English-Learners Are Thriving in Canadian Schools

About a third of Canada’s school-age population is either immigrants themselves or have at least one parent who was born in a different country. Yet, despite the well-known challenges immigrants face, Canada has one of the highest-performing education systems in the world. How do they do it? English-learners in Canada have access to a range of services both inside and outside the classroom, including experienced teachers and extra funding, outside tutoring and mentoring programs, as well as social programs and free health care. And with mostly positive community support for immigrants, it’s easy to see how these students thrive in their new host country. But Canada is not immune to the rising anti-immigrant sentiment that has become more pervasive in the U.S. and in European countries in recent years.