Ontario is currently facing a severe shortage of French language teachers, therefore threatening the integrity and survival of the province’s French immersion program. Through a mix of increased funding and a new training program, Ontario is seeking to fast-track the process of filling vacant positions to meet high demand for immersion. The provincial government is collaborating with French language postsecondary institutions to make teaching programs more accessible.
Canadian Parents for French Supports Bill C-32: An Opportunity to Bring Canada’s Linguistic Duality to Life
CPF is very pleased that Bill C-32 was finally tabled in Parliament. The Bill aims to modernize the Official Languages Act.
Liberals Table Bill to Protect French in Sweeping Update to Official Languages Act
Bill C-32, introduced on June 2021, attempts to amend the Official Languages Act to reflect the contemporary political/linguistic landscape in Canada and protect language rights.
Canadian Parents for French Announces the Winners of Concours d’art oratoire, Video Edition
We are announcing the winners of our public speaking competition, Concours d'art oratoire!
Major Investment in Postsecondary Studies in French at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia
The Canadian government has released a plan to heavily invest in French postsecondary education programs to meet increasing demand from both students and the professional world. As part of the effort to revitalize the Official Languages Act, the government will invest roughly 121 million between 2021 and 2024 in making French programs more accessible. This investment will primarily go towards boosting the capacity of existing programs.
Canadian Parents for French Welcomes Federal Budget’s Support to French Second Language Learning
CPF welcomes the new federal government budget which includes funding that supports the enhancement of French immersion and French second language programs.
‘An impossible choice’: Parents plead with TDSB to save French immersion classes at their school
“Parents of French immersion students at one Toronto school are trying to persuade the school board to change its mind, after receiving an email telling them to put their children in the English-language program or switch to a different school.”
Campaign aims to save French courses at University of Alberta’s Campus Saint-Jean
“The University of Alberta’s Campus Saint-Jean has been a home for French education for more than 100 years, but now, thanks to reduced funding by the Alberta government and a freeze on reserve funds, nearly half of its courses could be axed.”
Quebec Community Groups Network: It’s time to update the Official Languages Act
“Bilingualism serves as a cornerstone of our nation. It is an essential element that provides a durable foundation. It must not and cannot be shunted aside. An updated Act is required to continue to promote our linguistic duality, properly adapted to the many changes experienced – not just by Canada as a whole but also by the English-speaking community of Quebec.”
Liberals’ proposed language reforms seek ‘equality’ of English and French in Canada
“The Trudeau government is proposing a series of sweeping language reforms that will “intervene vigorously to counter and remedy” the decline of French in Canada.”
Joly: Canada’s bilingualism is under pressure, and reform can’t wait
“Too often, parents who want to enrol their kids in French immersion can only do so through a wait list or lottery system, due in large part to an insufficient number of French teachers in their community. And too often, our federal public servants don't feel comfortable using French either.”
Ottawa relies on French immersion to strengthen bilingualism in Alberta
Michael Tryon, Executive Director, CPF Alberta shares his opinion about the modernization of the Official Languages Act, talking specifically about some of the French as a second language (FSL) challenges in Alberta. Available in French.