Fidelity sends 32 free videos into Ontario classrooms through TVO as the Grade 10 requirement begins
Thirty-two videos, two languages, and nearly 800,000 YouTube views make up the free investment literacy library Fidelity Investments Canada ULC is now routing into Ontario classrooms.
Fidelity said it is providing the resources through TVO Media Education Group ahead of the province's Grade 10 financial literacy graduation requirement, which the company said takes effect this fall.
Beginning in September, according to TVO Learn, Grade 10 students must complete the Financial Literacy Graduation Requirement within the course credit of their compulsory Career Studies course.
The agency lists the concepts assessed as budgeting, interest rates, earning and saving, taxes, credit and debt, consumer awareness, and financial fraud.
TVO developed the course material, teacher resources, and the assessment itself, Fidelity said.
Fidelity research cited in the company's release found 78 percent of teens aged 15 to 17 have heard about investing, while 45 percent understand how it works.
In a separate focus group of Ontario university students, Fidelity said, only 5 percent reported they were very well prepared to manage money in the real world, and 96 percent said financial literacy should have been required in their high school curriculum.
The company also reported that 60 percent of young people are highly interested in investing.
Linda Passarelli, vice-president, talent management at Fidelity, said in the company's release that the firm is working to strengthen "financial literacy for all Canadians, and especially for our young people."
Fidelity is partnering with TVO through its Money Gains series.
The latest chapter of the Money Gains series covers credit fundamentals, debt management, budgeting, education and financial aid, and income tax, per the release.
Fidelity worked with an Ontario-certified teacher on free lesson plans and summative evaluations for chapters 1 to 3 in English and French.
The company said the materials map to four Ontario courses, Building the Entrepreneurial Mindset (BEM1O), Launching and Leading a Business (BEP2O), Grade 9 Mathematics (MTH1W), and Career Studies (GLC2O).
Lesson plans and glossaries for chapter 4 arrive later this year, Fidelity said.
Saskatchewan made Financial Literacy 10 a graduation requirement for students entering Grade 10 in the 2024-25 school year, the Government of Saskatchewan announced on September 18, 2024.
"Financial literacy will create a lasting effect on our students' financial stability and independence," education minister Jeremy Cockrill said in that release.
He tied the basics of financial responsibility to student outcomes personally and professionally.
The province's Ministry of Education set a target of January 2026 for the final version of the curriculum.
Fidelity said it encourages all provincial and territorial education ministers to introduce a similar graduation requirement and strengthen mandatory curriculum content.
Its other financial literacy partners include Ontario DECA, Pathways to Education Canada, the Toronto Public Library Foundation, the Toronto Foundation for Student Success, Prosper Canada, and Park Street Education, according to the company.
