Back to School: 81% Support Cell Phone Ban; 71% Concerned About Bullying
September 3 (Toronto, ON) – A new national Liaison Strategies finds Canadians give their own neighbourhood schools higher marks than the system overall, shows strong support for banning cell phones during the school day, and are split on a four-day school week.
Conducted from August 25-27, 2025, using Interactive Voice Response (IVR), the survey polled 1,000 Canadians. The margin of error is ±3.09 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
Liaison Strategies is one of the most accurate polling firms in Canada. It ranked #1 in accuracy in the 2025 Ontario election and #2 nationally in the 2025 federal election. Liaison is a member of the Canadian Research Insights Council (CRIC).
David Valentin, Principal at Liaison Strategies, said:
"Parents and voters think their local schools are doing better than the system as a whole, and they want fewer distractions in the classroom. An in-school cell phone ban is one of the rare areas with near-consensus (81% support)."
"Canadians are also looking for balance in the curriculum: pluralities say the focus on Indigenous history and official languages is about right, but 39% of Canadians say they want more instruction in both English and French - with that number rising to 45% among parents."
Top concerns in schools. Mental health tops the list of concerns (76% concerned, including 42% very concerned), followed closely by funding shortages (74% concerned; 27% very) and bullying (71% concerned; 50% very). While overall concern is higher for mental health and funding shortages, 50% of Canadians say they are 'very concerned' about bullying.
Local schools score better than the national system. Just 34% rate the quality of elementary and secondary education in Canada as good or excellent, while 60% call it fair or poor. Asked about the schools in their own neighbourhoods, 45% say good or excellent and 44% say fair or poor. Parents are more likely than non-parents to give their local schools harsher scores.
Cell phones: broad support for bans. Fully 81% support banning cell phones during the school day (12% oppose; 7% not sure). Support is high across the country and peaks in Quebec (84%) and among older Canadians (84% of 65+). Alberta is lower but still strong at 75%.
Four-day week: more oppose than support. Thirty-two percent support moving to a four-day school week, 47% oppose, and 21% are unsure. Households without kids are slightly more open (34% support) than households with kids (29%).
What Canadians want taught. On Indigenous history and culture, Canadians are divided: 35% say schools do not provide enough focus, 37% say about the right amount, and 14% say more than enough.
On instruction in both official languages, 39% say not enough, 46% say about right, and 8% say more than enough. 45% of Parents say there is not enough instruction in English and French compared to 36% of non-parents.
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About Liaison Strategies
Liaison Strategies is a national public opinion research firm. With 12 years of experience in Canadian polling, David Valentin, principal, has fielded hundreds of projects at the municipal, provincial and federal levels and appeared across Canadian media to discuss insights. Liaison is a member of the Canadian Research Insights Council (CRIC), Canada’s voice of the research, analytics, and insights profession both domestically and globally.