Election '21 - Why isn't education being discussed this election? Starting a national conversation with Canadian Teachers' Federation President Sam Hammond

inFocus with David Coletto

This week, millions of students across Canada will be going back to school and education and our education system will be top of mind to millions of parents and educators.

There’s no doubt the pandemic has had a profound impact on children. It has put many of their parents out of work, surrounded their homes in grief and anxiety, and kept them out of schools that teach and care for them. It has been a very lonely time for Canadian children.

With two weeks left to go in the federal election campaign, I wonder, why haven’t heard more about education on the campaign trail.

On this episode of inFocus, I’m joined by Sam Hammond, the President of the Canadian Teachers Federation. Sam just started his two-year term as the Federation's president in July 2021. Prior, Sam was President of the Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario. He has taught all grades from JK to grade eight and was an instructor in the Labour Studies Program at McMaster University. The Canadian Teachers Federation represents over 300,000 elementary and secondary school teachers across Canada.

Sam and I spoke about the role of public education in federal politics, some polling Abacus Data did for the Federation, and what he’s hoping to hear from federal parties and candidates in the final weeks of the campaign.