News Release

VANCOUVER (GNB) – The federal, provincial and territorial ministers responsible for French services, for the Francophonie or for official languages held their annual meeting in Vancouver on July 6-7 to discuss key issues for the country’s francophone and Acadian communities.

“Our government is proud to be part of the momentum we are seeing in communities across Canada in terms of francophone immigration and economic and cultural development,” said Local Government Minister Glen Savoie, who is also minister responsible for La Francophonie. “During the past year, the federal, provincial and territorial governments accomplished a lot of work and implemented a number of initiatives related to official languages, the sharing of information and expertise, as well as immigration incentives. New Brunswick’s Acadian and francophone communities can count on the provincial government to put them at the heart of the council’s priorities, which include creating a francophone economic corridor throughout Canada.”

During the meeting, the ministers welcomed the news that the 4.4 per cent target for francophone immigration outside Quebec was reached in 2022. To this end, they asked that francophone immigration opportunities would be maintained across the country. They also reaffirmed the relevance of supporting ministers responsible for immigration to ensure they take into account the importance of welcoming newcomers who are proficient in French.

The ministers examined new data on the francophone and bilingual workforce outside Quebec. The goal of this data is to help governments identify bilingual workforce needs. They also discussed potential initiatives related to francophone economic development, as well as ways to leverage the promotion of the Francophonie for that purpose, in Canada and abroad.

In response to the commitment made in Regina in 2022 to support the development of online government services in French, the ministers continued their discussion on future delivery methods arising from new technologies.

As part of activities aimed at promoting the Canadian Francophonie, the ministers released a second video in the series How Far Can French Take You?, a social media initiative designed to promote learning and using French.

In addition, to reiterate the importance of including French in crisis communications and to follow up on a video it produced on the topic in 2021, the council partnered with Université de Moncton, which developed a training module called Bilingualism Can Save Lives. This module, which is intended primarily as a tool for communicators whose language of work is not French, is now available to everyone.

In the wake of announcements concerning the modernization of the federal Official Languages Act and the federal 2023-2028 Action Plan on Official Languages, the ministers pledged to continue their efforts to strengthen coordination of their governments’ investment in the Canadian Francophonie.

“I firmly believe that the recently modernized Official Languages Act and the Action Plan for Official Languages 2023-2028 will give us the tools we need to create more learning opportunities, enhance the vitality of official-language minority communities, and address the decline of French in Canada,” said Official Languages Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor, who is also co-chair of the council. “Strengthened collaboration will allow us to promote the Canadian Francophonie across the country and better support government services in sectors essential to the development of francophone communities, including in the fields of culture, health, justice, employment, immigration, and education – from early childhood to the post-secondary level.”

Aware of the growing importance of French internationally, the ministers met with Patrick Van Gheel, ambassador of Belgium and representative of francophone ambassadors in Canada, to talk about these countries’ desire to strengthen ties with francophones in Canada.

Nova Scotia will co-chair the council’s next annual meeting, which will be held in Halifax in August 2024.

More information is available online.