The paper reviews the history and present status of special education in Canada (with particular emphasis on the province of Ontario) and identifies recommended future directions. The legislative authority for special education and current policies are summarized in sections on the following provinces: British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland. A more detailed case study of Ontario describes: the 5-year phase-in period of the Education Amendment Act (1980) which gave legislative support to the rights of exceptional students; the need for a systematic means of ensuring program quality throughout the province; and current funding concerns. Future directions for special education in Canada are summarized for the following areas: program (calling for development of provincial criteria for program evaluation); early recognition and intervention (especially for the learning disabled); definitions and assessment (calling for an inter-provincial agreement on definiitions); teaching approaches; principals; integration (calling for better preparation of regular teachers to provide for exceptional students); the delivery system (special education needs to become a supportive system to regular education); the academically gifted and artistically talented; and preschool provision (few provinces currently provide services before age 5 and the need for expanding services to the preschool level is the most urgent need facing Canadian special education). (DB)