Elders and Indigenous Knowledge Holders to connect mathematics to local cultural practices (counting, measuring, etc.)