Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois: Quebec’s school system leaves boys behind
Posted April 7, 2026 11:12 am.
Last Updated April 7, 2026 2:27 pm.
Québec solidaire MNA Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois has released a white book highlighting how Quebec’s three-tier school system disproportionately affects boys, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Titled “Those We Leave Behind – The Impact of a Three-Tier School System on Boys’ Success,” the 76-page report draws on months of research, field visits, and international studies. It finds that boys in public schools face far larger achievement gaps than girls compared with their peers in private schools.
“We have a major issue in terms of having more professional staff to help the teachers do their job,” said Nadeau-Dubois. “A report was published a few days ago that we lost around 500 professional workers inside the education system in the last year because of the instability of the funding of the system.”
Key statistics reveal that dropout rates for boys in public schools are three times higher than for girls, standardized French exam scores lag behind by 11.6 per cent, and access to CEGEP is nearly three times lower. Boys are also underrepresented in selective programs like the International Education Program, where just 35.7 per cent of participants are male.
“Quebec schools is where the future of Quebec is created each day,” said Nadeau-Dubois. “It’s in our schools that we are building the next citizens, that we are building the future of Quebec. If our education system drifts away, there’s a very bleak future for Quebec.”
Nadeau-Dubois, who plans to leave politics later this year, said the paper is meant to spark a national conversation. “If we want boys to succeed, we must address the three-tier system,” he said.
The white paper is available here.
