Quebec teachers’ union survey says 90 per cent have faced violence on the job

MONTRÉAL – A Quebec teachers’ union released the findings of a survey of its members on Monday that found 90 per cent of respondents said they were victims of some form of violence at work.

“We are here to teach, not to be beaten up,” Catherine Renaud, a vice-president of the Fédération autonome de l’enseignement, told a news conference on Monday.

“Like any other worker, we have the right to work without being subjected to acts of violence.”

The union, known as the FAE, says teachers have the right to be in a workplace that is free of violence and it is calling on Education Minister Sonia LeBel to work with them to address issues they say are urgent.

“It is totally unacceptable that violence is part of teachers’ daily lives,” Renaud said.

According to the findings, 81 per cent reported being a victim of psychological or verbal abuse while 63 per cent reported physical violence. Nearly 11 per cent of respondents reported sexual violence.

Much of the physical violence was seen at the pre-kindergarten and kindergarten levels, where 85 per cent of teachers report having been hit, 75 per cent say they have been injured, and 65 per cent have been pushed around.

“Unfortunately, what we hear too often is: it’s just a little kid, a four- or five-year-old preschooler, it can’t hurt that much,” Renaud said.

One of the testimonials noted during a tantrum, a preschool student “hit me, bit me, kicked me, and head-butted me,” the teacher wrote. “Another time, he threw a large object at my head, causing me to suffer a minor head injury.”

When it comes to elementary school, all types of violence are reported by teachers. In high school, the violence is more psychological and verbal in nature, with 81 per cent of teachers reporting they have been victims.

In vocational and adult education settings, the survey found bullying to be a major theme.

The union has previously published surveys with similar results. Threats and intimidation may be down, but hitting and injuries are up, Renaud said.

The union says teachers need more support staff who are specialized in working with students who are disruptive or who have difficulty integrating.

“When a student arrives in the classroom and there is no necessary support, and then he or she begins to become disruptive and threaten the physical and psychological integrity of the other students in the class, as well as that of the teachers, we have to ask ourselves whether the student is in the right place,” Renaud said.

The union representative noted that stress, loss of sleep, decreased self-esteem and motivation, burnout, depression, and time off work are commonly raised by respondents.

Renaud said three out of five teachers who responded to the survey said they were considering leaving the teaching profession.

The union said more than 2,443 teachers took part in the online questionnaire in April and May 2025, out of its 65,000 members across nine unions in the province’s major cities.

The polling industry’s professional body, the Canadian Research Insights Council, says online surveys cannot be assigned a margin of error because they do not randomly sample the population.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 15, 2025.