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Quebec's Full-Day School Cellphone Ban, Explained
Since the 2025-26 school year, cellphones are banned for the whole school day in every public and private elementary and secondary school in Quebec, including breaks and lunch. It is the strictest rule in Canada and builds on a classroom ban from January 2024.
Quebec first banned phones in classrooms in January 2024. In May 2025 the government announced it would go further, and from September 2025 phones have been prohibited across the entire school day, in class, between classes, at recess and at lunch, in all elementary and secondary schools, public and private. The ban covers phones and similar personal devices, and schools set the practical details of where the phones are kept.
The education minister was direct about the reason: too many conflicts in schools start with cellphones. Fights filmed and posted online, group-chat bullying that spills into the hallway, and students isolated behind screens at lunch were all part of the case. The government also pointed to learning and to students spending breaks talking to each other again. Quebec's move made it the first Canadian province to cover breaks for secondary students, not just class time.
A full-day ban is harder to enforce than a classroom ban, because there is no teacher at the front of the room at lunch. Schools have used lockers, collection boxes and lockable pouches. Pouches have one big advantage: the student keeps the phone the whole day, so the school is not storing devices or responsible if one goes missing, and the pouch does not block signal. At the end of the day, the student taps it on a magnetic base by the exit.
Quebec schools are a short drive from our Toronto base. Before The Internet sells lockable phone pouches to schools outright. You pay once, the pouches and unlocking bases belong to the school, and there is no subscription, lease or per-student annual licence. Send us your student numbers and any written quote you already have, and we will beat it.
Frequently asked questions
Are cellphones banned in Quebec schools?
Yes. Since the 2025-26 school year, phones are banned for the whole school day, including recess and lunch, in all public and private elementary and secondary schools in Quebec.
Why did Quebec ban phones in schools?
The government said many conflicts and incidents of violence in schools start with cellphones, and it also cited learning and social contact between students during breaks.
How do Quebec schools store phones during the day?
Schools choose their own method, including lockers, collection and lockable pouches. With pouches, students keep their own phone locked all day and open it at an unlocking base at dismissal.
Related reading
School cellphone bans in Canada · Ontario's school cellphone ban · How to roll out phone pouches in a school
Written by the team at Before The Internet, a Toronto-based phone-free company that rents lockable phone pouches for events across North America and sells them to schools and venues worldwide, shipping purchases to any country.
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