Press Release
Ontario is taking the next step in its plan to integrate financial literacy into the curriculum this September.
Working with the Ontario Securities Commission and the Investor Education Fund, the province is developing new financial literacy resources for teachers to help students in Grades 4-12 learn basic financial skills so they can make informed and effective decisions about how to manage money.
These new resources will include videos and electronic learning activities for the classroom.
Preparing students to be financially literate is essential to student success and a stronger economy. It’s part of the province’s “Open Ontario” plan to build a well-educated workforce and prepare Ontario for a more prosperous future.
“We believe that financial education will better prepare our students for the 21st-century global economy,” said Education minister Leona Dombrowsky.
“Our kids need to know their dollars and cents just as much as their ABCs,” she stressed.
“Building teachers’ skills, confidence, and capacity to engage students in financial topics is essential,” echoed Donald A. Stewart, chair of Canada’s Task Force on Financial Literacy.
“Innovative financial literacy tools and resources will go far to help prepare Ontario students to navigate key life events and achieve lifetime financial security,” he reasoned.
A 2008 national survey by Credit Canada and the Ontario Association for Credit Counselling Services found 54 percent of teenagers would not pay their credit card off in full each month.
New financial literacy resources, tools, and training are being developed with almost $2 million in funding from the Ontario Securities Commission and support from the Investor Education Fund.
Professional learning sessions and workshops also are being scheduled for teachers this summer to help them better engage students about financial decision-making topics.
This initiative responds to recommendations in Ontario’s working group on financial literacy report.
