Ontario Strengthening Holocaust Education in High Schools

November 1, 2023

New mandatory learning, resources and investments will help educate students about the significance of the Holocaust

The Ontario government is introducing new and expanded mandatory learning about the Holocaust in the compulsory Grade 10 History course. In addition, the province is investing $650,000 in community partnerships that provide resources for students and educator training to expand learning on fundamental Canadian values, including the importance of safeguarding democracy from extreme and harmful ideologies.

Starting September 2025, new expanded learning about the Holocaust in the Grade 10 History course will explicitly link the Holocaust to extreme political ideologies, including fascism, antisemitism in Canada in the 1930s and 1940s, and the contemporary impacts of rising antisemitism.

This expanded learning will build on the current Grade 10 History curriculum about how the Holocaust impacted Canadian society and the attitudes of people in Canada toward human rights. The course complements new mandatory learning on the significance of the Holocaust included in Grade 6 Social Studies, strengthening students’ ongoing understanding of how to identify, respond to and change harmful assumptions and stereotypes that can lead to tragic events like the Holocaust, including antisemitism and other forms of racism.

Ontario’s revisions to both the elementary and secondary school curriculum demonstrate its ongoing commitment to strengthening anti-hate training for Ontario students and educators. New course guidelines for teachers developed by the Ontario College of Teachers (OCT) will be ready by 2025 so they can begin developing courses to help support their efforts to educate students on the Holocaust.