Quebec students must address teachers as ‘Mr.’ and ‘Ms.’ under new civility rules

MONTREAL — Quebec students returning to class after winter break will now have to use formal language to address their teachers under new rules designed to foster civility.

The province announced last year that public and private schools had until January to create a code of conduct that includes requirements for students to address teachers and staff as “Mr.” or “Ms.” and use the formal form of “you” in French.

Elementary and high schools must also outline respectful conduct between students and toward school property, and specify that men and women are equal and faces must be uncovered on school property.

The president of an association representing school principals and administrators says he’s generally in favour of requiring students to use formal language because he thinks it will instill respect and help create a formal distinction between student and teacher.

But André Bernier says the rules should have been brought into effect in the fall rather than the middle of the academic year.

“We think it’s a good thing that (formal language) comes back, but we won’t be able to do it as fast as tomorrow morning,” he said.

He also believes the rules shouldn’t apply to kindergarten students, who “don’t have the knowledge necessary” to understand the nuances between using the formal “vous” address and the more casual “tu” — both of which translate in English to “you.”

He said the rules can also be tougher to grasp for students whose first language isn’t French.

According to the provincial government, schools must also decide how to sanction students who don’t comply with the code of conduct, ranging from warnings to expulsion. Actions of “reparation,” such as apology letters, community service or discussion circles, should also be asked of some students, the government said.

Bernier believes education, rather than strict enforcement, is likely the best path. “We won’t be working as police officers to check if it’s applied or not,” he said.

He said a lack of respect has been a problem in schools, but he notes that it often stems from children copying behaviour from the adults around them. “If the parents are not using a language that’s appropriate towards teachers and principals, it’s hard for students to do it also,” he said.

Linda Pagani, a professor of psychoeducation at Université de Montréal, says she’s a “big fan” of the new civility rules.

“I think that parents and society forget that kids who are growing up, they’re learning all kinds of levels of interaction and they’re learning to socialize properly,” she said. That includes learning about both “horizontal” interactions — with those of equal status — and “vertical” ones, with people of different rank, said the clinical psychologist.

She said children who are raised to address everyone as an equal could have a “rude awakening” in university or the workplace. She also believes enforcing respect is a step toward eliminating some of the problematic behaviours and disrespect teachers face.

“Neuroscience and clinical psychology and social psychology have shown us that language influences thought, language influences attitudes,” she said.

Richard Bergevin, the head of a teachers union — Fédération des syndicats de l’enseignement — said some schools have already been applying the new rules. While there haven’t been any major problems in their implementation, he says some teachers have found that the rules need to be flexible in some situations, including for students with special needs.

He says the education minister has indicated that the rules will be applied flexibly, but would like to see that in writing.

Julie Auger, the president of the Canadian Linguistic Association, agrees that students with special needs or troubles at home might be better served by a more informal relationship with teachers and school staff.

“Do we want to impose this distance from (formal language) on top of the difficulties?” she said. “Or do we not instead want to try to foster a close relationship that will help school staff to help these children integrate and overcome the difficulties they already have?”

She noted that languages such as English, Arabic and Innu don’t have formal and informal addresses, which will make them harder for students from those backgrounds to pick up, compared to those who grew up speaking languages like French, German, Spanish or Italian.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 5, 2026.

— With files from Stéphane Blais

Morgan Lowrie, The Canadian Press