Feds give $72M as part of agreement with province to grow francophone education

Proponents of French language education are pleased the federal government is contributing more than $72 million over four years to help support instruction from pre-school to post-secondary institutions.

St. Boniface-St. Vital MP Ginette Lavack and Renée Cable, the provincial minister of advanced education and training, signed a bilateral agreement on francophone and French immersion funding at a media event Tuesday.

“It’s a good day whenever we seen an announcement that government sees the value of French learning,” said Joel Martine, executive director of the Canadian Parents for French — Manitoba.

“It is positive and we are happy. It will just help all francophone programs grow in the province.”

Martine said the additional help for students learning French comes at a time when Canada is looking for new trading partners around the world.

“There are a lot of different countries for importing and exporting,” he said. “The more we have a bilingual, multilingual population, the more we can learn to grow and innovate.”

Luc Bremault, assistant superintendent of the Division scolaire franco-manitobaine, said the funding will help its 6,500 students in 25 schools across the province, including nine in Winnipeg.

“For a francophone school division in Manitoba, we are always looking to expand,” Bremault said.

“We have been growing by two per cent year to year. This money will definitely help with expanding.”

Lavack said in a statement the province “is proud of its history and bilingual identity, which are based on its two official languages and the vitality of its two education sectors.”

Under the agreement, Manitoba is to match the annual $18 million in federal funding, but a provincial spokesperson confirmed the province is upping its contribution to $30 million during each of the four years.

Cable said the French language education investment recognizes Manitoba’s bilingualism and a vision first set out by Louis Riel.

“By ensuring access to post-secondary programs in French, we will enable students to strengthen their cultural identity while preparing to become active bilingual citizens in their professional and personal lives.”

Earlier this year, Ottawa announced $1.4 billion would be provided over four years for minority language education and second language instruction to the provinces and territories.

The funding comes at a time when demand for French immersion is rising across the country. Statistics Canada reported the number of French-language minority schools increased by 21.5 per cent from 2005 to 2021, while the number of students at elementary and secondary levels rose by 64 per cent.

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca