Backgrounder: Three New Initiatives to Support Official-Language Minority Communities and Promote Bilingualism in Canada

Partnership between Canadian Heritage and the ACUFC to encourage Anglophone students to pursue post-secondary studies in French

Canadian Heritage has announced a new partnership with the Association des collèges et universités de la francophonie canadienne (ACUFC) to encourage Anglophone students to pursue post-secondary studies in French. An investment of $12.6 million over four years is planned for this initiative. Through the program, the ACUFC will award grants of $3000, beginning in 2019–2020.

Although students have access to French as a second language courses in elementary and secondary school, they must overcome barriers to maintaining their language skills once they get to college or university. Often, their mastery of French declines when they leave high school to continue their studies.

This new initiative aims to reverse this trend. It is consistent with the goal of the Action Plan on Official Languages 2018–2023, which aims to increase the national bilingualism rate from 17.9 percent to 20 percent by 2036, primarily by increasing the bilingualism rate among Anglophones outside Quebec from 6.8 percent to 9 percent.

Partnership between Employment and Social Development Canada and the ACUFC to support training for early childhood educators in Francophone minority communities

Children’s early years lay the foundation for their future development and well-being. Inclusive, quality early learning and child care programs for children from official-language minority communities help them develop a strong identity and encourage parents and families to fully embrace their culture.

The ACUFC will receive more than $12 million to support the training of early childhood educators and build their capacity in Francophone minority communities. The multi-year project is funded through the $20 million investment in Budget 2018 allocated to early childhood development initiatives in Francophone minority communities, as part of the Action Plan for Official Languages 2018–2023.

The ACUFC will act as an intermediary to fund projects and initiatives. The organization aims to increase the number of accredited Francophone early childhood educators in Francophone minority communities and ensure greater consistency in the quality of French-language early learning and child care programs in Canada.

Partnership between Health Canada and five post-secondary institutions to increase the number of French-speaking health providers in minority communities.

Official-language minority communities are in every province and territory across Canada and are part of Canada’s cultural fabric. To provide Canadians with the best care, it is essential to have health providers who can address the health care needs of official-language minority communities in their language of choice.

Health Canada will provide funding of $10 million over five years to five post-secondary institutions so that they can join the ACUFC’s Consortium national de formation en santé. The following colleges and universities will receive funding to offer French-language accredited training in a number of health fields in regions or provinces where such training was not previously available:

• Glendon College and Université de Hearst in Ontario
• Cité universitaire francophone à l’Université de Regina and Collège Mathieu in Saskatchewan
• Collège Éducacentre in British Columbia

The newly trained health providers will increase the supply of health services available in French to address the health needs of French-speaking minority communities. This funding will help to address identified gaps in the recruitment of bilingual students, as well as availability of internships for bilingual students enrolled in health care programs in official-language minority communities.

Today’s announcement is part of Health Canada’s implementation of new initiatives under the Action Plan for Official Languages 2018–2023. The Consortium national de formation en santé consists of a national secretariat and 16 post-secondary institutions (including the 5 new institutions announced today) that offer health training programs in French across Canada (with the exception of Quebec).