Abstract

The constitutional origins of public education in Canada and the United States are particular to each country’s unique history. There are important cultural, language, social, and political differences in the public educational systems in these neighboring countries; nonetheless they share a significant common feature—they are constitutionally the responsibility of the provincial/state governments. Despite each country’s historic roots in Europe, where more nationalized systems of education have flourished, the population settlement patterns in Canada and the United States, along with social, economic, and political development, favored localism over federalism as each country developed its vast resources and geographic spaces stretching over 3,000 miles from coast to coast.