Council of Ministers of Education, Canada

• Overview

 

 

CMEC represents the education interests of Canada’s provinces and territories internationally. While all provinces and territories carry out education-related international activities individually, CMEC provides them with the means to speak, act, and intervene collectively on the world stage.

At its July 2019 meeting, CMEC approved the CMEC International Education and Engagement Strategy, 2019–22, which provides a framework to guide CMEC’s international activities for this period.

• CMEC coordinates and supports provincial and territorial contributions to international discussions of education issues at key multilateral organizations, such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and at major international education events such as the International Summit on the Teaching Profession (ISTP). Other organizations with which CMEC has a working relationship include: the Organization of American States (OAS), the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the Commonwealth, the G7, and the G20 .
  
  CMEC ensures that Canada is represented at the appropriate meetings and conferences of these international organizations. At many events, ministers of education lead the Canadian delegation, speaking to the issues at hand and presenting Canadian experiences and suggestions for action. At other meetings, deputy ministers, senior governmental officials, and/or subject matter experts may play prominent roles.
  
  We also represent Canada on a number of key education-related intergovernmental working bodies, such as the OECD’s Education Policy Committee, the Centre for Educational Research and Innovation Governing Board, and the Indicators of Education Systems groups.

• CMEC and the Government of Canada have partnered to develop Canada’s international education brand, EduCanada: A world of possibilities, to promote provincial and territorial education systems abroad to international students. The brand is administered by CMEC and Global Affairs Canada (GAC).

• The CMEC Secretariat hosts the Canadian Information Centre of International Credentials (CICIC), which collects, organizes, and distributes information and acts as a national clearinghouse and referral service to support the recognition and portability of Canadian and international educational and occupational qualifications.

• Provinces and territories have begun to use CMEC to support bilateral and multilateral discussions in education with other countries. For example, since 2010, three high-level consultations on education collaboration between the provinces and territories of Canada and the People’s Republic of China have taken place, each resulting in the co-signing of summaries of discussions or joint statements.

• In 2016, CMEC and its counterparts in Germany (the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder in the Federal Republic of Germany) and Switzerland (the Swiss Conference of Cantonal Ministers of Education) signed a declaration on strengthening education cooperation between federated countries.

• Relationships are also strengthened through visits of international delegations to CMEC, several of which occur each year. Visiting delegations from other countries wish to learn about Canada’s education system and experiences and often think of CMEC as their first stop.

• While education is the exclusive jurisdiction of the provinces and territories in Canada, CMEC works cooperatively with the Government of Canada on issues that touch on international relations. Provinces and territories, through CMEC, meet on a regular basis with federal colleagues to discuss issues such as strategic market engagement, education-related memoranda of understanding (MOUs), inbound and outbound student mobility, marketing of Canadian education abroad, and international student visas.