OBPO Launches SUPPORT ONTARIO PUBLISHERS Campaign to Bring More Canadian Books Into Ontario Schools

The Ontario Book Publishers Organization (OBPO) has launched a new campaign calling for more Canadian books in Ontario classrooms. The initiative, Support Ontario Publishers, aims to ensure that students across the province encounter stories written and published in their own communities.

“Canadian authors deserve to be visible in their home province’s classrooms,” says OBPO Executive Director Holly Kent. “Our students deserve to see themselves and their diverse communities reflected in the books they read.”

A Need for Change

A recent OBPO study of teachers across Ontario (Grades 7–12, in both public and Catholic boards) revealed a stark imbalance: only three of the top 20 most frequently taught works were by Canadian authors. Even those titles represented a small fraction of total mentions, showing a heavy reliance on long-established, non-Canadian works.

Teachers who participated in the study expressed strong interest in teaching more Canadian books, but cited barriers including tight budgets, reliance on existing classroom collections, and the slow process of curriculum approvals.

What the Campaign Seeks

The Support Ontario Publishers initiative is rallying educators, parents, students, and the public to push for dedicated government funding and policy change. Specifically, the campaign calls for:

• A permanent funding stream to enable schools to buy new Canadian books, rather than relying on older titles.
• Policy commitments ensuring Ontario-published books are included in reading lists, library acquisitions, and curriculum frameworks.
• Increased awareness of the cultural and educational value of Canadian writing, including the representation of diverse voices and communities.

OBPO notes that schools often return to the same limited set of texts because they are already purchased and familiar to educators. The campaign argues that this practice inadvertently sidelines local authors, diminishing the visibility of Canadian stories in the classroom.

Building Momentum

The campaign is currently gathering signatures and support through its online platform. It builds on previous efforts like the Canadian Books in Ontario Schools Fund, which helped publishers develop classroom resources for locally published titles.

For the OBPO and its member publishers, this initiative is about more than market access: it is a matter of cultural equity.

“Ontario students should grow up reading the stories of the place where they live,” Kent says. “This campaign is about giving teachers the tools to make that possible.”

What’s Next

The OBPO hopes the initiative will result in concrete government action, including targeted funding to expand school collections with Ontario-published books. If successful, the campaign could have lasting impact on how future generations of students encounter Canadian voices in their classrooms.

For more information or to sign on to the campaign, visit the Support Ontario Publishers action page.

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About the OBPO

The OBPO was incorporated as a not-for-profit professional arts organization in January 1990. It is an ever-growing membership-based organization with 48 member companies. Throughout its 33 years, the OBPO has conducted many research studies into the book publishing industry, advocated on behalf of the membership to the provincial government and its arts agencies, held professional development seminars and courses, and carried out marketing projects, both domestic and international, which promoted, publicized, and sometimes sold the works published by the member publishing companies.