Manitoba Schools Question

I. Background
 The Manitoba Act of a dual system of education (1871-1890), which guaranteed the
right to religious schools distinct in their denomination and language
o French-language Catholic schools
o English-language Protestant schools
 Dual system was governed by an appointed Board of Education (consisting of equal
representation of Protestants [50%] and Catholics [50%]) and elected superintendents

II. Antecedents of the “Manitoba Schools Question”

Public interest in education reform grew as:
1. Manitoba became increasingly populated by Ontario-born Protestants who wished to
develop institutions in Manitoba that resembled those they were familiar with in Ontario
2. Protestant schools were overcrowded and underfunded
3. The attendance of Protestants at Catholic schools stimulated political activism of
“militant” protestants (Mitchell, 1993)
Thomas Greenway’s Liberals campaigned and won power in the Manitoba Legislature on a
platform of abolishing the dual system and replacing it with one provincial education system

III. Greenway’s Reforms

Public Schools Act (1890) established:
 A provincial Department of Education
 A single, English-language non-denominational school system funded by taxpayers
 Denominational schools were privately funded

IV. Laurier-Greenway Compromise (1896)

Allowed for limited religious education in public schools and a bilingual system under
certain conditions:
 Provided instruction in languages other than English if 10 students in a class spoke a
different first language
o Eventually led to German, Polish and Ukrainian language education
 Urban schools with >40 Roman Catholic students needed to hire a Roman Catholic
teacher for religious instruction

V. Significance of the Manitoba Schools Question

 4 major conflicts of the 19th century were implicated: French-English, Catholic-
Protestant, federal-provincial power balance, relationship between church and state
 Served as a major defeat for French language and Catholic education rights