Across Canada, public education systems are under increasing strain from the climate crisis. Provinces differ in structure and governance, but they share a common challenge: funding models and accountability frameworks built for stability are now colliding with volatility. Ontario’s experience is one example of how legacy systems are struggling to adapt, and why every province needs to use climate adaptation as a driver of system change.

Education systems must embed adaptation

In the face of escalating climate emergencies, education systems must embed adaptation — not only through physical infrastructure, but through seamless, integrated services that are responsive to student and community needs. We need adaptive systems of public education that can withstand disruption and align with the communities they serve.

Ontario’s funding model reveals the structural problem

Ontario’s per‑pupil funding model exemplifies an under‑funded system that maintains facilities below a state of good repair, ignores climate risk, and offers little flexibility. Public education must be reframed through facility upgrades and integrated services for equity and community care.

That requires funding models that promote innovation, student‑centered learning that adapts to diverse needs, and governance that empowers local decision‑making.

This is no time for austerity. It’s time to fund the future.