Financial Literacy Month 2026: FCAC’s “Talk Money” campaign and the Grade 10 financial literacy test
The federal agency’s November campaign asks Canadians to talk about money out loud. For an Ontario student in Grade 10, those conversations cover the seven topics of the new financial literacy test.
On 30 October 2026 the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) announced Financial Literacy Month 2026 under the theme “Talk Money”, asking Canadians to hold simple, practical conversations about money throughout November. The release singles out two subjects: fraud, which many victims keep to themselves out of embarrassment or stigma, and a review of banking needs, because products, fees and promotional offers change over time (FCAC news release, 30 October 2026). In Ontario the timing suits families with a student in Grade 10: from 2026–2027, students who began Grade 9 in 2025–2026 or later meet a financial literacy graduation requirement inside Grade 10 Career Studies.
Financial literacy test grade 10: 14 practice questions →The school club →
What FCAC announced for November 2026
Financial Literacy Month has run every November since 2011. This year FCAC invites people to share a memorable money conversation in an activity called “If your wallet could talk…”, with the hashtags #FLM2026 and #TalkMoney, and asks organizations to register their November activities. The campaign page adds emergency funds, managing debt and planning for goals to the list of things worth talking about, and notes that 2026 is FCAC’s 25th anniversary (Financial Literacy Month, canada.ca).
Commissioner Shereen Benzvy Miller said that financial literacy “is all about being able to navigate real-life financial decisions when it matters most”. The release points to two FCAC tools for those decisions: the Budget Planner and the Financial Goal Calculator.
A week earlier, on 23 October 2026, FCAC published a review of banking fees in Canada. It found that some fees are hard to see and compare: several fees can stack on a single transaction, foreign exchange and cross-border debit fees can be built into the transaction cost, and usage-based fees are hard to predict when people lose track of how often they transact (FCAC, 23 October 2026). Each fee may look small, and over time they can add up. That is the “consumer awareness” topic of the Grade 10 test, written up by the regulator itself.
Why talking about money helps before a test
FCAC’s own research gives the campaign its logic. In a study with Carleton University, 1,119 women aged 16 to 25 scored an average of 7.22 out of 8 on a financial literacy quiz, yet rated themselves at 5.33 (FCAC, “From Clicks to Confidence”). Two five-minute online activities that asked them to recall, share or explain money information raised financial confidence by up to 7.5% against a control group right afterwards. One month later only the group that did both activities still stood above the control group, and the effect was small. For a parent or teacher the takeaway is repetition: a habit of short conversations, kept up through the month.
Both activities translate to a kitchen table before the TVO financial literacy test: tell a money story, then explain a term in your own words.
Five money conversations mapped to the Grade 10 test topics
TVO’s requirement evaluates budgeting, interest rates, earning and saving, taxes, credit and debt, consumer awareness and financial fraud (TVO Learn). Five conversations cover all seven, each built around one real document from the household.
| Conversation | Grade 10 test topic | What to put on the table |
|---|---|---|
| “What did this month cost us?” | Budgeting | One month of household costs, rounded, split into fixed and flexible |
| “Where does a paycheque go before it reaches you?” | Earning and saving; taxes | A pay stub: gross pay, each deduction, net pay |
| “Which fees did our account charge this year?” | Consumer awareness | A bank statement and the fee lines on it |
| “What does this card cost if we only pay the minimum?” | Interest rates; credit and debt | A credit card statement: the rate, the balance, the minimum payment |
| “Has anyone tried to scam us?” | Financial fraud | A suspicious text or email the family received, with the signs that gave it away |
How the Grade 10 requirement is marked
Under the financial literacy graduation requirement, a student has up to 2 attempts during Grade 10 Career Studies and needs at least 70%. The result counts for 5% of the final course mark, the highest attempt counts, and a met requirement is recorded on the Ontario Student Transcript (ontario.ca). The school sets the dates, so the conversations above fit whenever the course falls in the year.
A November plan for a family or a class
- Week of 9 November: the monthly budget. Write one month of costs on a single page and mark which ones repeat. About 20 minutes.
- Week of 16 November: the pay stub and the bank statement. Find each deduction and each fee line, and name what it pays for.
- Week of 23 November: the credit card. Read the rate and the minimum payment, and estimate a month of interest on the balance.
- Week of 30 November: fraud. Look at a real suspicious message together and list the signs, then take the financial literacy test grade 10 practice questions and score them by topic.
Families move at different speeds. If one week runs long, move the next conversation to December and keep the order.
Where a Life Capital session fits
Life Capital is a facilitated board simulation: 5–8 players, a Trainer and a Banker, and about forty years of a simulated life in one sitting. Each player writes every income, spending and borrowing decision in a paper ledger, and the debrief turns those entries into a conversation about what each decision cost.
Schools run a club across the school year, with shorter theory meetings and full 5-hour simulations. Families book a 5-hour open session for teens from 14: CAD 200 a seat, CAD 150 each for a pair (from 1 November 2026). See the financial literacy program for teens and prices.
Ask about a school club →Ask for an open-session date →
Sources
- FCAC: Financial Literacy Month 2026 encourages Canadians to talk money and build financial confidence (news release, 30 October 2026)
- FCAC: Financial Literacy Month 2026 campaign page
- FCAC: Banking fees can be hard to see and compare, FCAC review finds (news release, 23 October 2026) and backgrounder
- FCAC with Carleton University: From Clicks to Confidence, final report (March 2025)
- Ontario: Financial literacy education in schools (updated 14 October 2026)
- TVO Learn: Financial Literacy Graduation Requirement
Money conversations, practised at a table
Each player keeps income and spending in a paper ledger through about forty years of a simulated life, borrows and saves, and explains each decision in the debrief.
Questions people search for
When is Financial Literacy Month 2026 in Canada?
Throughout November 2026. The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada announced it on 30 October 2026 under the theme “Talk Money”. The month has been marked every November since 2011.
What is the theme of Financial Literacy Month 2026?
“Talk Money”: everyday conversations about money that help people make decisions, plan ahead and learn from each other. The 2026 release puts fraud and a review of banking needs and fees on that list.
What is on the Grade 10 financial literacy test in Ontario?
TVO lists budgeting, interest rates, earning and saving, taxes, credit and debt, consumer awareness and financial fraud. Students need at least 70%, have up to 2 attempts, and the result counts for 5% of the Grade 10 Career Studies mark.
How can parents help a teen prepare for the financial literacy test?
Hold one short money conversation a week in November, each tied to a test topic: a monthly budget, a bank statement, a pay stub, a credit card rate and a scam message. Then try the 14-question practice test and review the weakest topic.