The province is trying to break the stigma around period poverty in schools.
On Monday, Ontario Minister of Education Todd Smith announced a new three-year agreement with Shoppers Drug Mart to expand the province's Menstrual Equity Initiative and offer free menstrual products to students.
"We know that when students can't access or afford menstrual products, it often results in them missing school, work or other activities – but we're changing that," said Smith.
A 2023 Plan International Canada survey found that 34 per cent of Canadians under 25 who menstruate struggle to afford menstrual products.
More than 23 million hygiene products will be made available to students in all of Ontario's school boards and school authorities over the next three years. This includes menstrual pads and tampons and 1,380 dispensers to help deliver the products in schools.
