Students in Manitoba have demonstrated a lower-than-average understanding of mathematics concepts. Two areas that contribute to this level of understanding are quality of instruction and math anxiety in students and teachers. Quality of instruction can be addressed through the intentional design of lessons around quality, deeper thinking tasks. Building academically safe classrooms can improve math anxiety in students. Math anxiety in teachers can be addressed by providing professional development for teachers and appropriate coursework for pre-service teachers, thus also improving the quality of instruction. Focus on these two areas of concern could have positive benefits for increasing students' understanding of mathematics in Manitoba.