Hi,
I'm in Canada, too (BC), and we have the same learning outcomes for Kindergarten: know letter names and sounds, count to 30, be able to write your own name, know basic shapes and colours. So yes, that is what the 6 year-olds are required to know. My niece is 6 years and 9 months (grade 1) and she is just starting to blend words - and it doesn't sound like the teachers consider her behind.
You should be able to find the provincial learning outcomes for each grade online. I printed them out and went through them noting down what DS already knew and be what age he had mastered it - it was eye opening! That is when I knew that I wouldn't enroll him in a bm school (we are learning at home through a public distributed learning program).
