Official Languages Support Programs

The Department of Canadian Heritage supports two official languages funding programs from which several initiatives are derived. The collective goal of these programs is to:

• Enhance the vitality of English- and French-speaking minority communities; and
• Promote the English and French languages in Canadian society.

Development of Official-Language Communities Program

This program enhances the vitality of Canada’s English- and French-speaking minority communities and supports their development.

• Community Life Component

  This component offers official language minority communities access to services in their own language, as well as the infrastructure necessary to ensure their growth and development. Discover the sub-components:

  Cooperation with the Community Sector

  Supports the engagement of community organizations and builds their capacity to act to achieve measurable gains in terms of community vitality, while encouraging innovation and excellence.

  Intergovernmental Cooperation on Minority Language Services

  Helps provincial and territorial governments provide provincial, territorial and municipal services, other than education, in the language of the official language minority community, and in establishing and maintaining the necessary infrastructure to do so. This sub-component received additional funding for the three territories in Budget 2016.

  Community Cultural Action Fund

  Supports and strengthens the cultural, artistic and heritage activities of official language minority communities; and promotes the richness and diversity of the cultural, artistic and heritage expression of these communities.

  Community Cultural Action Micro-Grant Program for Minority Schools

  Supports the offer of cultural activities for minority schools organized by community and cultural organizations in collaboration with the 1,000 schools of linguistic communities throughout the country.

  • PassepART: partnerships between French-language schools in a minority context and Francophone artistic, cultural and community organizations
  • ArtistsInspire Grants: partnerships between English-language schools in Quebec and English-language artistic, cultural and community organizations in Quebec

  Strategic Fund

  Promotes the vitality of official language minority communities through major projects and/or strategic initiatives.

  Community Media Strategic Support Fund

  Supports community media in the development of strategic initiatives, resources and tools to contribute to the vitality of the official-language minority community media sector.

  Dedicated Fund for the English-Speaking Communities of Quebec

  Helps support projects that improve community vitality and that offer activities and services in English to members of the English-speaking Communities of Quebec.

  Support for the Civic Community School Fund – Vice-Versa

  Supports the offer of identity-building community projects set up by community organizations in 700 French-language minority schools across the country and will respond to the aspirations of young people.

• Minority Language Education Component

  This component is intended to help provincial and territorial governments provide education in the language of the official language minority community. It also supports the production and dissemination of knowledge and innovative methods and tools to support teaching in a minority environment. Discover the sub-components:

  Intergovernmental Cooperation  

  Helps provincial and territorial governments, directly or through the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC), to provide opportunities for minority-language Canadians to be educated in their mother tongue and to enrich their cultural experience.

  Cooperation with the Non-Governmental Sector

  Aims to increase the production and dissemination of knowledge, innovative methods and tools to support minority-language education.

  Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategy in Minority French Language Schools

  Aims to develop and support a variety of strategies and activities to address the shortage of teachers in Francophone minority schools.

• Infrastructure Projects

  Aims to support infrastructure projects that will contribute to the vitality of our cultures and languages by bringing people together to celebrate and exchange. Discover the sub-components:

  Community-Based Educational Infrastructure

  Provides an opportunity for provinces and territories to undertake construction projects related to educational and community infrastructure of official language minority communities.

  Community Spaces Fund

  Provides an opportunity for official language minority communities to build, renovate and modernize multipurpose spaces in which various services and activities will be accessible to them.

Enhancement of Official Languages Program

This program promotes the full recognition and use of English and French in Canadian society.

• Promotion of Linguistic Duality Component

  This component supports activities that promote a better understanding and appreciation of the benefits of knowing and using both of Canada’s official languages and encourages the provision of services in both official languages. Discover the sub-components:

  Appreciation and rapprochement

  Promotes a greater appreciation of linguistic duality and a rapprochement between Canadians from both linguistic groups.

  Support for Interpretation and Translation

  Supports non-governmental organizations who wish to encourage participation in both official languages at public events and increase the number of documents that are available in both official languages.

  Promotion of Bilingual Services

  Encourages various non-governmental sector organizations, particularly volunteer organizations, to provide services in English and in French and to share their best practices in this area.

• Second Language Learning Component

  This component helps provincial and territorial governments offer English and French as second languages learning. It also supports the production and dissemination of knowledge and innovative methods and tools, to support language instruction. Discover the sub-components:

  Intergovernmental Cooperation

  Supports provincial and territorial governments, directly or through the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC), to provide opportunities to study English or French as a second language and to offer cultural enrichment.

  Cooperation with the Non-Governmental Sector

  Aims to increase the production and dissemination of knowledge and innovative methods and tools to support second-language instruction.

  French Second Language Learning from Early Childhood

  Aims to support the learning of French as a second language in early childhood. This initiative received funding in Budget 2021.

  Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategy in French Immersion and French Second-Language Programs

  Aims to develop and support a variety of strategies and activities to address the shortage of teachers in immersion programs and French as a second language.

  French Second Language Post-Secondary Scholarships

  Grants scholarships to encourage English-speaking students to continue their post-secondary studies in their second official language, French, to maintain their language skills and bilingualism.

Complementary Measures

These measures are funded by both programs and support both the development of official language communities and the enhancement of official languages.

• Complementary Support for Language Learning

  Supports activities or interactions that contribute to language learning or development. Discover the subcomponents:

  Destination Clic

  A three-week intensive summer immersion bursary program for young Francophones from official language minority communities for the development of their first language.

  Explore

  Five-week spring or summer intensive immersion scholarships for young Anglophones and Francophones to learn their second language.

  Odyssey

  Full-time language instructor positions at elementary, secondary or post-secondary institutions to enable youth to work with teachers to enhance French first-language or English/French-as-a-second-language courses.

• Young Canada Works

  Offers a variety of job and internship programs for job seekers and employers. Discover the subcomponents:

  Young Canada Works in Both Official Languages

  6- to 16-week paid jobs where youth can work in their second official language or assist official-language minority communities.