Ford's 2018 platform promised to make mathematics mandatory in teachers' college programs
“Focus on the fundamentals: Make mathematics mandatory in teachers’ college programs.”
2018 PC platform, · PC platform, Plan for the People
What happened · Feb 1, 2025
The government did not add mathematics to the required content of teacher education programs. Instead it made passing a math proficiency test a condition of teacher certification. After a court fight, that requirement took effect on Feb. 1, 2025.
On Oct. 25, 2018, Education Minister Lisa Thompson introduced Bill 48, the Safe and Supportive Classrooms Act. It required new teachers to pass a math proficiency test to be certified (Ontario College of Teachers Act, s. 18(1)(c)). The bill became law as Chapter 3 of the Statutes of Ontario, 2019. The test, written by EQAO, began in 2021. Later that year the Divisional Court struck it down for its disproportionate impact on racialized teacher candidates (Ontario Teacher Candidates' Council v. The Queen, 2021 ONSC 7386). On Nov. 28, 2023, the Court of Appeal overturned that ruling and upheld the test. Since Feb. 1, 2025, passing the Mathematics Proficiency Test has been a certification requirement for most new Ontario applicants. The regulation that sets out what accredited teacher education programs must cover (O. Reg. 347/02, Schedule 1) does not list mathematics. That includes the 2026 amendments taking effect May 1, 2027. So the requirement falls on individual candidates through a test, not on teachers' college programs.