Institutions address escalating requirements for underprivileged schoolchildren's education.
As the school year approaches, some Quebec organizations are witnessing an unprecedented increase in demand for backpacks filled with free school supplies. This surge in demand is primarily driven by a combination of rising living costs, inflation, and the financial strain on low-income families.
Thirty-six organizations, including École Bienville in the Saint-Michel neighborhood, have already made requests to Marraine Étoilée for the return of the school year. The demand at École Bienville has tripled in the last two years, with 350 students expected to receive a backpack for the next school year.
Marraine Étoilée and Regroupement Partage, two philanthropic organizations, are collecting donations to offer backpacks to young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. Each backpack contains essential school supplies such as lunch boxes, colored pencils, geometry sets, scientific calculators, books, and additional items like toothbrushes, toothpaste, tissues, and deodorant (reserved for secondary school students).
Audrey Renaud, the general director of Regroupement Partage, explains that the organization is "far from being able to meet the target demand" but hopes to reach the milestone of 12,000 backpacks for the next school year. In 2024, Regroupement Partage distributed 10,500 backpacks, compared to 7,400 in 2023.
Francine Laplante, the founder of Marraine Étoilée, would like to offer more but lacks the necessary budget to reach her goal of 3,500 backpacks. Despite this, she ensures that only new items are given out, whether for kindergarten, primary, or secondary school.
In collaboration with several schools, Francine Laplante has created a list of essential school supplies for students based on their grade level. These targeted initiatives aim to ensure that children start the school year with the materials they need to succeed.
The Canada Child Benefit (CCB), which provides monthly, non-taxable payments to families to help cover costs including school supplies, also plays a crucial role. The CCB payments were increased in July 2025 to help offset inflation impacts, providing families with slightly more financial support to meet these needs.
Community events and donation drives also help gather resources for distribution. Federal support, community efforts, and targeted programs such as the United Way's Backpack Program in Quebec are responding to this increased demand by providing necessary school supplies and direct financial assistance to low-income families.
These combined efforts aim to ensure that children from low-income families in Quebec can access the supplies they need for academic success, offsetting the economic pressures faced by many families.
The government, through the Canada Child Benefit (CCB), is playing a crucial role by increasing payments and providing financial support to families to cover school-related expenses such as school supplies. However, philanthropic organizations like Marraine Étoilée and Regroupement Partage, involved in education-and-self-development and general-news, are still struggling to meet the surging demand for school supplies due to financial strain, and aim to distribute thousands of backpacks filled with essential items for the upcoming school year.
