Figure 1.--This class portrait looks to date from the 1920s, possibly the 1910s. The class had a nice set of maps. If they were a little clearer e could more defintively date the portrait. It is a primary class. The boys look to be about 10 years old. Many of the boys wear suits and ties, but a few wear smocks. It is a cabinet card measuring 9 1/4" X 7 1/4". The teacher is a priest so presumably this is a Catholic school. The school is unidentified, but it was in Sainte-Geneviève, a small, traditional town located on the island of Montreal in Quebec. Sainte-Geneviève has since been engulfed by the Montreal metropolitan area. Put your cirsor on the image for a closer look.

Catholic schools in the States are a type of private school, although a very special type. The sitution in Canada is different, a kind of hybred because there is no Constitutional separation of church and state. And there are substantial diffeences from province to province. There are some private Catholoc schools, but most are this kind of state-church hybred. This situation is seen in several European countries, including Britain. The Catholic schools are especially important in Canada, particularly in French-speaking Québec. Americans will be somewhat confused by the fact that in Canada there were Catholic public (state) schools as well as Catholic private schools. Boys there never seem to have worn smocks as in France itself. We have received a variety of different commnents about uniform policies at parochial schools. One reader tells us that boys at parochial schools did not wear uniforms, at least in the early 20th century. We note boys wearing simple uniforms in the early 1940s. A Canadian reader tells us that school uniforms were adopted at Catholic schools, although they were discontinued in the 1960s. Another French Canadian reader writes, "Uniforms have been required in Catholic schools for years. You know, Brothers and Sisters were themselves in uniform and the first community of woman in New France went here at the first years of the colony around 1608. When an adult is wearing a uniform, he will require the same from children. A a matter of fact, uniforms disappeared in Catholic schools when Brothers and sisters were replaced by young teachers in miniskirt . When religious communities were at their peak from 1890 to 1960, there was a different uniform for different schools held by different communities."

Legal Framework

Catholic schools in the States are a type of private school, although a very special type. The sitution in Canada is different, a kind of hybred because there is no Constitutional separation of church and state. And there are substantial diffeences from province to province. The Catholic schools in Canada vary from orovince to province, but are generally a kind of state-church hybred. This same situation is seen in several European countries, including Britain. Americans will be somewhat confused by the fact that in Canada there were Catholic public (state) schools as well as Catholic private schools.

Private Schools

There are some private Catholoc schools in Canada, but not very many.

Canadian Catholics

The country was founded by Catholic France. Early Scottish immogrnts were also Catholic. The Catholic Church became more diverse during the 19th century with the arrival of Irish Catholics as a result of the Potato Famine Some French-speaking Canadians are in fact Irish. When they arrived from Ireland in 1847, many were deseased on ships. On arrival at Québec and Montréal, they were landed at Grosse-Isle in the St-Lawrence River to be kept away from giving typhus to Québec and Montréal residents. One study indicates that of 100,000 immigrants, 5,293 died at sea, 3,389 at Grosse-Isle, 1,137 at Québec, 4,021 at Montréal. [Lachine and St-Jean] They do not detail deaths in Upper Canada . Today, a memorial recalls this event at Grosse-Isle. Many immigrant children who lost their parents were adopted by other Catholics, mainly French-speakers. The children commonly kept their Irish family names like Mulroney, Murphy, and Ryan. Claude Ryan, a famous journalist at Le Devoir and Québec liberal politician. Brian Mulroney, a former Prime Minister of Canada was from Irish descent . Being Anglophone and Catholics, the Irish played a key role in Québec even if relations between Irish Bishops from Ontario where often in disputes with French-Canadian Bishops of Québec. The Irish Bishops were more open to innovation than conservative Québec. There are a substantial number of Catholic in Canada. The Catholic schools are thus especially important in Canada, particularly in French-speaking Québec.

Provinces

The subject of Catholic schools in Canada is is a complicated one to answer becaise of the different provinces. Canada is a Federal state with considerable authority residing at the provincial level. Each province have their own rules to their education systems.

Ontario

In Ontario most schools are English but near the Quebec border there is a large French speaking population who are allowed to go to a separate school system that teaches in French but I do not know if there is any religion consideration. While most of the French are Catholic there are English speaking Catholics also in Ontario and as far as I know they go to the same public schools as do Protestants and Jews unless the kid is going to a Private school that could be of or for one religion.

Quebec

A Montral reader tells us about Quebec. "Here in Quebec for many years their were always 2 public school systems. The Catholic School Board only allowed Catholics to attend and the students were taught in French. All other students of any religion attended Protestant School Board schools. Some High Schools were called Polyvalent like the school I went to and it allowed all religions. (When my dad was born he was not allowed to go to a French school because they were only for Catholics even though my grandfather like many other Jewish immigrants about 100 yrs ago wanted to go to French schools to better assimilate with the general public.) I am not too sure exactly when, it could be 10 or 20 yrs ago religion was taken out of the classification of the school boards and now there are 2 boards based on language; English or French. There are Quebec laws that dictate that almost all immigrant children have to go to French schools even if the family came from an English speaking country. Even Canadians moving here from other provinces have to do the same. Only if a child's mother or father went to an English school could a kid today go to an English school. There are exceptions for those who have been transfered here as part of their work and are only going to be temporarily living in Quebec. If the 1st child of a family was allowed to go to an English school then all their siblings are also allowed. This is about the public systems. There are many private schools that teach in the language of their choice as long as most of the curriculum that is made at the Quebec Education Ministry is followed. And these schools are very expensive. In both the public and private schools there are French immersion schools where even if you are English you are taught in French and these schools are very popular with many English families because their kids will be very bilingual when they graduate and today in Quebec that is very important."

Uniforms

Canadian boy never seem to have commonly worn smocks as in France itself, even French-Canadian boys. We do see a few smocks in the class prtrait here (figure 1). We have received a variety of different commnents about uniform policies at parochial schools. One reader tells us that boys at parochial schools did not wear uniforms, at least in the early 20th century. We note boys wearing simple uniforms in the early 1940s. A Canadian reader tells us that school uniforms were adopted at Catholic schools, although they were discontinued in the 1960s. Another French Canadian reader writes, "Uniforms have been required in Catholic schools for years. You know, Brothers and Sisters were themselves in uniform and the first community of woman in New France went here at the first years of the colony around 1608. When an adult is wearing a uniform, he will require the same from children. A a matter of fact, uniforms disappeared in Catholic schools when Brothers and sisters were replaced by young teachers in miniskirt . When religious communities were at their peak from 1890 to 1960, there was a different uniform for different schools held by different communities."

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Created: 7:02 AM 12/28/2009
Last updated: 3:13 PM 4/16/2013