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Is homeschooling in Canada quietly coming under attack?

That’s one of the questions I explored while sitting down with Peter Stock at the BC Home Education Conference in Langley, B.C., this past weekend.

Stock, who was one of several conference speakers, serves as president of the Homeschool Legal Defence Association, an organization that has spent 35 years defending the rights of homeschooling families across Canada.

“We've seen life go from a place where homeschooling was essentially illegal in much of Canada to a place where it's now legal to homeschool in all 10 provinces and all three territories,” Stock explained.

But according to Stock, legal doesn’t always mean free.

During our conversation, he pointed to provinces like Quebec and Newfoundland, where governments have imposed stricter controls over homeschool families, from rigid mandatory reporting requirements to restricting what curriculum is allowed to be used, even if families' preferred curriculum is superior to that of public schools. 

“It’s still the case to this day in Quebec that if you're found to be in a place where you're not giving proper education to your kids… the enforcement mechanism there isn't a truant officer. It's actually child protection services, and they will apprehend your children.”

The interview also comes as families in British Columbia have been experiencing a crackdown on home learning opportunities, including the NDP government’s decision to shut down Christian Homelearners eStreams, an online Christian homeschool teaching support school that many parents, including those with special needs children, have relied on for years.

Stock says what’s happening in B.C. reflects a broader ideological shift from the provincial NDP government. “We've seen this move from the NDP government over the last few years where they're trying to constrict or restrict the ability of parents to find homeschooling options in the province through these independent schools,” he said.

Despite the challenges, Stock says homeschooling continues to provide opportunities many traditional schools simply cannot, including flexible learning, individualized education, and even pathways for students to begin college or university courses early.

Still, he says the demand for legal support is growing, not shrinking.

“We're busier now than we've ever been,” said Stock.

According to Statistics Canada, homeschool enrollment in Canada more than doubled during the 2020–2021 school year, jumping from roughly 40,000 students to more than 83,000. Meanwhile, more recent research suggests provinces like British Columbia continue to see rates of homeschooling remaining well above levels prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.