Teachers rally against education budget cuts outside Quebec minister’s office
Posted October 16, 2025 12:29 pm.
Members of the Fédération autonome de l’enseignement (FAE), one of Quebec’s largest teachers’ unions, gathered Thursday morning outside Education Minister Sonia Lebel’s Montreal office to protest recent education budget cuts.
Protesters placed signs on the lawn highlighting areas that will be hit hardest. Some focused on reductions of tools and equipment for vocational training programs. Others highlighted cuts to school concerts and transportation for students living outside their school’s designated zones.
Additional signs drew attention to the closure of francisation groups, which would require students to be redistributed into three other classes, as well as cuts to translation services for non-French or English-speaking parents during parent-teacher conferences.
Union representatives say the reductions are forcing schools to cut essential classroom supplies, reduce support staff, and scale back adapted transportation services. They warn that these measures are straining public schools.
The rally follows months of public concern over education funding.
In June, then-Education Minister Bernard Drainville announced $570 million in cuts for the upcoming school year, prompting parents and teachers to hold demonstrations over the summer.
In response, Drainville partially reversed the cuts in July, pledging $540 million in reinvestments. However, school service centres had to adhere to staffing caps to access the funds.
At the beginning of October, Minister Lebel lifted the hiring freeze imposed by her predecessor, stating that school service centres could now manage their resources, provided budgets were respected.
She said the freeze had led to some available funds not being fully used, and that administrators needed to “come back to basics” to ensure budgets were respected.
The government also plans to make changes to union funding, giving members more say over how dues are spent and requiring annual consultation on union fund allocation.
School service centres must submit approved budgets to the Ministry by October 30 to receive reinvestment funds.
