Common Schools Act of 1871

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The Common Schools Act of 1871 was legislation of the Province of New Brunswick, Canada passed by the 22nd New Brunswick Legislative Assembly that replaced the Public Schools Act of 1858.

The Act established a free education system through public funding of common schools. Created to serve individuals of all social classes and faiths, it banned religious instruction in the province's school system based on the principle of Separation of church and state. The abolition of separate Catholic schools was strongly opposed by the Roman Catholic Church led by Bishop John Sweeney. New Brunswick Catholics, organized by their bishops, resisted the implementation of the Common Schools Act by refusing to pay school taxes.

Senior Church officials in the Province of Quebec led by Ignace Bourget of Montreal and Louis-François Laflèche of Trois-Rivières interferred in New Brunswick's affairs, issuing a prepared statement opposing it and organized a campaign to have the legislation quashed. Although unsuccessful, their efforts ensured that similar such legislation in the province of Quebec would not be passed for another ninety-three years until 1964 under the reform-minded government of Premier Jean Lesage.