Ontario Education Minister Orders Graduation Organizers to Focus on Students, Not Politics

Paul Calandra, minister of education visits students at a junior public school in Toronto on March 11, 2026. The Canadian Press/Nathan Denette

Ontario’s education minister is instructing school boards to prioritize student achievement rather than emphasizing political ideologies in their upcoming graduation ceremonies.

Education Minister Paul Calandra sent a letter to educators and school board staff on March 20 to address what he called “two serious and pressing matters” as educators gear up for student graduations this spring.

He stressed a need to keep the ceremonies “strictly student-centred, apolitical, inclusive, and respectful” and said boards should evaluate and amend their graduation protocols as necessary to meet that expectation.

The provincial directive is a reaction to an internal memo recently distributed by the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board to educators organizing graduation ceremonies, Calandra said during question period at Queen’s Park on March 25.

Calandra told the legislature that “a faceless superintendent in that board decided that graduation ceremonies shouldn’t focus on student achievement.” He later told reporters the superintendent directed schools to prioritize “colonization and a whole host of other divisive issues.”

Calandra told MPPs that graduation ceremonies should not be about pushing an agenda, but about student success, a point he said he emphasized in his letter.

The memo said that “under no circumstances” should educators be left in the position to deal with parents upset about political views expressed during graduation events.

“These ceremonies are expected to remain focused solely on recognizing student achievement,” Calandra wrote. “They are not an appropriate forum for organizers or administrators to express political views or promote personal or institutional positions, or engage in divisive or contentious issues of any kind.”

The letter said that if boards failed to meet that expectation, the ministry would readily use every tool at its disposal “to ensure that students are always put first.”

Calandra told reporters he is optimistic school boards will follow the ministry’s instructions.

“If they don’t, then we will provide some binding regulations for next year,” he said, but would not comment on whether this would involve placing non-compliant boards under supervision.

The minister also emphasized that the intent of his letter is not to regulate student expression but to address how graduation ceremonies are organized.

“When you go to a graduation ceremony … it should be focused on the child’s, the student’s achievement. It should be focused on what teachers did to get your child or student to that level,” the minister said. “It should not be about divisive issues. It should be about student achievement. Full stop. We’re not policing what valedictorians say in their speeches.”

Response

Calandra was criticized by teachers’ unions and NDP Leader Marit Stiles for his letter.

“They are saying to students explicitly that you know you’re going to be muzzled if you want to speak out against our government. And I think that’s unacceptable, and that is not the place and completely inappropriate for the minister of education,” Stiles told reporters outside the legislature. “I think the minister knows he has overstepped.”

Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation President Martha Hradowy said Calandra’s letter was “demoralizing” to teachers who she said already put their focus on student needs.

She called the letter “out of touch with the reality in schools” in a post on Facebook addressing teachers, adding that educators “do not need lectures about professionalism.”

The Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario posted a response to Calandra’s letter on Instagram, saying it is “deeply concerned” about the tone of the minister’s message.

“The Minister’s suggestion that educators’ conduct—both in schools and in public discourse—must be tightly controlled, under threat of intervention, contributes to a climate of fear and mistrust,” the union wrote. “Educators are highly trained professionals committed to student well-being, equity, and human rights and do not require heavy-handed directives to uphold these values.”

The Ontario School Board Council of Unions also took to social media to criticize Calandra’s letter, calling it “inappropriate.”

Calandra, however, said the direction he is demanding for graduation ceremonies is not only about students, but is also intended to protect teachers from backlash from parents who could be offended by political messages.

“It’s great for a superintendent at the board to order teachers organizing these graduations, to do certain things,” he told reporters. “It’s not the superintendent who will face the parents who might be upset by this, so teachers shouldn’t be put in the middle of this.”

Concerns Over Social Media Posts

The second issue Calandra raised in his letter is the “unequivocal expectation” that school staff uphold the “highest professional and ethical standards.”

The letter said using social media to promote violence is “unacceptable” along with any type of racist remarks, stereotyping, or the employment of inappropriate or derogatory language.

“Individuals employed within publicly funded education systems are expected to conduct themselves in a manner that reflects the trust placed in them,” Calandra wrote. “Their actions and public statements carry consequences and have a direct impact on the integrity of our institutions and the communities we serve.”

The minister noted during his March 25 comments that a senior official at a Northern Ontario school board allegedly made a TikTok post advocating for the assassination of U.S. President Donald Trump.

He further noted the firing of two teachers from the Toronto Catholic District School Board following claims that they shared racist messages in a social media chat that students were able to access.

Advocacy group Parents of Black Children said last month that messages between two teachers at James Cardinal McGuigan Catholic High School found on a student athletics Instagram account included a racist slur and an anti-Black meme.

The school board said the teachers were immediately placed on leave after school leadership received the images, and those teachers are no longer working for the board.

Calandra said he expects those working within the education system to “at the very least to the same accountability that we hold our students to.” 

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.