Figure 1.--This photographs shows boys in front of a Catholic school in Quebec in 1905. Al the boys wear kneepants and long stockings with a variety of caps, bows, shirts, and jackets. The caption read, "Après le dîner quelques élèves s'attardent à la porte de l'école." ("After lunch some pupils remain a little while at school door".) [L'album universel, Vol. 22, no. 1119, pp. 679 (30 septembre 1905)] Notice that many of the boys wear a kempi, a kind of military cap. This looks to be a kind of uniform requirement.

HBC has very little information on Canadian schoolwear. We believe that like the United States, Canadian boys have not traditionally worn school uniforms. We suspect that it would be difficult to tell images of French and American school children apart just by looking at them. Available images show boys at the turn of the century wearing kneepants and long stockings with a wide range of caps, shirts, and jackets. We suspect that most boys by the 1950s would have worn knickers to school. Some private schools may have adopted English style school uniforms. The Catholic schools are especially important in Canada, especially in French-speaking Quebec. Boys there never seem to have worn smocks as in France itself. Nor did boys at parochial schools wear uniforms, at least in the early 20th century. They were later adopted, but discontinued in the 1960s.

Styles

HBC has very little information on Canadian schoolwear. We believe that like the United states, Canadian boys in state schools have not traditionally worn school uniforms. Private schools often did have uniforms. A readr writes, "I have seen some older photographs of my prep school in Toronto, Canada from the 1930s and the boys then had completely British style uniforms, including peaked caps. They were phased out in the 1960s. Prep schools in British Commonwealth countries wore uniforms and caps the same as British prep schools." I am less sure about schoolwear at Catholic schools.

Language Groups

We suspect that it would be difficult to tell images of French and American school children apart just by looking at them.

Chronology

We have very limited chronological informtion on Canadian school clothes at this time. School images are not only important as a redord of school wear, but because many of them are dated, they are a wonderful record of changing fashion trendsover time. Available images show boys at the turn of the century wearing kneepants and dark long stockings with a wide range of caps, shirts, and jackets. There is some indication that boys in Nova Scotia may have worn kilts. I'm not sure how common this may have been. We suspect that most boys during the 1920s and 30s would have worn knickers to school, much like American boys. Longstockings and knickers were very common. Knickers were more common than in America during the 1940s. Some boys in the 1940s wore short pants with both long stockings and kneesock. As in American, Canadian primary boys began wearing jeans to school, although they were not allowed in secondary schools until the 1960s. We notice that in the 1980s boys commpnly wore sweaters and jeans. Dresses were still common for girls.

Types of Schools

Canada like the United States has no national school system. Rather education is a function left to the individual provinces. Thus each privince has its own school system and there are differences between them which have varied over time. This is especially the case in Quebec where Catholics and French speakers are a majority. Generally speaking, public schools in Canada have not required school uniforms. Some private schools may have adopted English style school uniforms. The English-language public schools as in America never had uniforms. Many private schools, however, do have uniforms. The Catholic schools are especially important in Canada, particularly in French-speaking Québec. Americans will be somewhat confused by the fact that in Canada there were Catholic public (state) schools as well as Catholic private schools. Boys there never seem to have worn smocks as in France itself. We have received a variety of different commnents about uniform policies at parochial schools. One reader tells us that boys at parochial schools did not wear uniforms, at least in the early 20th century. We note boys wearing simpl uniforms in the early 1940s. A Canadian reader tells us that school uniforms were adopted at Catholic schools, although they were discontinued in the 1960s. Another French Canadian reader writes, "Uniforms have been required in Catholic schools for years. You know, Brothers andSisters were themselves in uniform and the first community of woman in New France went here at the first years of the colony around 1608. When an adult is wearing a uniform, he will require the same from children. A a matter of fact, uniforms disappeared in Catholic schools when Brothers and sisters were replaced by young teachers in miniskirt . When religious communities were at their peak from 1890 to 1960, there was a different uniform for different schools held by different communities."

Terminology

English speaking Canada

English-speaking Canada had primary and secondary schools roughly structured like American schools: primary schools (5-6 years), middle school/junior high (2-3 years), and high schools (3-4 years).

Québec

Before 1965 Québec schools consisted of: primary schools (6 years) and classical college (8 years from éléments latins to philosophie). The university was a 4 year program for a baccalauréat degree) and a 1 year prgram for a licence/masters degree). The license led to professional work like psychlogist, lawyer, ect. A Ph.D. Doctorate program involved 1 year for course work and 3 years for writing a disertation. This led to research positions or teaching ay the university level.

After 1965 Québec schools consisted of: primary (6 years) and different types of secondary schools. Secondary school not preparing for university involves 5 years of study. For university bound students there is Secondaire I to Secondare V studies in the same school. Then there is college d'enseignement général et professionnel (CEGEP) which is a 2 year program leading to university and professional careers. The undergraduate university program is 3 years to get the Bacalauréat degree. The master degree program is another year of course work and another year to write thesis called a Mémoire. The doctorate is another 1 year of course work and 3-5 years for the the Ph.D. disertation.

Regions

Canada is divided into five major regions: the Maritimes (Labrador, New Bruswick, , Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island), Quebec, Ontario, the prarie provinces (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba), and British Colombia. There is also the Yukon and the Northwest Territories, but the populations are very small. Canbada does not have a centrakized educatiin system. Like thge United States, each province have the exclusive responsability for education. The Québec system is really distinct from other provinces. Clothing styles could differ significantly on a regional basis, especially during the 19th century. Outside of Quebec, the rest of Canada has had a strong British influence, and this was very evident in the private schools where uniforms were often required. Public schools generally did not require uniforms and boys tended to primarily wear American-styled clothing.

Activites

We note Canadian boys involved in a range of school activities. These activity photographs are very valuable in understanding educational trends. We see the children comingv and going to school. Of course in Canada during the winter, the children are bundled up. We note a range of classrom activities as well as other school activities like gym. nd there are a range of extra-curricular activities like sports, band, science fairs, and farm fairs. These views tells us a lot more about the educational program than the static school portaits which are primarly useful about assessing fashion trends over time. The academic program and the extra-curricular activities was affected by the size of the school.

Girls' Uniforms

A Canadian reader reports, "Some English private girls schools have uniform with jumpers or gym frocks like the ones worn in Britain. They are coomonly worn with tights. Before the 1960s long stockings were worn. After the Dior revolution, skirts became longer as it was in French Catholic schools. since a century or more. The uniform skirt ended below the knee. and because there was no gym, girls in Québec felt a nonsense to wear "bloomers" then, they wore long stockings. Around 1965 came the mini from England with Mary Quant. Girls wanted to wear shorter skirts and felt long skirts were dowdy. The first to create really functional colored tights was DIM in France."

Opinions

Opinions on school uniform in Canada as in other countries have varied. One parent writes, "Here in Canada children at both private and public Catholic schools wore uniforms. The reason was theoretically to equalize social status and limit expebditures on school clothing. I don't think it really had any positive impact. In public schools, there are some rules. It is possible for a child to wear extravagant dresses but let me tell you that the group will be aggressive against any showoff. Jeans are not very attractive, but they are practical for doing arts, gym and everything else. School is a place to enjoy, not an army corps."

Individual Schools

We have little information on individual Canadian schools at this time. A reader mentions the Reverend Woods's Church School in Montreal during 1885, although we do not know much about it at this time. We also note St. John's Anglican School in Montreal during 1899. While it is in Montreal, we assume it is an English-language school. A reader has sent us a photograoh of an Anglo-Canadian schoolboy from the Crescent School in Toronto, Ontario during the 1930s. It is a boys' private school. Notice that his uniform is British in style with the short pants, kneesocks, blazer with piping and traditional school cap. Being a Dominion of the British Empire, the British influence in English Canada was very strong. British uniforms were worn by private school children in all of the British overseas Dominions. As our archive of Canadian schools grows, we will eventually archive them by name and year. We also note the Loyola School in Montreal, it appears to be a Catholic boarding school.

Related Style Pages in the Boys' Historical Web Site
[Long pants suits] [Short pants suits] [Socks] [Eton suits] [Jacket and trousers] [Blazer] [School sandals]

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Created: October 10, 2001
Last updated: 5:52 PM 6/1/2007