Quebec aims to improve financial literacy with new high school course

Quebec's education minister wants to make sure students graduate from high school with a grasp of how to manage their personal finances.

Sébastien Proulx plans to introduce a mandatory economics course starting in September 2017.

The course will focus on financial literacy, addressing issues such as credit scores, loans, making a budget and signing a cell phone contract, Proulx said.

"We need to make sure our youth have access to a financial education," he said.

Proulx said he's still working out how the course will be incorporated into the curriculum. It will require making some adjustments, he said.

Earlier, Proulx's spokeswoman, Marie Deschamps, said the minister was committed to making the course at least an elective by next fall.

​A mandatory economics course was eliminated in 2009.

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​'Tough ... to make wise decisions'

Jennifer Maccarone, who chairs the Sir Wilfrid Laurier School Board, told CBC Montreal's Daybreak she's happy to hear a personal finance course is in the works but added that school boards should be consulted. 

Community members have been asking for a course that helps students manage their finances, she said.

"We applaud the effort. The concern comes from the fact that no information has been disseminated to the school boards," said Maccarone.

Maccarone wants to make sure the curriculum is a good fit for students. She also questioned what would need to be changed to fit an economics course into the school day if it's made mandatory.

Brian Smith, vice-president for the Canadian Foundation for Economic Education, welcomed the idea.

He said students leaving high school face a lot of challenges when it comes to finances.

"It's very, very tough for a youth growing up today to make wise decisions," he said.