Nova Scotia mandates O Canada in schools after students' push for patriotism

The Nova Scotia government, prompted by patriotic Halifax high school students, is reinforcing Canadian pride through its education system with a new policy that mandates playing the national anthem as each school day begins and a petition that calls for the same.

“The playing of the national anthem is intended to remind students of their citizenship and foster a sense of pride and being part of a larger community,” reads the N.S. Department of Education document.

The new directive was issued in response to a letter signed by dozens of students at Charles P. Allen High School who claimed O Canada wasn’t being played at their high school, according to CTV News .

South Korean immigrant KC Kim, one of the three students who penned the letter, said he’d always heard the anthem in junior high, but not since arriving at the Bedford high school two years ago. When classes started this September and the anthem still wasn’t being heard, he and others decided to act.

“I think it’s important to be patriotic … I’m an immigrant here, I thank this country for all the opportunities I have, so I think it’s really important to stand up for our values and patriotism for Canada,” he said.

In the letter, the students say the song’s absence “works to undermine tradition, continuity and national pride” and the efforts of the Canadian Armed Forces and others “to secure the Canada which we love and cherish today.”

Education Minister Brendan Maguire told CTV “a few” schools had stopped playing O Canada, but he wasn’t sure why it happened. Regardless, he said the new order is geared towards “consistency right across the board” rather than singling out individual schools.

“We heard from students directly,” he said. “This is really a good time to enforce civic engagement with everything that’s going on and it’s a good time to enforce pride in being Canadian.”

National Post has contacted Maguire for comment on the policy and to obtain the student’s letter.

The Halifax Regional Centre for Education (HRCE), the public school district overseeing 136 schools in the sprawling city, told National Post via email that it was notified of the students’ letter last week.

“As the principal is currently in an acting role, we were not able to determine the original cause for the change in practice,” they wrote, noting the school has since reinstituted it in all classrooms and will comply with the department’s missive.

The governing Progressive Conservatives have also launched a petition in support of the anthem echoing in classrooms and hallways daily, a tradition that it said fosters “pride in Canada and respect for our shared values.”

A spokesperson for the PC Party said the petition was shared for “party members and followers to indicate their support” for the new policy.

“The post has reached thousands of Nova Scotians who are enthusiastic about the government’s directive to schools for them to play O Canada daily,” they wrote in an email to National Post.

BREAKING: Our PC government has issued a new directive requiring all schools to play the national anthem every morning. A simple tradition that builds pride in Canada and respect for our shared values. Add your name in support today: https://t.co/LkqYp7YuCq pic.twitter.com/wJzc2h0SNC

— Nova Scotia PC Party (@nspc) September 18, 2025

Allan Williams, executive director of the Canadian Institute for Historical Education, commended Min and his peers for taking the initiative and Maguire for swiftly instituting a policy, but wonders why it was stopped to begin with.

“We hope it was not as a result of a conscious decision on the part of the school principal because that would point to a deeper problem,” he wrote in a statement to National Post.

Williams said hearing the anthem every morning is important for all students, native born Canadians and newcomers alike, as they “reflect on the hard work and sacrifices” it took to build the nation. He said it serves as a “daily inspiration for all of us today to continue working to build an even better country for future generations.”

According to the federal government, “There are no laws or rules governing the playing of the national anthem,” merely suggested etiquette . However, some provinces do have specific policies in place for schools.

Elsewhere in Atlantic Canada, New Brunswick has had a policy in place since 2009 after it became known that a rural elementary school principal had stopped playing it, except for during special assemblies, at the request of students whose parents didn’t want them to partake for reasons he would not divulge.

According to CBC , the principal resigned after receiving death threats and a policy was instituted ahead of the start of school in September.

Ontario’s Education Act also requires “opening or closing exercises” in every school that “must include singing O Canada.”

As of July, Manitoba’s Public Schools Act was amended such that principals are required to “ensure the first verse and chorus of O Canada are sung in the school and observed in a respectful manner” daily.

National Post has contacted the other provinces and territories to learn about any existing policies on the national anthem in public schools.

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