New laws and rules coming to Ontario next month

Multiple new laws and rules are coming into effect in Ontario next month that will affect secondary school students, school boards, as well as property owners and tenants in one GTA city. 

From mandatory changes to how students are graded to new protections for tenants from "renovictions," these are all the changes you need to be aware of. 

These are all the new laws and rules coming to Ontario in September 2026. 

New student and family support offices 

The provincial government is requiring school boards to establish Student and Family Support Offices this fall, which will help families access more information on broader community concerns and resolve complex issues. 

This past January, offices began opening at each of the five supervised school boards (including the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board, Toronto Catholic District School Board and Toronto District School Board). 

All other school boards were required to submit a report by the end of March, outlining how they were preparing to establish an office by Sept. 1, 2026. 

"Better access for parents means better outcomes for students," said Paul Calandra, Minister of Education, late last year. 

"Student and Family Support Offices will give families clear answers and timely solutions when it comes to their child's education. We're going to continue overhauling an outdated school board governance model so that more resources go into classrooms, teachers have better support and students have the best chance to succeed." 

Changes to secondary school students' final grades

Mandatory changes will be coming to Ontario schools this September, which will make attendance, exams, and participation count towards secondary school students' final grades. 

According to the provincial government's website, starting this school year, students who entered Grade 9 in the 2025-26 school year and onwards must complete a financial literacy graduation requirement to earn their diploma. 

The requirement will be completed as part of their compulsory Grade 10 Career Studies course. To pass, students must earn a mark of 70 per cent or higher on the financial literacy modules, which will make up five per cent of their final mark in their Career Studies course. 

As part of the changes, the EQAO Grade 9 assessment of mathematics will be included in the final grade of the Grade 9 mathematics course. Starting this school year, the EQAO assessment will be weighted at 20 per cent of the final mark.  

Also starting this school year, most secondary courses will require written exams as a percentage of the final course mark. In grades 9 and 10, students' final mark will be based on 65 per cent classroom work, 20 per cent mandatory final evaluations, and 15 per cent attendance and participation. 

In Grades 11 and 12, students' final mark will be based on 65 per cent classroom work, 25 per cent mandatory final evaluations, and 10 per cent attendance and participation.

Attendance will be graded on five levels — level 4 (student misses 0 to 2.5 per cent of classes for unexcused absences), level 3 (student misses 2.5 to five per cent of classes for unexcused absences), level 2 (student misses five to 7.5 per cent of classes), level 1 (student misses 7.5 to ten per cent of classes), and below level 1 (student misses more than ten per cent of classes). 

Mississauga 'renoviction' bylaw 

Starting Sept. 1, 2026, the City of Mississauga's Rental Repairs and Renovations Licensing By-law will be introducing new requirements for landlords in an effort to better protect tenants when major repairs or renovations require them to leave their unit. 

Under the new bylaw, landlords who issue an N13 notice (which ends tenancy due to major repairs, renovations, or demolition) must also apply for a City licence within seven days of issuing the notice. 

To receive a rental repair or renovation licence, landlords must show that the work is necessary and requires the unit to be empty, provide required notices to tenants, and have a valid building permit. 

If a tenant receives this notice, they can either stay in their rental unit and challenge the N13 Notice through the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB), move out of their rental unit permanently, move into an alternate rental unit, or move out temporarily and return to their rental unit after the work is completed. 

According to the City, if a tenant chooses to return, their landlord must allow them to move back in, and their rent can't be increased beyond what would've been legally allowed if they had not moved out.