Teachers Sound Alarm on Rising Violence in Schools, Call for Urgent Provincial Action

The Manitoba Teachers’ Society is sounding the alarm that violence in Manitoba public schools has reached overwhelming levels, with educators reporting increases in both the frequency and severity of incidents.

As teachers wrap up their three-day Annual General Meeting, The Society is calling on the provincial government to take immediate action to address what it describes as a systemic issue affecting classrooms across the province.

Educators say rising violence reflects growing pressures inside schools, including unmet student needs, reduced access to supports, and insufficient staffing and resources to maintain safe learning environments.

MTS President Lillian Klausen said the situation reflects long-standing political decisions to underfund public education at a time of growing needs, resulting in school resources being increasingly stretched thin.

“What we are seeing in Manitoba classrooms is the result of years of political decisions that have left schools under-resourced and overstretched,” she said. “Educators are now dealing with the consequences of that neglect every single day.”

A survey of 3,370 public school educators conducted by Probe Research between Jan. 22 and Feb. 17, 2026 (±1.54%, 19 times out of 20) underscores those concerns, with teachers reporting rising levels of violence and increasing difficulty maintaining safe and functional classrooms.

The survey found that 70 per cent (70%) of educators say violence has increased over their careers, 61 per cent (61%) say the severity has increased, 46 per cent (46%) say it is a serious problem in schools, and 55 per cent (55%) say it makes it difficult to do their jobs.

Klausen said the findings point to a long-term system failure that cannot be ignored.

“Violence in schools is not appearing out of nowhere,” she said. “It is growing in a system that has been pushed past its limits—where funding and staffing hasn’t kept pace with student need and supports have been allowed to erode. In some cases, supports have been completely cut.”

She added that the consequences of inaction extend beyond individual incidents and across entire school communities. “Students are in the school system for as long as 12 years. If these behaviours are not properly addressed with the right supports early, they do not disappear—they continue and, in many cases, escalate over time.”

Educators also stress that the impact of violence is not limited to those directly involved. Students who witness violent incidents are also affected, with learning disrupted and classroom environments becoming less stable and less safe for everyone present.

As one teacher put it: “The onus is usually on teachers to stand by while kids rage. We do our best to keep the other kids safe from physical harm, but the mental and emotional harm of having to witness these things isn’t addressed.”

Teachers say this has a cumulative effect on student well-being, reinforcing the need for earlier intervention and stronger in-school supports.

Numerous educators’ written responses describe increasingly serious situations in schools, including repeated lockdowns, weapons being brought into schools, and escalating physical incidents.

One survey respondent described multiple serious violent events over their career, including weapons seizures and repeated emergency lockdowns, while others said violence has become so routine it is simply part of the job.

At the same time, more than half of educators report that access to student supports has declined over the course of their careers, with many pointing to reduced special education capacity and growing unmet student needs.

Klausen said teachers are increasingly being placed in situations that raise fundamental concerns about workplace safety and system responsibility.

“Teachers have the right to a safe workplace,” she said. “That has to be recognized as a non-negotiable condition of the public education system. At the same time, students have a right to education, but that cannot be meaningfully achieved in environments where safety is consistently compromised. Both require the system to function properly.”

She added that current conditions are no longer sustainable. “Teachers are being asked to manage increasingly complex and dangerous situations without the resources required to do so safely. That is not sustainable, and it is not acceptable.”

The Manitoba Teachers’ Society is calling on the provincial government to establish a universal, province-wide system to track and report incidents of violence in schools, arguing that consistent data is needed to properly understand the scope of the issue and guide effective responses and to take immediate action to address staffing and resource gaps contributing to unsafe learning environments.