Annual Report on Official Languages 2022–2023

Message from the Minister
Highlights of Action Plan for Official Languages 2018–2023
2022–2023 Highlights
Introduction
Section 1 – Official Languages in the Federal Public Service
Section 2 ‒ Supporting the Vital Forces of Communities
Section 3 – Strengthening Access to Services and Education
Section 4 – Advancement of Official Languages
- 4.1 Support for second-language learning
- 4.2 Fostering gathering and connection
Conclusion
Appendix 1: 2022–2023 Summary of Government Investments in Official Languages (including the initiatives under Action Plan for Official Languages 2018–‍2023)
Appendix 2: Total Government Investments in Official Languages over the Five Years of Action Plan for Official Languages 2018–2023
Appendix 3: 2022–2023 Expenditures of the Official Languages Support Programs by Component
Appendix 4: 2022–2023 Expenditures of the Official Languages Support Programs by Province and Territory
Appendix 5: 2022–2023 Education Expenditures
Appendix 6: School Enrolment in 2021–2022

List of Figures

Figure 1: Highlights of Action Plan for Official Languages 2018–2023
Figure 2: 2022–2023 Highlights
Figure 3: Supporting the Vital Forces of Communities: Investments in the Final Year of Action Plan for Official Languages 2018–2023
Figure 4: Some Key Figures on Canadian Heritage and Canada Council for the Arts Support to Community Artists in 2022–2023
Figure 5: Strengthening Access to Services and Education: Investments in the Final Year of Action Plan for Official Languages 2018–2023
Figure 6: Advancement of Official Languages: New Investments in Action Plan for Official Languages 2018–2023
Figure 7: Increase in the Number of Enrolments in French-Immersion Programs Offered Outside Quebec Since 2003

List of Tables

Table 1: 2022–2023 Summary of Government Investments in Official Languages
Table 2: Summary of Government Investments in Official Languages 2018–2023
Table 3: Expenditures of Canadian Heritage’s Official Languages Support Programs – Grand Total
Table 4: Expenditures of the Development of Official Language Communities Program by Component
Table 5: Expenditures of the Enhancement of Official Languages Program by Component
Table 6: Expenditures of the Official Languages Support Programs by Province and Territory
Table 7: Expenditures of the Development of Official Language Communities Program by Province and Territory
Table 8: Expenditures of the “Community Life” Component of the Development of Official Language Communities Program by Province and Territory
Table 9: Expenditures of the Enhancement of Official Languages Program by Province and Territory
Table 10: Breakdown of Education Expenditures ‒ Support to Provincial and Territorial Governments
Table 11: Breakdown of Education Expenditures ‒ Support to Organizations
Table 12: Minority-Language Education Expenditures by Province and Territory – Intergovernmental Cooperation
Table 13: Second-Language Learning Expenditures by Province and Territory ‒ Intergovernmental Cooperation
Table 14: Enrolment in Second-Language Instruction Programs in Majority System Schools – Total for Canada as a Whole
Table 15: Enrolment in Second-Language Instruction Programs in Majority Education System Schools by Province or Territory
Table 16: Enrolment in Minority-Language Education Programs – All of Canada
Table 17: Enrolment in Minority-Language Education Programs by Province or Territory

Alternate format

Annual Report on Official Languages 2022-2023 [PDF version - 2.2 MB]

List of Acronyms and Abbreviations

Action Plan 2018–2023: Action Plan for Official Languages 2018–2023: Investing in Our Future
Action Plan 2023–2028: Action Plan for Official Languages 2023–2028: Protection – Promotion – Collaboration
CADMOL: Committee of Assistant Deputy Ministers on Official Languages
ESDC: Employment and Social Development Canada
FEDOs: Francophone Economic Development Organizations
FINs: Francophone Immigration Networks
IRCC: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
OLA: Official Languages Act
OLMC: Official language minority community
PCH: Canadian Heritage

Message from the Minister

As Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages, I am pleased to present the Annual Report on Official Languages 2022–2023. I am proud of the role the Government of Canada plays in advancing our country’s two official languages and the development of official language minority communities. I would also underscore our commitment to making Canadian society ever better and more inclusive.

Our government has done a tremendous amount of work in the last few years to modernize the Official Languages Act. This overhaul of Canada’s language regime began in 2019 with the publication of English and French: Towards a Substantive Equality of Official Languages in Canada, which set out the main principles of the reform. After a marathon effort, our government crossed the finish line and obtained royal assent on June 20, 2023. The modernized Act strongly affirms our commitment to an inclusive, bilingual society where everyone can thrive in the official language of their choice as well as our commitment to official language minority communities, whose language rights are being strengthened and better protected. This official languages reform will be backed by historic investments totalling $4.1 billion over five years, including $1.4 billion in new monies. These funds will be used to implement the initiatives in Action Plan for Official Languages 2023–2028: Protection – Promotion – Collaboration, which we unveiled on April 26, 2023.

In this Annual Report, I am proud to present our government’s progress towards achieving substantive equality of the official languages and the results of our efforts in 2022–‍2023. This report is a testament to the work accomplished by the Department of Canadian Heritage and federal institutions in support of official languages and communities across Canada during the fifth and final year of the previous five-year strategy, the Action Plan for Official Languages 2018–2023: Investing in Our Future. I encourage you to read on for a more fulsome and detailed picture of their achievements.

The Honourable Randy Boissonnault

Highlights of Action Plan for Official Languages 2018–2023

2022–2023 Highlights

Introduction

The 2022–2023 fiscal year was marked by meetings and dialogue on official languages. The impacts of the pandemic continued to be felt, but the resumption of face-to-face activities made it possible to reach out to Canadians across the country. The Government of Canada continued to listen to Canadians, including official language minority communities (OLMCs), to ensure that the initiatives aimed at those communities were responsive to their needs and priorities.

In 2022–2023, the Government continued working tirelessly to modernize the Official Languages Act (OLA). With the Act for the Substantive Equality of Canada’s Official Languages receiving royal assent on June 20, 2023, Canada now has legislation that reflects the challenges of the 21st century—a century marked by new social and demographic realities—and that gives us more tools for protecting and promoting our two official languages across Canada.

This report also marks the final year of implementation of Action Plan for Official Languages 2018–2023: Investing in Our Future (Action Plan 2018–2023). The Government continued to demonstrate flexibility in the implementation of initiatives following the COVID-19 pandemic, while allocating additional funds to enable federal institutions to take targeted measures in support of the official languages and OLMCs. The Government also took the opportunity afforded by this final year of implementation of Action Plan 2018–2023 to transition to the next five-year strategy by conducting public consultations on official languages across Canada that led to the unveiling of Action Plan for Official Languages 2023–2028: Protection – Promotion – Collaboration (Action Plan 2023–2028) on April 26, 2023.

The first section of this report outlines the work done and the milestones reached within the federal public service in the area of official languages to advance the equality of status and use of English and French in Canadian society. The other three sections present a sample of the positive measures taken by federal institutions in 2022–2023 in key official languages sectors, and their impact on the vitality of OLMCs and the advancement of the two official languages in Canadian society. The measures presented provide an overview of the impact that the total allocation in Action Plan 2018–2023 has had on communities and the official languages.

Section 1 – Official Languages in the Federal Public Service

The 2022–2023 fiscal year was a busy one for official languages in terms of positive measures taken for the benefit of OLMCs and the advancement of English and French in Canadian society. Through its various operations and in concert with federal partners, Canadian Heritage (PCH) continued to deliver on its mandate, pursuing the implementation of Action Plan 2018–2023, carrying out activities under the Collaboration Agreement for the Development of Arts and Culture in the Francophone Minority Communities of Canada 2018–2023, and much, much more.

Highlights of the year included the OLA modernization exercise, which continued in close collaboration with federal partners, and the various stages of the legislative process for the adoption of Bill C-13—An Act for the Substantive Equality of Canada’s Official Languages—which culminated in royal assent on June 20, 2023.

Various consultations and dialogue exercises were also held in 2022–2023. These were an opportunity for PCH to take the pulse of Canadians in all their diversity, enabling the Department to continue considering their needs and priorities in its official languages activities and to make more informed decisions, including on the future of a number of Government programs and initiatives.

1.1 Modernization of the Official Languages Act

On June 20, 2023, the Act for the Substantive Equality of Canada’s Official Languages received royal assent. That statute, theretofore known as Bill C-13, reforms the OLA and enacts the Use of French in Federally Regulated Private Businesses Act.

Bill C-13 was introduced on March 1, 2022, by the Honourable Ginette Petitpas Taylor, then Minister of Official Languages and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency. Royal assent to that bill was the culmination of the language regime reform announced by the Government of Canada in the 2020 Speech from the Throne and sketched out in the February 2021 reform document entitled English and French: Towards a Substantive Equality of Official Languages in Canada.

Since its inception in 1969, and following amendments in 1988 and 2005, the OLA has had a tangible impact on the lives of Canadians. Under that statute, Canadians have the right to communicate with and receive services from federal institutions in the official language of their choice, and to work in their preferred official language in federal institutions in certain regions. The OLA has also provided OLMCs with powerful levers for their development. Thus, the statute has been a key instrument in ensuring that Canada’s two official languages, English and French, are promoted, supported and valued.

The modernized OLA reflects the challenges of the 21st century, a century marked by new social and demographic realities. It gives federal institutions more tools to help them fulfill their strengthened obligations, thereby enhancing the vitality and supporting the development of OLMCs and advancing the two official languages.

The modernized OLA recognizes the fact that French is in a minority situation in Canada and North America due to the predominant use of English. It also recognizes that there is a diversity of provincial and territorial language regimes. In addition, it seeks to advance the existence of a majority-French society in Quebec and contains provisions that clearly recognize Quebec’s English-speaking communities. What is more, it recognizes that Canada’s English and French linguistic minority communities have different needs. While affirming the status of the official languages and expanding their use, the modernized OLA also recognizes the importance of maintaining and enhancing the use of languages other than English and French and of reclaiming, revitalizing and strengthening Indigenous languages.

The modernized Act features significant enhancements that will have a real impact on the daily lives of Canadians, including measures that concern more specifically the advancement of the equality of status and use of English and French and the mandate of the Minister of Canadian Heritage:^{Footnote 1}

it strengthens and expands the Treasury Board’s oversight role to include monitoring how federal institutions carry out their duty to take positive measures and promote the inclusion of language clauses in agreements with provincial and territorial governments, in addition to monitoring the parts that were already within its purview;
it creates a leadership role for the President of the Treasury Board in coordinating and ensuring good governance of the OLA, including in the implementation of the Part VII commitments, in consultation with the other ministers of the Crown;
it assigns the Commissioner of Official Languages for Canada significant new powers to improve compliance, including with Part VII;
it charges the Minister of Canadian Heritage with developing and maintaining, in cooperation with the other ministers of the Crown, a government-wide strategy that sets out the overall official languages priorities;
it reinforces the Government’s commitment to protecting and promoting the French language and to advancing opportunities for members of English and French linguistic minority communities to pursue quality learning in their own language throughout their lives;
it charges the Minister of Canadian Heritage with establishing a process for the Government to periodically estimate the number of children whose parents have the constitutional right to have them educated in the language of the official language minority of a province or territory;
it assigns the Minister of Canadian Heritage the role of advancing the equality of status and use of English and French in Canadian society, and of taking measures to that end, in addition to carrying out dialogue and consultation activities with the public in the development of Government policies and programs, and providing information to the public about those policies and programs;
it recognizes the importance of remedying the demographic decline of French linguistic minority communities, including by restoring and increasing their demographic weight;
it clarifies and strengthens the obligations of federal institutions with respect to positive measures, which must be based on analyses founded, to the extent possible, on the results of dialogue and consultation activities, research and evidence-based findings;
it states that the positive measures taken by federal institutions may include measures to support sectors that are essential to enhancing the vitality of the English and French linguistic minority communities, including the culture, education—from early childhood to post-secondary education—health, justice, employment and immigration sectors, and measures to protect and promote the presence of strong institutions serving those communities;
it requires the Minister of Canadian Heritage to undertake a ten-year review of the OLA and to table a report on that periodic review in each House of Parliament; and
it charges the Minister of Canadian Heritage with developing regulations for implementing the new power of the Commissioner of Official Languages to impose administrative monetary penalties.

As indicated above, the Act for the Substantive Equality of Canada’s Official Languages also enacts a brand-new statute, the Use of French in Federally Regulated Private Businesses Act. This Act confers new language-of-service rights on customers of federally regulated private businesses, in Quebec and in regions with a strong Francophone presence, and new language-of-work rights on employees of such businesses. This new regime is intended to complement the existing provincial regime in Quebec and will protect the rights of workers and consumers in the relevant regions to interact in French with federally regulated businesses, such as banks, telecoms and transportation businesses.

The Government is hard at work to launch the regulatory process, of the OLA and the Use of French in Federally Regulated Private Businesses Act. During this process, certain concepts, duties, definitions and procedures will need to be clarified to allow for a smooth implementation of the new regime. The consultations that form part of the regulatory process will be an opportunity for the general public and stakeholders to contribute to these developments.

The next Annual Report will review progress made in the implementation of the modernized OLA and the various projects arising from that implementation.

1.2 Consultation and dialogue

From a “by, for and with communities” perspective, 2022–2023 was marked by numerous dialogue sessions and consultations conducted by the various sectors of PCH to capture the diversity of perspectives on official languages. These extensive exercises and all the diligent work done by the Department helped paint a picture of the needs and priorities of Canadians, including OLMCs, to guide PCH’s own efforts and inform the development of horizontal initiatives involving other federal institutions.

2022 Cross-Canada Official Languages Consultations

Every five years, the Government of Canada sets out its official languages priorities in a government-wide strategy for the development of OLMCs and the advancement of English and French in Canadian society. Action Plan for Official Languages 2018–2023: Investing in Our Future was coordinated by PCH and implemented in collaboration with a number of federal partners.^{Footnote 2} Fiscal year 2022–2023 marked the final year of implementation of Action Plan 2018–2023.

To take the pulse of Canadians in all their diversity in developing the next five-year official languages strategy, Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Minister of Official Languages and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, conducted Cross-Canada Official Languages Consultations from May 24, 2022, to August 31, 2022.

As part of these consultations in each province and territory, roundtable discussion forums were organized where the Minister met in person with the key official languages stakeholders. In total, 15 such forums were held across Canada, giving upwards of 300 stakeholders the opportunity to meet with the Minister or her parliamentary secretary. In order to get as complete a picture as possible, a number of new stakeholders were invited to these consultations, with discussions focusing on the values of equity, diversity and inclusion. PCH’s regional offices were instrumental in organizing the consultations.

To maximize participation, a total of seven virtual dialogue forums were held on the following themes: Francophone immigration; educational continuum; appreciation of English and French; diversity and inclusion; second-language and immersion; protection and promotion of French; and government leading by example. Between 100 and 150 people took part in each of the virtual thematic sessions.

Members of the public, too, were able to share their priorities and recommendations for Action Plan 2023-2028 through an online questionnaire open to all Canadians, which received 5,219 responses. In addition, more than 80 submissions were received from various organizations and stakeholders.

What is more, the provincial and territorial governments were formally consulted through correspondence between the Minister of Official Languages and the relevant provincial and territorial ministers. Multilateral and multi-sectoral discussions at the ministerial and administrative levels also took place during 2022–2023.

The closing summit was held in Ottawa on August 25, 2022, to wrap up the consultations and bring stakeholders together. In total, nearly 300 people took the Government up on its invitation. Between May 24 and August 31, 2022, over 6,500 people took part in these consultations. A report was subsequently released summarizing the findings.

The insights and ideas gathered, as well as the findings and recommendations from the horizontal evaluation of Action Plan 2018–2023, guided the development of Action Plan for Official Languages 2023–2028: Protection – Promotion – Collaboration, which was unveiled on April 26, 2023. The new monies announced in that Action Plan, totalling more than $4.1 billion over the next five years, including $1.4 billion in new funding, represent unprecedented investments in official languages. PCH will continue making every effort to ensure that the new initiatives are implemented by the various partners in a coordinated fashion and in keeping with the “by, for and with communities” approach. The next Annual Report will review progress made during the first year of implementation of Action Plan 2023–2028.

Other consultations and dialogue activities conducted by Canadian Heritage

The most recent National Culture Summit, held at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa in May 2022, was organized by PCH. The Summit was an opportunity for a national conversation on resilience, sustainability and transformation of the arts, culture and heritage sectors. It mobilized these sectors around positive economic and social outcomes for Canada, and provided an opportunity to discuss ways to support their own recovery and long-term growth and competitiveness.

Participants discussed the challenges facing OLMCs, both Francophone minority communities and the English-speaking communities of Quebec. An important aspect of the discussion was the realities faced by Francophone markets, even in Quebec, including the fragility and relative small size of Francophone audiences and the ways in which technology platforms may facilitate the expansion of English-language content to the detriment of Francophone content.

The Community Spaces Fund of PCH’s Development of Official Language Communities program also held consultations in 2022–2023. This involved sending a survey to community organizations to check whether the program was adequately meeting the needs and priorities of OLMCs, and to identify any ongoing challenges. The Fund will analyze the quantitative and qualitative results of the 180 responses and adjust its tools and policies to ensure a delivery approach that reflects emerging needs.

The Business Development Bank of Canada and Export Development Canada have been mandated by the Government of Canada to support the growth of creative industries in new and existing markets. With this in mind, PCH’s Creative Export Strategy team, which works in collaboration with these federal institutions, undertook consultations with 60 stakeholders from various sectors of the creative industries, including Francophone stakeholders in minority settings. The consultations were attended by several associations, including the Alliance des producteurs francophones, as well as representatives of Francophone creative businesses and organizations outside Quebec, who had the opportunity to discuss their financial needs or those of their members. These meetings provided the three federal institutions with a better understanding of stakeholders’ views on how best to support them in developing their businesses or those of their members.

The Museums Assistance Program team at PCH is committed to understanding the needs of OLMCs and responding effectively. Special attention is given to organizations in Quebec’s English-speaking communities, usually through annual visits and discussions. When field visits resumed in 2022–2023, priority was given to English-speaking Indigenous communities, with visits to the Canadian Centre for the Great War, the Council for Anglophone Magdalen Islanders, the Cree First Nation of Waswanipi, and the Kitigan Zibi Anishnabeg Cultural Education Centre, among other organizations.

1.3 Official languages committees and networks

Committees and networks are essential to the rigorous, concerted implementation of official languages initiatives. In 2022–2023, official languages committees and networks continued to work at various levels to facilitate ongoing dialogue and productive collaboration among federal institutions to empower those institutions to take positive measures and advance English and French.

Committee of Assistant Deputy Ministers on Official Languages

The Committee of Assistant Deputy Ministers on Official Languages (CADMOL), co-chaired by the Privy Council Office, Department of Justice Canada, Canadian Heritage and the Treasury Board Secretariat, plays a key role in official languages leadership. In light of the many developments in official languages in 2022–2023, CADMOL stepped up the frequency of its meetings to ensure ongoing dialogue with its members on aspects involving governance of priorities. CADMOL’s steering committees, including Coordination of Official Languages Research, Federal Horizontal Initiatives and Interdepartmental Working Group on the Modernization of the Official Languages Act, reported their progress to the assistant deputy ministers.

Statistics Canada, Indigenous Services Canada, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, and Global Affairs Canada recently joined CADMOL, bringing the total number of member federal institutions to 28, thus enriching the dialogue on the intersections between official languages and Indigenous languages and on the diversity of OLMCs.

CADMOL members and representatives of their federal institutions also took part in the virtual dialogue sessions held as part of the 2022 Cross-Canada Official Languages Consultations to learn about the needs and priorities of Canadians. The findings and perspectives gathered during the consultations were discussed at subsequent CADMOL meetings, and lines of action were identified on the basis of stakeholder priorities. The Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada and the Quebec Community Groups Network were also invited to a meeting to share the issues and priorities of their respective communities with the assistant deputy ministers.

Canadian Heritage’s Interdepartmental Coordination Network

Canadian Heritage’s Interdepartmental Coordination Network is made up of PCH employees across the country, both at headquarters and in all the Department’s regional offices. Its role is to build bridges between federal institutions and official languages organizations, including OLMC organizations, in order to contribute to the vitality of OLMCs and advance English and French in Canadian society.

In 2022–2023, the Network played a key role in organizing and delivering consultation sessions in the provinces and territories for Action Plan 2023–2028, sessions that provided an opportunity to hear the perspectives of Canadians across the country. In addition, in the Prairie and Northern Region, inter-regional cooperation led to the creation of a brand-new Interregional Interdepartmental Coordination Table, whose members met twice in 2022–2023 to share new ideas for strengthening coordination.

1.4 New tools for advancing the equality of status and use of English and French

In 2022–2023, PCH continued to work with federal partners to develop tools that contribute, each in its own way, to the advancement of English and French in Canadian society by enhancing the application of an official languages lens to the entire life cycle of Government policies and programs.

Official language requirements and transfer payments

In 2022–2023, the Department worked with the Treasury Board Secretariat’s Transfer Payment Policy Centre and Official Languages Centre of Excellence to create a tool called Official Language Requirements for Transfer Payments.

This tool reviews how to apply an official languages lens to transfer payment programs, including those intended for provinces and territories, and thereby contribute to the Government of Canada’s commitments to advancing the equality of status and use of English and French. To help federal institutions implement these requirements, the tool compiles and summarizes the existing official language obligations with respect to the design and implementation of transfer payment programs and presents best practices.

Federal Programs of Interest to Official Language Minority Communities

The Inventory of Federal Programs of Interest to Official Language Minority Communities was developed and updated by PCH in response to OLMCs’ expressed need for an overview of federal programs with the potential to contribute to the vitality of their communities. Federal employees too, including the national and regional coordinators responsible for the implementation of section 41 of the OLA, can use this inventory to improve their knowledge of federal programs of interest to Francophone minority communities and Quebec’s English-speaking communities, inform clients and organizations about programs that can meet their needs and priorities, and refer them to such programs.

Video promoting English and French

In 2022–2023, PCH also produced and disseminated an information video on fostering the full recognition and use of English and French in Canadian society. A promotional campaign was then rolled out across the public service, targeting deputy heads in particular, in order to encourage federal institutions to demonstrate leadership in taking positive measures to advance the two official languages.

1.5 Official languages awareness events

The 2022–2023 fiscal year was also punctuated by events highlighting and celebrating official languages and OLMCs across Canada. This year, there was a special emphasis on the diversity of OLMCs and of English and French speakers in Canada.

On September 14, 2023, Canadians came together to celebrate Official Languages Day, formerly Linguistic Duality Day. To mark the occasion, PCH collaborated with the Council of the Network of Official Languages Champions, the Linguistic Duality Network, the Canada School of Public Service and other partners to organize an event that brought together over 2,500 participants from the general public and the public service. Entitled “Our Languages, a Window to the World,” the event spotlighted Francophone minority communities across Canada and the English-speaking communities of Quebec. Isabelle Mondou, Deputy Minister of Canadian Heritage, took the opportunity to impress upon participants that Canada’s linguistic diversity is a valuable asset and a source of pride.

In partnership with the Canada School of Public Service, PCH also organized an event on March 20, 2023, to mark the International Day of the La Francophonie. Over 1,050 people took part in this conversation celebrating the French language and the diversity of Francophone culture. The virtual conversation, which was open to the public, showcased the unifying power of Francophone culture through the artwork, diverse experiences and reflections of the panellists. The event was hosted by comedian Eddy King, and the guest panellists—Alexis Normand from Saskatchewan, Ginette Lavack from Manitoba and Yves Doucet from New Brunswick—represented the arts scenes of various Francophone minority communities across Canada.

Lastly, this year the Department once again helped organize the Best Practices Form on Official Languages in collaboration with the Council of the Network of Official Languages Champions, the Canada School of Public Service and the Treasury Board Secretariat. Nearly 1,900 people registered for the discussion entitled “Changing the Narrative on Diversity, Inclusion and Official Languages” featuring speakers from the public service and the community sector.

Section 2 ‒ Supporting the Vital Forces of Communities

**Figure 3: Supporting the Vital Forces of Communities: Investments in the Final Year of Action Plan for Official Languages 2018–2023**

Having strong communities across the country contributes significantly to our social and cultural life, and to our perception of Canada. According to the 2021 Census data, 992,313 French speakers live in predominantly English-speaking provinces or territories, while 1,253,578 Quebecers are English-speaking. In the modernized OLA, the Government recognizes the uniqueness and diversity of these communities, as well as their historical and cultural contributions to Canadian society.

Once again this year, many federal institutions contributed directly to strengthening the vitality of these communities through their programs and initiatives. A growing number of their initiatives, particularly those under from Action Plan 2018–2023, were carried out using the “by, for and with” delivery model or were informed by dialogue sessions with OLMCs. This approach involves the communities at every stage of decision-making and project delivery, ensuring that their priorities and interests are fully considered.

2.1 Giving communities a voice

In 2022–2023, the core funding provided to organizations under Action Plan 2018–2023 by way of PCH’s Official Languages Support Programs remained stable for most organizations. This followed a 20% increase for 276 organizations in 2018–2019, additional targeted increases for another 139 organizations, and the addition of 25 new organizations to the list of recipients in 2019–2020 and another 5 in 2021–2022.

In 2022–2023, 9 organizations received recurring core funding for the first time: in Ontario, Documentation Ethnoculturelle des Jeunes, Groupe artisanal féminin francophone de l’Ontario, FrancoQueer, La Place des Arts du Grand Sudbury and FED (Francophones pour un environnement durable); in the West, the Pont Cultural Bridge Centre and the Société de la Petite Enfance et de la famille du sud de l’Alberta; in Quebec, the Centre for Access to Services in English and the Monteregie East Partnership for the English-Speaking Community; and in Atlantic Canada, the Acadie de Chezzetcook Association, the Centre communautaire francophone de Truro, the Comité provincial des jeux de l’Acadie, the Conseil communautaire du Grand-Havre, the Fédération des femmes acadiennes de la Nouvelle-Écosse and the Société acadienne Sainte-Croix. These are in addition to the 306 organizations already receiving recurrent funding.

One distinctive feature of many new initiatives under Action Plan 2018–2023 is the adoption of the “by, for and with” approach. This approach involves communities in the decision-making and delivery processes for initiatives and projects, ensuring that their priorities and interests are considered. In addition, some organizations act as third parties to deliver the initiatives within communities. For example, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC)’s Social Partnership Initiative in Official Language Minority Communities pools expertise and funding from government and other sources for redistribution to innovative projects that address community priorities. This initiative is being implemented through agreements with two intermediary organizations, the Quebec Community Groups Network and the Fédération des aînées et aînés francophones du Canada. This year, the projects supervised by the Fédération des aînées et aînés francophones du Canada reached 246,141 Francophone and Francophile seniors across the country, provided services to 98,124 individuals in over 137 Francophone communities and leveraged support from 228 partners. These projects also counted 1,019 direct volunteer-driven interventions, which is a measure of the support received by the communities.

It also bears mentioning that from 2018 to 2023, the projects funded by the Fédération des aînées et aînés francophones du Canada under the Social Partnership Initiative in Official Language Minority Communities provided services to 178,154 Canadians, reached 2,166,137 Francophones and Francophiles across the country, and leveraged 1,333 partners to support the projects in various ways. The projects funded by the Quebec Community Groups Network under this initiative had a direct impact on 3,577 English-speaking Quebecers, creating jobs and volunteer opportunities for community members, after-school and intergenerational programs, and workshops and conferences.

2.2 Economic vitality, skills development and employment

Economic vitality, skills development and employment go hand in hand. That is why community job creation, entrepreneurship, job training and project start-up funding programs are so important, especially in the current context of labour shortages. Seeking new partners and other economic development initiatives also supports this sector.

Under Action Plan 2018–2023, ESDC is responsible for the early childhood development support initiatives administered through an agreement with Réseau de développement économique et d’employabilité Canada. These initiatives support projects that encourage the creation and expansion of early childhood services in OLMCs. In 2022–2023, thanks to funding from ESDC’s Support for Early Childhood Development initiative, Réseau de développement économique et d’employabilité Canada created 95 new jobs (92 full-time and 3 part-time) for educators and childcare providers. From 2018 to 2023, funding under this initiative supported the creation of 2,028 new daycare spaces and 362.5 new educator jobs. In addition, January 2023 saw the launch of a networking platform for recruiting teaching and early childhood professionals in Francophone minority communities.

ESDC’s Enabling Fund for Official Language Minority Communities aims to promote learning, skills development and employment. In 2022–2023, the Fund disbursed some $14.9 million through a network of 14 organizations across Canada, enabling those organizations to establish or maintain active partnerships with organizations in the public, private and not-for-profit sectors that provided services to over 111,491 individuals, businesses or organizations.

ESDC’s Skills for Success program empowers Canadians at all skill levels to develop their abilities and be better equipped to find and keep jobs and excel in those jobs. Thanks to funding from this program, the Canadian distance learning platform of the Coalition ontarienne de formation des adultes welcomed two new partners: the Association francophone du Yukon and the Association francophone du Nunavut. The successful onboarding experience speaks of the strength of the pre-existing relationships and the agility of the platform, which now boasts 154 learners. Thanks to funding provided under this program from 2018 to 2023, over 3,500 participants received training that helped them improve their foundational and transferable skills to better prepare for, get and keep a job, and adapt and succeed at work.

The Economic Development Initiative, renewed under Action Plan 2018–2023 with a budget of $30.5 million, entered its fifth year in 2022–2023. The initiative is coordinated by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada and implemented by the regional development agencies across the country, who work closely with partners to carry out their projects. For example:

In 2022–2023, the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency contributed to six projects benefiting OLMCs, for a total funding amount of $568,726, including $240,000 over three years for the Association franco-yukonnaise to collaborate with Carrefour Nunavut and the Conseil de développement économique des Territoires du Nord-Ouest to encourage Francophones to settle in the territories to fill vacant positions.
Pacific Economic Development Canada and Prairies Economic Development Canada continued to fund a three-year pan-West pilot project with the Francophone Economic Development Organizations to identify and support community economic development projects with direct, tangible impacts on Francophone communities and that ultimately facilitate the engagement, development and strengthening of communities in the West. In April 2022, 12 projects totalling $615,000 were approved in the areas of trade and investment, tourism, green economy, youth, immigration, and community capacity-building, with a focus on economic development.
In Ontario, the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario continued to support two ongoing projects to help OLMC businesses and organizations in southern Ontario. Financial support was provided to 37 businesses and organizations, helping to create or maintain over 65 jobs, while leveraging $814,423 from other sources to cover total project costs. A total of 1,871 people received training or mentoring through the 272 networking and training events.
Also in Ontario, the Federal Economic Development Agency for Northern Ontario approved six new projects, for a total investment of $1,276,126. These included the Leadership entrepreneurial pour les francophones project in New Liskeard to support the development and growth of small and medium-sized businesses owned by Francophones in Ontario’s Temiskaming region. As part of this project, 23 events were organized, including 16 workshops and training sessions, a trade fair and information sessions. Participating entrepreneurs reported that their sales had increased during the course of the project and that they had identified new potential sources of funding.
In Quebec, Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions was also very active in the English-speaking communities of Quebec, with investments totalling just over $2 million. Specifically, the agency supported the Youth Employment Services Foundation, enabling the Foundation to offer a range of activities and services to English-speaking entrepreneurs across Quebec, and the Secretariat to the Cree Nation Abitibi-Témiscamingue Economic Alliance, to promote lasting ties and socio-economic alliances between the Cree Nation (Eeyou Istchee), Jamésie, Abitibi-Témiscamingue and Nunavik.
The Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency approved 11 new projects worth a total of $1.1 million that created a number of partnerships and helped leverage an additional $1,423,870. This year, 11 organizations received direct support, 85 businesses received indirect assistance, 2 jobs were created directly, and 35 students were able to obtain an internship.

In addition, PCH funds two initiatives under the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy: Young Canada Works in Both Official Languages and Young Canada Works at Building Careers in English and French. Together, these two programs received $3.7 million in funding in 2022–2023, enabling 688 young people to find a quality job with one of the 401 participating employers.

[Translation] “I arrived in Calgary in January 2020 after leaving my job to go join my husband and make a fresh start. Unfortunately, just after I got there, the pandemic struck, and I couldn’t find work. Thanks to the Young Canada Works program, I was able to get experience in Francophone businesses and make a name for myself on the job market through internships. Today, at the end of my internship, I’ve been appointed to the position of Program Manager.”

Fatoumata Bintou Samaké, youth participant from Western Region

2.3 Fostering cultural and artistic outreach

**Figure 4: Some Key Figures on Canadian Heritage and Canada Council for the Arts Support to Community Artists in 2022–2023**

The arts and culture sector was hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Recovery has been slow, and there have been many challenges. Once again in 2022–2023, the Government of Canada earmarked additional funding to remedy this situation and has continued to support the sector as a whole, with the aim of raising its profile.

Helping the arts and cultural sector recover

Fiscal year 2022–2023 marked the final year of implementation of the Recovery Fund for Arts, Culture, Heritage and Sport Sectors and the Reopening Fund, which provided financial support to help meet the needs of these sectors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Among other things, this funding supported OLMC organizations through various programs and initiatives. In this way, the Department ensured that the Funds were delivered for the final year, while bearing in mind that some recipients could still be feeling the effects of the pandemic.

In 2022–2023, PCH employees in both the regional and National Capital Region offices maintained an open dialogue with recipients and demonstrated flexibility to accommodate the challenges and delays caused by the pandemic. The Funds provided $17 million to 256 arts organizations that own or manage venues and $4.2 million to 71 OLMC cultural organizations.

In addition, as announced in Budget 2022, the Government of Canada allocated an additional $50 million as part of the Canada Arts and Culture Recovery Program. This funding supported Canadian arts, cultural and heritage organizations, including those from OLMCs, that had lost revenue due to public health restrictions and capacity limits and the ongoing hesitancy of audiences to return. Funding was provided through the Canada Arts Presentation Fund, the Museums Assistance Program, the Canada Music Fund, the Canada Council for the Arts and Telefilm Canada. This amount bolstered the Recovery Fund for Arts, Culture, Heritage and Sport Sectors.

Promoting arts and culture

Arts and culture initiatives bring communities together, enhance their vitality and strengthen their identity. To support positive measures in this sector and foster collaboration between federal institutions and communities, PCH and the Fédération culturelle canadienne-française coordinate the Collaboration Agreement for the Development of Arts and Culture in the Francophone Minority Communities of Canada 2018–2023. Six federal institutions (PCH, the National Arts Centre, the Canada Council for the Arts, the National Film Board, CBC/Radio-Canada and Telefilm Canada) signed the Agreement and are participating in working groups co-chaired by federal and community representatives to advance the priorities set by the committee of signatories.

An evaluation of the Agreement was conducted in 2022, its 25th anniversary year. The evaluation highlighted the importance of ongoing communication and collaboration between community groups and federal institutions in identifying needs and priorities, further reflecting on best practices and shaping the strategies adopted. These findings will be used to develop the next iteration of the Agreement announced by the Government in Action Plan 2023–2028.

In 2022–2023, in addition to the usual meetings of the sectoral working groups under the Agreement, federal partner institutions and organizations met via well-established mechanisms to do a deep dive on one issue that had come up repeatedly during the working group meetings: the labour shortages in the arts and culture sector. These discussions, and the ideas put forward by stakeholders, also fed into PCH’s development of Action Plan 2023–2028.

Notably, PCH’s Quebec regional office is continuing its important collaboration with Quebec’s English-speaking communities through the Working Group on Arts, Culture and Heritage, which brings together representatives of federal, provincial and municipal institutions on an annual basis to discuss opportunities and outstanding issues.

In terms of funding, in order to increase the number of local and regional cultural activities in OLMCs and schools, Action Plan 2018–2023 provided $11 million over five years, doubling the size of Canadian Heritage’s Community Cultural Action Fund. This new funding made it possible to provide over $2.6 million in 2022–2023 in the form of micro-grants to cultural and community organizations involved in the PassePART program (delivered by the Fédération culturelle canadienne-française) and the ArtistsInspire Grants program (delivered by the English Language Arts Network). Activities were supported in 750 French-language schools outside Quebec (reaching 178,500 students) and 213 English-language schools in Quebec (reaching 17,000 students). For example:

As part of the “Agir à l’année, la priorité!” project, 150 students from École secondaire Toronto Ouest had the chance to get involved in student committees set up to address specific social issues throughout the year. Participants had discussions with speakers, took part in panel discussions, and created cultural and artistic projects based on the various themes addressed. The project generated a number of exchanges and created a genuine social justice movement among the students.

Each year, the Music Showcases program administered by PCH gives OLMC artists an opportunity to showcase their talent to industry professionals and audiences they would not otherwise have access to. In 2022–2023, 250 OLMC artists performed in more than 478 showcases at regional, national and international events. A number of successes can be attributed to the program, including ongoing support for Lisa LeBlanc’s tour and showcases. After bringing her English-language album Why You Wanna Leave, Runaway Queen to life onstage, Ms. LeBlanc returned in full force in 2022 with a series of showcases and tours supported by the program to promote her second French-language album, Chiac Disco.

On behalf of PCH, the Canada Council for the Arts administers the National Translation Program for Book Publishing. In 2022–2023, the program invested $800,000 to help Canadian publishers translate works by Canadian authors into the other official language. This consisted in facilitating translations of 71 titles, 44 of which involved first-time business collaborations between the original publisher of the title and the publisher that translated it.

Also in 2022–2023, the Canada Council for the Arts invested a total of $550,000 under the Market Access Strategy Fund to support 20 projects involving artists and organizations in 8 OLMCs across Canada. The Fund supported a wide range of activities, including promotional presentations, networking events, translations, marketing strategies, performances and the production of promotional material. For example, the Association des théâtres francophones du Canada launched a project to pair five to six artists from Canada’s Francophone minority communities with an Indigenous theatre company and give them the necessary platform to produce a joint work. Such collaborations bring Indigenous culture to Canadian stages and raise its profile throughout the Canadian Francophonie.

Overall, this year, the Canada Council for the Arts provided $36.9 million in financial support to OLMC artists and community groups/organizations through its regular programs and strategic funding.

Also in 2022–2023, the National Film Board launched 14 works by OLMC creators. Among the works of filmmakers from Quebec’s English-speaking communities was Noncedo Khumalo’s 100 Ghosts. In the film, Khumalo, who was raised in Swaziland and South Africa, tells the story of a woman confronting an astonishing surreal world summoned forth by her innermost fears. Her artistic process strives to create a Black queer art that humanizes our future and blends storytelling with the abstract. Works by French-Canadians include L’Ordre secret by renowned Acadian filmmaker Phil Comeau, which explores the Ordre de Jacques-Cartier, a powerful secret society that, from 1926 to 1965, infiltrated all sectors of Canadian society, shaping the destiny of French-speaking communities.

2.4 Promoting vibrant media that inform and connect communities

Minority media have been hit by a crisis for several years, amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the Government of Canada redoubled its efforts to remedy the challenges that persist in the sector. In 2022–2023, PCH took steps to revitalize and support the media sector in Canada, including media serving OLMCs.

Bill C-18, the Online News Act, which was introduced by the Minister of Canadian Heritage on April 5, 2022, and received Royal Assent on June 22, 2023, seeks to create a level playing field between media and the major digital platforms. The regulatory process that followed established a contribution scheme to help Canadian media. This includes the Government’s agreement with Google, whereby the latter will pay $100 million a year in financial support to a wide range of news media across Canada.

In addition, two Budget 2022 commitments to support diverse and local stories in news media were implemented. First, in 2022, PCH provided additional support to the Canada Periodical Fund to relaunch the Special Measures for Journalism component with a new investment of $40 million over three years, starting in 2022–2023. Also in 2022, the Government announced that it would be investing an additional $10 million in the Local Journalism Initiative in 2023–2024 to better support this sector in underserved communities across Canada, including OLMCs.

Concerning the Action Plan 2018–2023 initiatives, the Community Media Strategic Support Fund, which is administered by Réseau.presse, supported a total of 24 community newspaper and radio-station projects across the country with an overall investment of $2.6 million. Of the 23 media outlets that benefited from these initiatives, La Liberté (Manitoba), Le Franco (Alberta) and L’Eau vive (Saskatchewan) partnered on a project supported by the Fund to diversify digital video content in order to create strong media consumption habits and thus attract and retain new readers. The project also developed a strategy to boost digital revenues from readers and from advertising.

In addition, 52 young people obtained an internship this year with one of 36 English/French-language minority newspapers or community radio stations through the Young Canada Works at Building Careers in English and French program. For example, Suburban Newspaper, an English-language Quebec newspaper, incorporated the media internships into its hiring strategy in order to recruit and train new employees.

[Translation] “The Suburban Newspaper has benefited greatly from the Young Canada Works program over the past two years. The program helped us create a new position within the business and coach and train a young adult entering the job market. This program has been beneficial for both the young worker and the business. Through the program, we were able to hire and train a journalist and a social media specialist. Without the program, this would not have been possible.”

Oliver Sutton, Associate Publisher, The Suburban

2.5 Increasing Francophone immigration

Francophone immigration is essential to the continuity and growth of Canada’s French-speaking communities. It is a key factor in the country’s economic vitality and a tangible solution to the labour shortages observed in a variety of sectors across Canada. As part of the modernization of the OLA, the Government of Canada has recognized the importance of Francophone immigration in enhancing the vitality of French linguistic minority communities, including by restoring and increasing their demographic weight. In this regard, the Government is working to restore the demographic weight of people whose first official language spoken is French to the level it had at the time of the census of population of Canada taken by Statistics Canada in 1971, namely, 6.1% of the population outside Quebec.

In 2022–2023, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) redoubled its efforts to boost Francophone immigration to Canada and to welcome the newcomers. More than 16,300 or 4.4% of all French-speaking immigrants settled outside Quebec in 2022, enabling Canada to reach its target for Francophone immigration outside Quebec.

Significant advances in Francophone immigration were made in 2023-2024. For example, targeted investments in francophone immigration of more than $137 million were announced in Action Plan 2023–2028, along with the unveiling of the Policy on Francophone Immigration on January 16, 2024. These initiatives are designed to enhance the vitality of Canada's francophone minorities, particularly by restoring and increasing their demographic weight, and the next annual report will report on their implementation.

Recruitment in Canada and abroad and stakeholder engagement

In 2022–2023, IRCC continued to carry out promotion and recruitment initiatives in Canada and abroad to encourage Francophone immigration and enhance the vitality of Francophone minority communities. The Department organized 290 promotional events abroad and over 600 outreach activities in Canada.

Between November 17 and 30, 2022, Destination Canada Mobility Forum 2022–2023 took place in Paris and, for the first time, in Rabat, Morocco, followed by an online edition. This is IRCC’s largest promotional event for Francophone immigration outside Quebec. A delegation of 19 Francophone organizations, including, for the first time, an organization from Nunavut, was led by the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada. Over 83,000 requests to participate were received, and 15,000 candidates were invited to participate in person or online, in real time.

To promote French-language post-secondary education opportunities outside Quebec, IRCC collaborated with the Association des collèges et universités de la francophonie canadienne to hold information sessions. First hosted by the Dakar office in November 2021, in 2022 the activity was reprised by IRCC’s offices in Africa, Europe, the Middle East and Latin America. The objectives of these information sessions were to introduce participants to opportunities to study in French outside Quebec, to provide information on the study permit application process, and to promote the Student Direct Stream, depending on the country, as well as the programs for staying in Canada temporarily or permanently after graduation.

In terms of promotion within Canada, IRCC raised awareness among national employers and other stakeholders about departmental policies and initiatives to facilitate Francophone immigration, including Destination Canada’s recruitment support events. The Tournée de Liaison, organized by the Department in partnership with Réseau de développement économique et d’employabilité Canada, ran from mid-September to early October 2022, with stops in Ontario, New Brunswick and the Northwest Territories (Newfoundland and Labrador joined virtually). The objective was to inform Canadian employers about the main programs, policies and Francophone immigration facilitation tools to help Francophone minority communities outside Quebec attract and retain Francophone talent.

To boost its promotional efforts, the Department inaugurated the Centre for Innovation in Francophone Immigration in Dieppe in November 2022 and created a team dedicated to promoting Francophone immigration to Canada. IRCC exceeded its stakeholder engagement objectives by engaging with partners (the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada and the Comité consultatif national en établissement francophone) and the provincial and territorial governments, notably with the June 2023 signing of Annex B: French-Speaking Immigrants as part of the renewal of the Canada–New Brunswick Immigration Agreement.

IRCC also pursued its commitment to the development, availability and sharing of data on official language minority communities. IRCC provided administrative data to establish a demographic and linguistic profile of Francophone immigration in 14 Welcoming Francophone Communities, in the provinces and territories, and in Canada as a whole outside Quebec. The Department also compiled, produced and provided detailed, robust administrative data to support the analysis of policies on Francophone immigrants, including five blended research reports and five studies on various topics related to immigration in OLMCs.

Francophone Integration Pathway

In 2022–2023, IRCC continued to work with the provincial and territorial governments and with stakeholders to build up the capacity of Francophone service providers in the Francophone settlement sector. The Department also led or participated in a number of engagement initiatives, including the 16th Annual Symposium on Francophone Immigration. IRCC also funded 12 national training, tools and information-sharing projects, bolstering the capacity of Francophone communities. In addition, the Department provided funding to seven Francophone organizations for the delivery of language training services to French-speaking newcomers, exceeding its target by serving 595 clients in 2022–2023.

Also in 2022–2023, IRCC worked with its regional offices to develop functional guidance products to support the implementation of the Francophone Integration Pathway and finalized the logic model for the Francophone Immigration Networks (FINs). The FINs, which are community partnerships, are playing an increasingly important role in engaging community players and promoting and implementing the Francophone Integration Pathway within Francophone communities outside Quebec. The logic model for the FINs, which presents the activities carried out jointly by all FIN members, was therefore amended in 2022 to better reflect these expanding roles. To address the challenges, four new activities were added, including:

organizing and harmonizing the Francophone Integration Pathway as an integrated and coordinated continuum of services by, for and with Francophones throughout the region;
promoting Francophone communities outside Quebec as destinations of choice and promoting the Francophone Integration Pathway among immigrants and potential candidates for immigration;
coordinating the actions of various stakeholders to facilitate the economic integration of immigrants; and
coordinating the actions of various stakeholders to facilitate the social and cultural integration and the inclusion of immigrants in Francophone minority communities.

Using a community-centred approach, IRCC continued to support 14 communities as part of the Welcoming Francophone Communities initiative. In 2022–2023, the results of the initiative continued to be monitored, giving rise to positive findings. The initiative has mobilized a wide range of community players, fostering significant multi-sectoral impacts at the local level, as well as an increase in the number of initiatives promoting employment and entrepreneurship among Francophone newcomers and greater awareness of newcomers’ needs (e.g. job fairs, entrepreneurship workshops, mobilization of employers), for example:

organization of a job fair in Sudbury to raise employers’ awareness of the pool of job seekers available to help them meet their labour needs (23 employers were mobilized with nearly 445 job seekers, the majority of whom were Francophone newcomers);
greater awareness of newcomers’ needs—thanks to the initiative, municipalities such as Hamilton, Sudbury and Hawkesbury in Ontario, Haut-Saint-Jean in New Brunswick, Clare in Nova Scotia and Rivière-Seine in Manitoba have openly declared their support for Francophone immigration; and
creation of the Université Populaire (associated with the Moose Jaw-Gravelbourg Welcoming Francophone Community), which offers free two-hour educational workshops in French, open to all eligible clients, on such topics as cooking, literacy, Indigenous culture and mental health.

Section 3 – Strengthening Access to Services and Education

**Figure 5: Strengthening Access to Services and Education: Investments in the Final Year of Action Plan for Official Languages 2018–2023**

Access to services and education in the minority official language is essential to the vitality and development of OLMCs. To this end, the Government continued to strengthen access and introduced numerous measures under Action Plan 2018–2023, particularly in the fields of education, justice and health. In April 2023, the Government announced that it wanted to go even further in terms of access to services for OLMCs through Action Plan 2023–2028. The next Annual Report will review the first year of implementation of the new five-year strategy.

Providing access to services and sectors essential to the development of OLMCs, such as education, requires close collaboration with the provinces and territories. The Government has mechanisms in place, including the Ministers’ Council on the Canadian Francophonie, to foster dialogue and work towards common goals.

The mandate of the Ministers’ Council on the Canadian Francophonie is to contribute to a dialogue among provincial and territorial governments conducive to the development of initiatives that strengthen the Canadian Francophonie and improve the status of French, including the implementation of active offer and increased government services in French.

The annual meeting of the Ministers’ Council on the Canadian Francophonie took place on June 22 and 23, 2022, in Regina, Saskatchewan. Co-chaired by Ginette Petitpas Taylor, then Minister of Official Languages and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, the meeting included discussions on the direction of Action Plan 2023–2028 and Bill C-13, An Act for the Substantive Equality of Canada’s Official Languages.

3.1 Support for minority-language education

The Government of Canada continues to support the provincial and territorial governments in providing minority-language education and continues working with the community sector to support structuring initiatives for OLMCs.

Minority-language education

In 2022–2023, the Government of Canada provided nearly $225 million to the provincial and territorial governments to support the provision of high-quality post-secondary education in the minority language, thanks in part to funding of $121 million over three years, starting in 2021–2022, provided in Budget 2021. In 2022–2023, 13 bilateral education agreements were in effect, and 12 projects and activities (funds for post-secondary education) were implemented by the provincial and territorial governments to enhance support for minority-language education.

In Saskatchewan, for example, $2.9 million in funding was provided to La Cité universitaire francophone at the University of Regina to create an accredited French-language stream for the Bachelor of Social Work program. This new program will train social work specialists able to work directly with remote Francophone communities and understand the realities of Saskatchewan’s Francophone communities.

Cooperation with the non-governmental sector (minority-language organizations)

The collaboration and concerted efforts of the various stakeholders help ensure the vitality and continuity of OLMCs and contribute to improving service offerings in the interest of a quality educational continuum in the minority language.

In 2022–2023, PCH supported a project of the Association canadienne d’éducation de langue française that involved the development and publication of a booklet of strategies and tools for teachers in minority French-language schools. The aim of the project was to foster the inclusion of secondary school students who were recent immigrants and help them build their identity in their host community.

In addition, PCH provided $199,000 over two years (2022–2024) to the Fédération nationale des conseils scolaires francophones to organize the fourth edition of a national education summit. Held in April 2023, the event drew over 225 participants, including a youth delegation. The summit was an opportunity to take stock of progress on, and the impact of, the Strategic Plan for French-Language Education, celebrate the achievements of the past few decades, and draft a new plan for the future based on the issues identified.

In addition, several projects were established thanks to PCH’s Post-Secondary Sector Support Fund for Non-Governmental Organizations. For example, the Réseau des cégeps et des collèges francophones du Canada, working with the Fédération des francophones de Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador, received $460,000 in funding over two years to set up a local issues table to coordinate the implementation of a French-language training and education service for young adults and workers looking to upgrade their skills. The project will ensure the long-term development of Newfoundland and Labrador’s Francophone communities in the youth, adult and post-secondary education sectors, while expanding collaboration between community organizations and post-secondary institutions in other provinces.

Civic Community School Support Fund

From 2019 to 2023, PCH’s Civic Community School Support Fund enabled more than 243,500 students to participate in a Vice-Versa activity administered by the Fédération de la jeunesse canadienne-française on behalf of PCH, an initiative designed to help elementary school students build their identity and get involved in their communities through small projects supported by micro-grants. In 2022–2023, more than 82,000 students participated in a Vice-Versa activity. The 477 civic community school projects that received a micro-grant covered 14 different themes, including the environment, health, personal and social development, and linguistic security. In all, 654 schools in 11 provinces and territories carried out a Vice-Versa project, which also led to 119 partnerships with community organizations.

Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategy in Minority French-Language Schools

Recruiting and retaining teachers is a major challenge in OLMCs. The Government of Canada has reaffirmed its commitment to developing solutions, including through the targeted investments in Action Plan 2018–2023 and the subsequent enhancements to those investments in Action Plan 2023–2028, announced in spring 2023. In 2022–2023, thanks to a PCH investment of nearly $6 million, 13 provincial- and territorial-government projects and 2 community-organization projects to recruit or retain teachers in minority French-language schools were supported.

In New Brunswick, the project “Recrutement, fidélisation et formation du personnel enseignant : des efforts concertés en Acadie” [Teacher recruitment, retention and training: concerted efforts in Acadia] exemplifies the efforts to recruit and retain teachers. Spearheaded by New Brunswick’s Department of Education and Early Childhood Development in collaboration with the province’s three Francophone school districts and the Université de Moncton, the project aims to boost the supply of qualified teachers in New Brunswick’s French-language schools and retain existing teachers through various professional development and promotional initiatives. A recruitment and retention strategy specific to each Francophone school district will be developed using evidence gathered through studies and research under this project.

Also in spring 2023, PCH brought together the various players involved in the Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategy in Minority French-Language Schools and the Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategy in French-Immersion and French Second-Language Programs by way of a virtual symposium. Some 20 researchers and experts came to share their knowledge with the 135 participants attending the virtual event. Global Affairs Canada and IRCC also took part. The resulting findings and avenues for concerted action to bring the Government of Canada’s strategies in this area up to date will be the subject of the next Annual Report.

Support for educational and community infrastructure

Educational and community infrastructure is essential to the development and vitality of OLMCs, as it provides them with places to gather and maintain the vitality of their language and culture. In addition to the Action Plan 2018–2023 funds, in Budget 2021 the Government announced an additional $80 million over two years to support educational and community infrastructure.

In 2022–2023, PCH invested over $40 million in the construction, renovation and development of 41 new educational and community space projects. The Department also provided additional funding for three ongoing projects serving OLMCs, including to protect the institutions in Quebec’s English-speaking communities.

For example, the funding enabled the construction of a new school-community centre in Saulnierville, Nova Scotia. The new elementary school, which will be able to accommodate some 350 students from kindergarten to Grade 6, will have a daycare centre with space for 85 children and multipurpose community spaces for activities such as performances and art exhibitions.

In Quebec, two cultural organizations serving Montréal’s English-speaking communities—the Segal Centre for Performing Arts and the Centaur Foundation for the Performing Arts—received funding from PCH to renovate their spaces and acquire specialized equipment. Following the project, these two organizations will be able to continue welcoming emerging and diverse theatre companies, and give them access to the space and equipment they need.

Also in 2022–2023, the Community Educational Infrastructure initiative, which is part of Infrastructure Canada’s Investing in Canada Plan, contributed nearly $7.9 million and rolled out seven community educational infrastructure projects in seven separate communities. All told, $22,167,000, including projects funded through to 2025–2026, was invested in community educational infrastructure. For example, funding was granted to the Alberta government for the expansion of a school with a capacity of 700 students from kindergarten to grade 12. This 260-square-meter expansion to the FrancoSud school complex, located south of the city of Calgary, will be dedicated to community spaces. These spaces will enable the children of this francophone community to benefit from French-language primary and secondary education at the same facility, as well as additional support and services to ensure the transmission and vitality of the French language and francophone culture.

3.2 Intergovernmental cooperation on minority-language services

For a number of years now, the Government of Canada has encouraged and supported the provinces and territories in delivering provincial, territorial and municipal services in the minority official language. In 2022–‍2023, 12 bilateral agreements were in effect with provinces and territories.

Of these, 3 were in effect in the territories, where the Government of Canada is continuing its efforts to expand French-language services. Multi-year agreements were signed with Nunavut (2022–2024) and Yukon (2020–2025), and an agreement will be negotiated with the Northwest Territories covering fiscal year 2023–‍2024.

These collaborative efforts enabled the Yukon government to launch public consultations on French-language services with the Franco-Yukon community in December 2022 in order to develop its next strategic framework for French-language services. The consultations gave community members the opportunity to share their recommendations concerning online services, interpretation, communication and social networks to help the Yukon government improve the delivery of French-language services to the Territory’s Francophone population.

3.3 Improved access to justice in the minority language

For Canadians to truly enjoy access to justice, it is crucial that they be able to receive legal services in the official language of their choice. The Government of Canada is working to improve access to such services and to help OLMC members navigate the justice system by providing tools and information and financially supporting the organizations that serve them.

Core funding for organizations

In 2022–2023, Department of Justice Canada continued to support the financial stability and operational capacity of 12 organizations (11 provincial/territorial organizations and 1 national organization). Operational funding was provided to these organizations to enable them to deliver activities designed to benefit OLMC members, such as free legal information centres and free legal information services for remote communities and vulnerable populations.

Two major achievements were made possible in 2022–2023 thanks to core funding provided by the Access to Justice in Both Official Languages Support Fund. First, a greater number of OLMC members were able to obtain assistance thanks to the ongoing online legal information services offered free of charge by the Association des juristes d’expression française. The pandemic prompted the Association to provide its services online and improve delivery, giving access to a greater number of OLMC members.

Second, the Fédération des associations de juristes d’expression française de common law helped the Association francophone du Nunavut take the necessary steps to become a service provider for Nunavut’s OLMCs. These efforts greatly assisted the Association in securing core funding for fiscal year 2023–2024.

Networks, training and access-to-justice services

One of the key achievements of 2022–2023 involved providing valuable legal information to racialized and vulnerable members of OLMCs through four public legal education projects. As a result of these projects, approximately 700 people, most of them women, were able to access various free legal information services.

What is more, in 2022–2023, 45 projects were funded through the Access to Justice in Both Official Languages Support Fund, including the following:

25 public legal information and awareness projects;
3 projects supporting the translation of legal decisions;
3 projects contributing to curriculum development; and
4 projects contributing to the development of language tools.

3.4 Access to health care and social services in the minority official language

Given the labour shortage challenges Canada is facing, Health Canada–funded training and retention initiatives for bilingual health care professionals in OLMCs are essential to increasing the supply of health care professionals able to meet patients’ health care needs in the language of their choice across the country.

As regards Francophones outside Quebec, the 16 member institutions of the Association des collèges et universités de la francophonie canadienne – Consortium national de formation en santé reported an additional 1,038 enrolments and 838 graduates in 108 health training programs. In addition, as part of the initiative to offer internship bursaries to Consortium students, 556 students from various health-related fields were able to take advantage of those bursaries and overcome the barriers to accessing practical on-the-job training.

As regards Quebec’s English-speaking communities, McGill University enrolled more than 1,623 health and social services professionals in its language training program aimed at improving their English-language skills in order to provide better service to English-speaking patients across the province. A total of 1,344 health professionals successfully completed their language training, for a success rate of 83%.

Health networking

With funding from Health Canada’s Official Languages Health Program, Société santé en français facilitates equitable access to quality French-language health programs and services for the Francophone and Acadian minority communities. In 2022–2023, the organization continued to provide leadership, coordinate its 16 networks, identify and address barriers to access, and develop strategies or best practices to expand or improve the communities’ access to French-language health services. For example:

In New Brunswick, a collaborative initiative with the Centre de Bénévolat de la péninsule Acadienne Inc. implemented a mobile service model that complements the continuum of mental health services for individuals living on the Acadian Peninsula.
In Yukon, a collaborative initiative with the Partenariat communauté en santé du Yukon and the Yukon government’s mental health and addiction prevention service organized and provided 12 community partners with French-language training on the opioid crisis and the administration of naloxone.

Health Canada’s Official Languages Health Program also supported initiatives that had a positive impact on Quebec’s English-speaking communities through the activities and networking of the 23 networks and 10 satellites of the Community Health and Social Services Network. The Network continued to work with the staff of 19 integrated health and social services centres and university integrated health and social services centres to improve access to health and social services in English, based on the specific needs identified.

Innovation

In 2022–2023, Health Canada’s Official Languages Health Program continued to support innovative projects to improve OLMC access to health services in connection with federal, provincial and territorial health priorities, such as mental health and home care. For example:

In Prince Edward Island, the Program supported a project led by the province’s Department of Health and the Réseau Santé en français Île-du-Prince-Édouard to meet the specific home care needs of the Francophone and Acadian minority community. In 2022–2023, this provincial project integrated and implemented the language standard to ensure that home care services include the active offer of French-language services and contribute to training and retention of bilingual human resources.
In Quebec, the Jeffery Hale–Saint Brigid Hospital’s “Geodata” project received support to establish a health profile of the English-speaking population in the Québec City region, in order to better understand their health needs and the English-language services available nearby.
In Saskatchewan, Health Canada supported a project led by the health authority to boost the supply of French-language mental health, home care and end-of-life care services. The health authority continued to provide mental health services to the province’s Francophones through an agreement with TelAide Outaouais and implemented a health human resources planning tool to document the language capacity of health professionals, in order to better meet the health needs of OLMCs.

Health human resources recruitment and retention

Increasing the number of bilingual health human resources available to meet the needs of OLMCs in remote or underserved regions is a priority for the Government of Canada. The Official Languages Health Program investments increased the number of bilingual health professionals able to provide health services in the minority official language.

In 2022–2023, the final year of the funding phase of the 2018–2023 cycle, the five academic institutions that had joined the Association des collèges et universités de la francophonie canadienne – Consortium national de formation en santé in 2018–2019 continued to recruit and train students in health-related fields in remote or underserved regions. In 2022–2023, 47 new students enrolled in the programs funded by the Program. The same year, the five institutions reported the graduation of 12 students, who are ready to enter the health labour market.

Early childhood health

In 2022–2023, thanks to the Healthy Early Years program funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada under Action Plan 2018–2023, the Community Health and Social Services Network and Société santé en français had a significant impact on OLMCs across Canada. Through their third-party funding model, 59 organizations across Canada helped communities develop comprehensive, culturally and linguistically appropriate programs aimed at improving the health and development of children (0–6 years) living in OLMCs and their families.

In addition, over 16,180 participants in the Public Health Agency of Canada’s Healthy Early Years program accessed the programming. This represents a 55% increase over the previous year. During 2022–2023, program partners successfully adapted program activities to developments in the COVID-19 pandemic and were able to provide responsive mental health services for children, parents and families. In terms of collaboration, the networks succeeded in forging over 489 partnerships to support the development and implementation of the early childhood community service plans.

Section 4 – Advancement of Official Languages

**Figure 6: Advancement of Official Languages: New Investments in Action Plan for Official Languages 2018–2023**

The official languages are an integral part of Canada’s identity and social fabric. They support communication, social cohesion and the full participation of everyone in Canadian society. In addition to being an economic asset, the official languages contribute to Canada’s influence on the world stage and are also a vehicle for inclusion and the promotion of diversity. That said, the Government’s efforts to promote and protect those languages are tempered by a recognition of the importance of maintaining and enhancing the use of other languages and of reclaiming, revitalizing and strengthening Indigenous languages. Government initiatives to advance the two official languages focus on second-language learning and on bringing the two language groups together.

4.1 Support for second-language learning

Action Plan 2018–2023 included $448 million over five years for agreements between the Government of Canada and the provincial/territorial governments administered by PCH that encourage Canadians to learn their second official language. Budget 2021 included an additional $165 million over three years to enhance those agreements. The Government of Canada announced additional investments in April 2023 as part of Action Plan 2023–2028; these will be covered in the next Annual Report on Official Languages.

Among the new second-language learning projects launched this year was Nova Scotia’s new research network bringing together all universities in the province offering a Bachelor of Education program in French. The province also established partnerships with the Mi’kmaq Services Branch and the African-Canadian Services Branch to acquire or create French-language resources in which members of the Afro–Nova Scotian and Mi’kmaq communities are represented.

In this same area, PCH also supports the work of non-governmental organizations through the Cooperation with the Non-Governmental Sector (second-language organizations) sub-component. Projects made possible by this funding include:

the Canadian Association of Second Language Teachers’ Decolonizing and Indigenizing Second-Language Pedagogy project, which will develop professional learning content to support second-language teachers, providing them with new resources, knowledge and methodologies on the decolonization and Indigenization of second-language pedagogy, and will also provide teachers with a space and opportunities to share their own knowledge, skills and experiences through professional development and networking activities.

In 2022–2023, the Collaboration with the Non-Governmental Sector sub-component also received an additional $859,120 in funding for the French Second-Language Learning from Early Childhood pilot project, which is helping to strengthen the educational continuum from early childhood. Budget 2021 provided PCH with an additional $180.4 million over three years, beginning in 2021–2022, to support students across the country in achieving greater levels of bilingualism.

Action Plan 2018–2023 included funding for the Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategy in Minority French-Language Schools and the Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategy in French-Immersion and French Second-Language Programs to address the persistent labour shortage challenges in this education subsector. In all, $9,189,346 was allocated to the provinces and territories and to organizations in fiscal year 2022–2023. Thirteen projects were selected further to a call for proposals in 2021–2022, including:

a two-year (2022–2024) project by the Canadian Association of Immersion Professionals to support school administrators responsible for immersion programs, in order to compensate for the fact that these leaders are often unilingual English speakers. The project provides administrators with access to tools, training and a virtual space featuring resources such as a best-practice guide, videos, sample lesson plans, networking opportunities for new administrators, and the development of French immersion–specific resources and training for teachers.

PCH’s official language monitors program, Odyssey, was also strengthened through additional funding in Action Plan 2018–2023. The $7,114,398 spent in 2022–2023 enabled 334 language monitors to participate in the program. To mitigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada found new ways to deliver training virtually, enabling language monitors to continue collaborating and sharing expertise and ideas to keep students engaged in a virtual classroom.

As part of the Bursaries for Post-Secondary Education in French as a Second Language initiative administered by the Association des collèges et universités de la francophonie canadienne, $2,850,000 in financial support was awarded to 850 English-mother-tongue students to enable them to pursue their post-secondary studies in French in 2022–2023.

Lastly, in 2022–2023, development continued on Mauril, a mobile application for acquiring and retaining English and French second-language skills, under a memorandum of understanding between PCH and CBC/Radio-Canada. CBC/Radio-Canada’s Mauril team worked with various groups, communities and stakeholders to promote the application as a tool for learning the official languages. PCH shared its expertise to help CBC/Radio-Canada develop the Mauril community in each province and territory, and establish a network of experts dedicated to official language learning. The app has been downloaded more than 210,000 times in Canada since its launch in 2021. In terms of percentages, 66% of users are learning French, while 34% are learning English.

**Figure 7: Increase in the Number of Enrolments in French-Immersion Programs Offered Outside Quebec Since 2003**

Year	Number of Enrolments in French Immersion Programs Offered Outside Quebec
2003-2004	282,837
2004-2005	288,970
2005-2006	295,197
2006-2007	300,464
2007-2008	311,115
2008-2009	317,662
2009-2010	328,716
2010-2011	341,694
2011-2012	356,580
2012-2013	372,879
2013-2124	392,430
2014-2015	409,899
2015-2016	428,619
2016-2017	449,769
2017-2018	463,119
2018-2019	477,675
2019-2020	487,191
2020-2021	482,772
2021-2022	477,480
68.8% increase since 2003-2004

4.2 Fostering gathering and connection

In 2022–2023, some effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continued to have an impact on certain PCH Official Languages Support Programs activities. For example, the activities of the Explore and Destination Clic youth initiatives resumed gradually, which explains why not all the funds could be spent. Through a management contract with the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada for the provision of bursaries, PCH funding supported 3,549 Explore program participants and 198 Destination Clic program participants. In addition, with the enhancement of the Explore second-language program, in 2022–2023 PCH sought to better include vulnerable and underrepresented groups by ensuring that young people who might not otherwise be able to participate in the initiative had the same opportunity as other young Canadians.

The pandemic also affected PCH’s Exchanges Canada initiative: as it was difficult to travel and gather in person, virtual meetings were the preferred format. The contribution agreement with the recipient, Experiences Canada, enabled the latter to organize 295 bilingual youth exchanges, connecting young people from the two language communities. In addition, Experiences Canada offered 144 exchanges involving young people from OLMCs in which at least one person or group came from a community and was matched according to their first official language spoken.

As for PCH’s Appreciation and Rapprochement initiative, which seeks to foster a better understanding of linguistic duality and create stronger ties between Canadians from both language groups, the planned funding of $3,650,000 was spent on 16 projects. These include:

École secondaire C.-E. Pouliot in Gaspé, serving a population of about 400 students, roughly a quarter of whom are English-speaking. Though students from the two language communities live side by side, there are few activities where they can come together outside of sport. A project for the 2022–2023 and 2023–2024 school years was submitted by Vision Gaspé-Percé Now, in collaboration with the English and French sections of C.-E. Pouliot. The project aims to coordinate regular extracurricular activities and one-off events to foster integration and social interaction between students from the two language communities.

Also in 2022–2023, PCH’s Support for Interpretation and Translation program subcomponent supported 114 translation and interpretation projects, for a total of $446,728 to promote the two official languages within not-for-profit organizations. The funded activities create opportunities for Canadians to connect with one another and promote a better understanding and appreciation of the benefits of knowing and using both official languages in Canada.

Fiscal year 2022–2023 also saw the investment of $220,921 as part of PCH’s Promotion of Bilingual Services initiative. Support was provided to five projects run by not-for-profit organizations, including the following:

La francophonie au sein du mouvement environnemental au Nouveau-Brunswick is an initiative of the New Brunswick Environmental Network, which has found that Francophone groups face barriers in participating in the Network’s events while English-speaking groups have a hard time reaching Francophone audiences and learning about the initiatives of Francophone groups. The New Brunswick Environmental Network is therefore taking action (consultations, surveys, promotion of the Francophonie on social media, production of bilingual documentation) to reduce barriers to the participation of Francophone groups, foster cross-linguistic collaboration and promote the leadership of Francophone groups in the transition to a greener, more sustainable society in New Brunswick.

For its part, in 2022–2023 the Translation Bureau, through the Linguistic Services initiative, allocated $3,162,100 to the Language Portal, a true showcase of the two official languages, not only for the public service but for all Canadians. The Language Portal produced content related to the official languages and updated the linguistic tools and resources on the site, which comprises a total of around 23,000 Web pages. It also published 2,571 new content items on the Portal site and on its social media accounts, including 42 blog posts by external contributors. One project of note involved adding guidelines on inclusive writing to the Portal’s range of resources. These guidelines were designed to help the federal public service and all other interested institutions to adopt writing practices that avoid discrimination of any kind, whether based on sex, gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnic origin, disability or any other identity factor.

Lastly, in 2022–2023 Statistics Canada’s Additional and ongoing support from Statistics Canada’s Language Statistics Unit initiative spent $604,405 on research activities and analytical products, contributing to the growth of the official languages data ecosystem. This funding doubled Statistics Canada’s baseline targets, with 41 initiatives carried out, including 29 activities (target of 15) and 12 analytical products (target of 7). In response to Canada’s labour shortage challenges, Statistics Canada released the following products in 2022–2023:

a study of the language used at work by graduates of English-language, French-language or bilingual post-secondary institutions;
a series of three data tables derived from the responses to three new questions on the Canadian Survey on Business Conditions:
A series of seven regional infographics on the characteristics of official language minority businesses and owners.

Conclusion

The 2022–2023 fiscal year saw progress on the Government of Canada’s key official languages priorities that paved the way for the historic achievements of 2023. The work to modernize the OLA, which culminated in royal assent to Bill C-13 on June 20, 2023, have ushered in the most far-reaching reform of Canada’s language regime since the adoption of the OLA in 1969 and its first reform in 1988.

As this was also the final year of implementation of Action Plan 2018–2023—and the final year of development of Action Plan 2023–2028—it was an opportunity to take stock of the Plan’s achievements. The initiatives in Action Plan 2018–2023 and the significant sums invested in OLMCs and the official languages had a marked impact in key sectors such as immigration, health, access to justice, culture, employment, economic development and lifelong education. Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal partner institutions were able to deliver their initiatives with flexibility, remaining responsive to the changing needs and priorities of the communities being served. The funding announced in Budgets 2021 and 2022 also allowed for improved support to communities and Canadians, and contributed to the achievement of the expected results.

What is more, 2022–2023 was a year of listening and reaching out to Canadians and communities across the country. The 2022 Cross-Canada Official Languages Consultations identified the challenges and priorities facing Canadians and measures to address those challenges and priorities. Action Plan 2023–2028 and its historic investments have brought the Government of Canada’s contribution up to over $4.1 billion over five years. As a result, the 50 or so initiatives in Action Plan 2018–2023, including the 26 new initiatives, have been fully and permanently renewed under Action Plan 2023–2028, at a cost of $2.7 billion over five years. Adding the $1.4 billion in new investments brings the total to $4.1 billion over five years. The coming years will be an opportunity for Action Plan partners to build on the progress under the previous five-year strategy, redoubling their efforts and taking the implementation of their commitments and the 33 new or enhanced measures even further with a "by, for and with communities” approach.

In reaching historic milestones and delivering concrete advances for the official languages and OLMCs, the Government of Canada has clearly reaffirmed its commitment to the future of the official languages and the achievement of substantive equality.

Appendix 1: 2022–2023 Summary of Government Investments in Official Languages (including the initiatives under Action Plan for Official Languages 2018–‍2023)

Table 1: 2022–2023 Summary of Government Investments in Official Languages

Initiatives	Total Allocated 2018–2023 (in dollars)	Planned Spending 2022–2023 (in dollars)	Actual Spending 2022–2023 (in dollars)	2022–2023 Results
Canadian Heritage – Historical Base
Minority-Language Education (federal-provincial/territorial agreements)^{Footnote 3}	805,100,000	214,204,388	224,311,837	Number of bilateral agreements with the provincial and territorial governments in education: 13 bilateral agreements. Multi-year agreements: 4-year agreements (2019–2023) are in place with N.B., N.W.T. and Sask.; 3-year agreements (2020–2023) are in place with B.C., Alta., Man., Ont., Yk., Nvt., N.S., P.E.I. and N.L.; a 2-year agreement (2022–2024) has been concluded with Que. Number of projects and activities offered by provincial and territorial governments aimed at instruction in the language of the OLMC: 12 projects (post-secondary education fund) Number of post-secondary institutions receiving funding: 12 institutions Number of Post-Secondary Sector Support Fund for Non-Governmental Organizations projects: 7 projects Percentage enrolment in the minority system: 5.2%
Cooperation with the Non-Governmental Sector (minority-language organizations)	8,750,000	1,750,000	1,750,000	Number of activities and projects for minority-language education receiving support: 4 programming and 7 projects
Intergovernmental Cooperation on Minority-Language Services (federal-provincial/territorial agreements)	81,000,000	15,187,000	14,308,500	Number of bilateral agreements with the provinces and territories for minority-language service delivery: 12 bilateral agreements in effect for 2022–2023. A bilateral agreement could not be reached with the Government of Quebec for the 2022–2023 fiscal year. Agreements covering the 2023–2024 fiscal year are already in place with Newfoundland and Labrador, Ontario, British Columbia and New Brunswick, and will be amended to reflect the new funds in Action Plan 2023–2028. Multi-year agreements have been signed with Nunavut (2022–2024) and Yukon (2020–2025). The other jurisdictions want to see the breakdown of the new funds before signing agreements covering at least the 2023–2024 period.
Cooperation with the Community Sector (minority-language organizations)^{Footnote 4}	159,500,000	30,900,000	34,252,663	Number of collaboration agreements (with representatives of the communities in the provinces and territories): 13 collaboration agreements in effect with representatives of OLMCs in the provinces and territories). Number of projects receiving support: 525 projects supported (404 programming and 121 projects). The total number of projects supported includes multi-year projects that were continuing into 2023–2024, as well as one-time supplements to programming as part of the implementation of the Recovery Fund for Arts, Culture, Heritage and Sport Sectors and the Reopening Fund.
Strategic Fund^{Footnote 5}	22,500,000	4,500,000	2,642,015	Number of strategic projects receiving funding: 19 new projects
Community Cultural Action Fund	10,000,000	2,000,000	2,000,000	Number of cultural projects receiving funding: 41 projects
Support for Second-Language Learning (federal-provincial/territorial agreements)^{Footnote 6}	448,000,000	147,816,084	176,210,777	Number of bilateral agreements with the provincial and territorial governments in education: 13 bilateral agreements. Multi-year agreements: 4-year agreements (2019–2023) are in place with N.B., N.W.T. and Sask.; 3-year agreements (2020–2023) are in place with B.C., Alta., Man., Ont., Yk., Nvt., N.S., P.E.I. and N.L. A 2-year agreement (2022–2024) has been signed with Que. Number of provincial and territorial projects and activities targeting second-language instruction: 13 enhanced bilateral agreements. Percentage student enrolment in second-language programs: 10.2%
Cooperation with the Non-Governmental Sector (second-language organizations)^{Footnote 7}	4,850,000	2,825,000	1,834,120	Number of activities and projects for second-language instruction: 6 projects and 4 programming received funding in 2022–2023. In addition, 4 projects, from the same sub-component, for the French Second-Language Learning from Early Childhood pilot project were funded.
Summer Language Bursary Program (Explore, Destination Clic)^{Footnote 8}	84,500,000	16,923,407	12,146,715	Number of agreements with the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada for awarding bursaries: 1 contribution agreement in effect for 2020–2023. Annual number of participants in the bursary-funded Explore program: 3,549 participants in the Explore program and 198 participants in the Destination Clic program. Number of participating institutions: 34 institutions were able to deliver the program in 2022–2023.
Official Language Monitors (Odyssey)	35,500,000	7,114,398	7,114,398	Number of agreements with the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada for monitor positions: 1 agreement Number of participants in the Odyssey monitors program: 334 participants (minority language and second language).
Promotion of Linguistic Duality (appreciation and rapprochement)	18,500,000	3,650,000	3,650,000	Number of projects receiving support: 16 projects (1 programming and 15 projects)
Promotion of Bilingual Services in the Voluntary Sector^{Footnote 9}	1,100,000	212,571	220,921	Number of projects by not-for-profit organizations receiving support: 5 projects
Support for Interpretation and Translation^{Footnote 10}	2,500,000	500,000	446,728	Number of projects by not-for-profit organizations receiving support: 114 projects supported
Young Canada Works in Both Official Languages^{Footnote 11}	18,630,000	3,725,000	4,893,320	In 2022–2023, 688 young people participated in the Young Canada Works in Both Official Languages program, securing quality employment with the 401 participating employers. 661 youth jobs were created under Young Canada Works in Both Official Languages, and 27 internships in Canada were created under Young Canada Works at Building Careers in English and French.
Exchanges Canada (official language initiative)^{Footnote 12}	11,250,000	2,250,000	1,890,000	In 2021–2022 (most recent data^{Table 1 note *}), as in the first year of the pandemic, Experiences Canada continued to deliver virtual exchanges and e-learning modules to participating youth. During this period, Experiences Canada offered 295 bilingual exchanges for young people. As part of these exchanges, individuals or groups of young people in Canada whose main language is one of the two official languages were matched with individuals or groups whose main language is the other official language. In addition, Experiences Canada offered 144 OLMC exchanges in which at least one person or group from an OLMC was matched according to their main official language.
Music Showcases for Artists from Official Language Minority Communities	5,750,000	1,150,000	1,150,000	The Music Showcases program enhances the vitality and development of OLMCs, as it represents a unique opportunity for community artists to gain greater visibility and achieve success in the development of their professional careers. The program also helps to advance English and French by supporting showcases and events for artists and communities. In 2022–2023, the program supported 250 OLMC artists, who performed in over 478 music showcases at regional, national and international events: 208 English-speaking artists from Quebec, for a total of 283 music showcases. 42 Francophone artists from outside Quebec, for a total of 195 music showcases.
National Translation Program for Book Publishing	4,000,000	800,000	800,000	Number of publishers that received a grant (single publishers): 40 Number of new business collaborations (original book publisher and the publisher of the translation working together for the first time on a translation supported by the Program): 27 Number of new collaborations on a book in the context of an existing business relationship (two publishers that previously worked together on a book translation with Program support working together again to translate another book): 44 Number of Canadian-authored books translated with Program support: 71
Canadian Heritage – New Funds in Action Plan 2018–2023
Increase in Core Funding for Organizations	57,370,000	14,225,000	14,403,257	New organizations receiving program funding: 9 new organizations received recurring programming funding. Targeted increase in program funding: 6 new organizations in the Atlantic Region received a permanent increase in their program funding.
Enhancement of the Community Cultural Action Fund^{Footnote 13}	11,160,000	3,150,000	2,615,350	Number of cultural activities for minority schools (developed by cultural and community organizations and funded through micro-grants): 699 Number of minority schools participating in a cultural activity through the Program: 963 Number of students who participated in a cultural activity: 195,500
Fund for the English-Speaking Communities of Quebec	5,280,000	1,300,000	1,278,400	Number of initiatives and projects receiving funding through the new fund: 20
Strengthening Community Media and Radio	14,530,000	2,594,508	2,594,508	Number of radio stations and newspapers receiving support through service organizations (Association de la presse francophone, on behalf of the Consortium of Official Language Minority Community Media): 24 Number of domestic internships created in minority community media in 2021–2022: 52
Support for Community Spaces – Infrastructure^{Footnote 14}	67,250,000	54,800,000	40,072,428	The Department supported the construction, renovation and development of 41 new educational and community space projects, and provided additional funding for 3 ongoing projects serving OLMCs, including projects to protect the institutions of Quebec’s English-speaking communities. The investments total $40,072,428.
Strengthening Strategic Investment Capacity	10,000,000	2,500,000	2,500,000	Number of additional strategic projects receiving funding: 5
Civic Community School Support Fund	5,250,000	1,500,000	1,500,000	Number of students who participated in a project thanks to the Fund: 82,000 Number of projects carried out with the support of the Fund: 477 Number of minority French-language schools affected: 654
Teacher Recruitment Strategy for Minority-Language Schools^{Footnote 15}	31,290,000	6,595,000	9,891,051	Number of provinces/territories benefiting from a teacher recruitment or retention initiative in minority French-language schools: 7 provinces/territories benefited from at least one initiative, with activities starting in 2022–2023, while 2 additional Canada-wide projects were also approved in 2022–2023, bringing the total number of projects funded in 2022–2023 to 7. Percentage of initiatives with measurable benefits on the ground: To be confirmed by 2024
Enhanced Support for French-Language Services in the Territories (2017)	60,000,000	12,000,000	10,955,044	Number of bilateral agreements with the territories, with enhancements, for minority-language service delivery: 3
Community Educational Infrastructure ($80 million over 10 years) (2017)	28,000,000	7,892,062	7,892,062	In 2022–2023, the initiative helped implement 7 community educational infrastructure projects in 7 separate OLMCs.
Mobile Application for Learning and Retaining English and French as Second Languages	16,500,000	2,784,492	2,784,492	To ensure the project’s visibility and reach across the country, CBC/Radio-Canada’s Mauril team collaborated with a multitude of interest groups, communities and stakeholders in a number of sectors. The goal is to promote Mauril as an official-language-learning tool in their respective networks. Presentations were given at meetings with various organizations in the network, such as Canadian Heritage, the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada and the Institute for Canadian Citizenship.
Enhancement of the Explore Second-Language Program	21,000,000	4,200,000	4,200,000	Number of agreements signed with the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada for awarding bursaries: 1 contribution agreement in effect for 2020–2023. Annual number of participants in the bursary-funded Explore program: 3,549 participants in the Explore program and 198 participants in the Destination Clic program. Number of participating institutions: 34 institutions were able to deliver the program in 2021–2022.
Enhancement of the Odyssey Official Language Monitor Program	17,500,000	3,500,000	3,500,000	Number of agreements signed with the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada for monitor positions: 1 contribution agreement Number of participants in the Odyssey monitors program: 334 participants (MT and SL) Number of students per year who have the opportunity to improve their language skills through contact with an Odyssey language monitor: Nearly 35,070 students
Bursaries for Post-Secondary Education in French as a Second Language	12,600,000	3,000,000	2,850,000	Number of young people with English as their first official language spoken who received a bursary from this Program to pursue post-secondary studies in French: 850 young people
Teacher Recruitment Strategy for Immersion and French Second-Language^{Footnote 16}	31,290,000	6,595,000	9,189,346	Number of provinces/territories benefiting from a French-immersion or French second-language teacher recruitment or retention initiative: 7 provinces/territories benefited from at least one initiative, with activities starting in 2022–2023, while 6 Canada-wide projects were also approved for 2022–‍2023. Percentage of initiatives with measurable benefits on the ground: To be confirmed by 2024
Additional Support for Young Canada Works in Both Official Languages (2017)^{Footnote 17}	1,200,000	-	-	These additional funds were for 2018–‍2019 only.
Employment and Social Development Canada – Historical Base
Social Partnership Initiative in Official Language Minority Communities	4,000,000	975,775	975,775	The Fédération des aînées et aînés francophones du Canada continued to support various initiatives focusing on employability, leadership and social innovation among young people; positive and active aging through “age-friendly communities”; outreach to caregivers; and the development and implementation of activities, workshops and conferences on various topics aimed at parents. The Quebec Community Groups Network continued to work with the 10 community organizations to directly address the unique challenges and diverse needs of marginalized English-speaking seniors and youth, and to enhance opportunities for inclusion, thereby strengthening the vitality of Quebec’s English-speaking communities.
OLMC Literacy and Essential Skills Initiative^{Footnote 18}	7,500,000	9,083,723	11,108,513	In 2022–2023, the initiative funded 6 projects aimed at ensuring the economic stability of OLMCs through ongoing investments that provide access to skills development in a way that is adapted to the realities of Canadians living in these communities.
Enabling Fund for OLMCs (employability and economic development), including the increase in core funding for organizations ($4.5 million over five years)	73,500,000	14,657,755	14,939,491	This year, the program’s organizations established and maintained more than 2,400 active partnerships, leveraging $3.21 for every dollar received, an increase of around $1 over the previous year. The leveraged funds enabled recipients to implement projects, fill gaps in service and take concerted action to strengthen community capacity in the areas of economic and human-resources development. Overall, 111,491 members of OLMCs took advantage of the services offered by recipients of the program funds to support community economic and human-resources development.
Employment and Social Development Canada – New Funds in Action Plan 2018–2023
Support for Early Childhood Development ‒ Support for the Opening of Daycares and Childcare Services	6,849,682	1,653,029	1,653,029	This year, the funding recipient, Réseau de développement économique et d’employabilité Canada, created 95 new jobs (92 full-time and 3 part-time) for educators and childcare providers. A networking platform for recruiting teaching and early childhood professionals in Francophone minority communities was launched in January 2023. In 3 months (January–March 2023), the following results were achieved: 68 employers registered in the early childhood and education sector; 550 international job seekers registered; 80 Canadian job seekers registered; available job offers: 43 early childhood positions and 20 teaching positions.
Support for Early Childhood Development – Professional Training and Capacity-Building for Early Childhood Educators	13,150,000	2,608,095	2,608,095	In July 2019, ESDC entered into a multi-year funding agreement with the Association des collèges et universités de la francophonie canadienne for the second and final phase of the “Training and Capacity-Building for Early Childhood Educators” project. In collaboration with four intermediary partner organizations, the Association des collèges et universités de la francophonie canadienne supports the implementation of early childhood sector initiatives in Canada’s Acadian and Francophone minority communities. Since 2020, the Association has funded the implementation of 43 new training initiatives, for a total of nearly $10.5 million over three years further to two calls for proposals (the first from November 29, 2019, to January 20, 2020, and the second from September 23 to November 8, 2021). The projects that were selected had the following objectives: develop training programs tailored to the needs of Francophone communities; and recruit and retain early childhood educators in Francophone communities through initial and ongoing training.
Health Canada – Historical Base
Official Languages Health Contribution Program (networks, training and access to health services)	174,300,000	34,860,000	35,212,181	This year, Health Canada continued to support a range of initiatives in all three components: (1) training and human resources integration; (2) networking with health care partners; and (3) innovative projects. Overall, the funded initiatives helped improve the availability of bilingual health service providers across the country, develop and maintain networking among health partners, and support innovative approaches to improve access to health services for OLMCs in the official language of choice.
Health Canada – New Funds in Action Plan 2018–2023
Increase in Core Funding for Organizations	4,400,000	1,100,000	1,100,000	Idem
Enhancement of the Official Languages Health Contribution Program ‒ Training and Retention of Health Human Resources	5,000,000	1,000,000	1,000,000	This year, 5 institutions continued their efforts to recruit and train students in key health fields in remote or underserved regions. Overall, these new institutions recorded 47 new students and 12 graduates, who thereby acquired the knowledge and skills needed to provide services to patients in Francophone minority communities in remote or underserved areas. Given that language is an important factor in obtaining safe, quality health care services, Health Canada’s investments in training new bilingual health care professionals have helped boost the supply of professionals able to provide health care services to OLMC patients, making health care systems more responsive to the needs of this population.
Enhancement of the Official Languages Health Contribution Program – Strengthening the Capacity of English-Language Health Networks in Quebec	3,500,000	700,000	700,000	This year, Health Canada supported a range of initiatives under the networking component, including network coordination, leadership and accountability, development of new strategies to enhance or improve community access to health services, identification of barriers to access and development of strategies and best practices to address these. Overall, the activities carried out by the Community Health and Social Services Network helped provide English-speaking communities in Quebec with improved access to health services in the official language of their choice. For example, these initiatives strengthened the capacity of the English-language health care networks in Quebec and expanded the scope of Community Health and Social Services Network activities to include working with representatives of the province’s health care system to advocate for the needs and priorities of English-speaking community members, and promoting access to health care services in the official language of their choice. Overall, these initiatives significantly facilitated engagement, encouraged community participation and ensured that health services were aligned with the specific needs and priorities of Quebec’s English-speaking communities. What is more, these initiatives proved to be pillars for a more inclusive, responsive and accessible health care system for Quebec’s English-speaking communities.
Enhancement of the Official Languages Health Contribution Program – Innovative Projects	4,000,000	1,000,000	1,000,000	This year, Health Canada contributed to improving access to health services in the official language of choice for OLMCs by funding various initiatives in the provinces and territories that align with health priorities such as mental health, home care, community care and palliative care. Through the Innovative Projects envelope, the program contributes to the continuous improvement of health care systems across Canada so that they can address the specific health needs of OLMCs, in the official language of choice, through the development of new knowledge and the use of new tools and care models.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada – Historical Base
Immigration to Official Language Minority Communities	29,408,190	5,881,638	5,881,638	IRCC is involved in promotional and recruitment initiatives to promote Francophone immigration and contribute to the vitality of Francophone communities outside Quebec. In 2022–2023, IRCC organized 290 promotional events abroad and over 600 outreach activities in Canada. The 18th Destination Canada Mobility Forum drew over 83,000 candidates. IRCC strengthened its engagement by inaugurating the Centre for Innovation in Francophone Immigration in Dieppe in November 2022 and establishing a team dedicated to promoting Francophone immigration to Canada. IRCC also took part in the Metropolis Canada conference in Ottawa in March 2023 and conducted a number of research projects, deepening its knowledge and supporting immigration policies on OLMCs. IRCC exceeded its stakeholder engagement objectives by engaging with partners and the provincial and territorial governments, notably signing Annex B: French-Speaking Immigrants as part of the renewal of the Canada–New Brunswick Immigration Agreement (June 2023). In 2022–2023, the target percentage of Francophone clients accessing at least one settlement service offered by a Francophone service provider was met at the national level (60.5%) and exceeded in New Brunswick (91.7%).
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada – New Funds in Action Plan 2018–2023
Francophone Integration Pathway	36,553,615	9,322,313	8,835,746	IRCC worked with the provinces, the territories and stakeholders to build the capacity of Francophone service providers in the Francophone settlement sector, leading or participating in engagement initiatives. IRCC funded 12 national training, tool-development and information-sharing projects, building the capacity of Francophone minority communities. Using a community-based approach, IRCC continued to support 14 communities as part of the Welcoming Francophone Communities initiative. Successful community projects and events promoting employment and entrepreneurship and raising awareness about the needs of newcomers put newcomers in touch with cultural and industry organizations and fostered a sense of belonging to their host community. IRCC provided funding to 7 Francophone organizations to deliver language training services to Francophone newcomers, exceeding its target by serving 595 clients in 2022–‍2023. In collaboration with the policy team and the regional offices, IRCC developed functional guidance products to support the implementation of the Francophone Integration Pathway and finalized the logic model for the Francophone Immigration Networks.
Cooperation and Accountability^{Footnote 19}	4,185,138	827,485	427,578	IRCC engaged the provinces and territories on the issue of Francophone immigration. On the multilateral front, IRCC leveraged the federal-provincial/territorial Forum of Ministers Responsible for Immigration (FMRI) and its roundtables, focusing on the participation of the federal-provincial/territorial working group on Francophone immigration, which notably served as a platform for consultation with the provinces and territories in preparation for the new Action Plan (Action Plan 2023–2028). On the bilateral front, IRCC continued to involve the provinces and territories in Francophone immigration outside Quebec. In March 2023, Canada and New Brunswick were on track to sign a new bilateral agreement on immigration that includes an annex on French-speaking immigrants. IRCC stepped up collaboration on Francophone immigration, for example by supporting Réseau de développement économique et d’employabilité Canada in organizing a conference for Canadian employers on Francophone immigrant entrepreneurship, organizing the Destination Canada Mobility Forum, promoting the Semaine nationale de l’immigration francophone, and celebrating the International Day of La Francophonie and the Rendez-vous de la Francophonie. Activities, achievements and milestones were highlighted by several ministerial announcements, by promotional campaigns and by communications content.
Department of Justice Canada – Historical Base
Networks, Training and Access to Justice Services, Including Additional Funding for the Access to Justice in Both Official Languages Support Fund (10 million over five years)	50,194,995^{Footnote 20}	10,038,999	10,144,521	This year, 45 projects were funded through the Access to Justice in Both Official Languages Support Fund, as part of Action Plan 2018–2023. In addition, 25 projects supported the delivery of public legal information and awareness activities, 1 project supported training in family justice, 3 projects supported the translation of legal decisions, 3 projects contributed to curriculum development, 4 projects helped develop linguistic tools, and 9 projects provided training to justice professionals.
Contraventions Act Fund^{Footnote 21}	49,611,635	9,922,327	6,613,853	The Department continued to provide funding to provinces and municipalities where the Contraventions Act regime is being implemented so they can take the necessary steps to ensure language rights are respected in the administration and enforcement of federal contraventions. This allowed provinces and municipalities to meet official languages obligations on behalf of the Government of Canada by putting in place concrete measures to ensure that offenders’ language rights were respected. The Department currently provides financial assistance to 5 provinces and 1 municipality where there is no obligation to respect offenders’ language rights under provincial law. No complaints were made with respect to judicial and extrajudicial services availability in the official language of choice. Canadians who received a ticket for a federal contravention had access to communications in the official language of their choice in designated regions and to legal services in the official language of their choice in all courts.
Department of Justice Canada – New Funds in Action Plan 2018–2023
Core Funding for Organizations	3,750,000^{Footnote 22}	1,000,000	930,985	The Department continued to support the financial stability and operational capacity of 12 organizations (11 provincial/territorial and 1 national) through operational/core funding. Discussions are ongoing with the remaining provincial and territorial jurisdictions (Nunavut and P.E.I.) with a view to designating one organization/recipient per province/territory.
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada – Historical Base
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (coordination)^{Footnote 23}	1,600,000	320,000	244,458	The Department organized virtual consultations with OLMCs to support the entrepreneur support strategy and identify their entrepreneurial needs and issues, as well as possible actions. The Department supported the working committee for the Strategy for Entrepreneurship and Economic Development in Official Language Minority Communities. As part of the research component of the Economic Development Initiative, the Department supported several research products to better understand the economic challenges and opportunities of communities, inform decision-making and better respond to their priorities.
Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency	6,200,000	1,230,000	1,230,000	This year, the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, through the Economic Development Initiative, provided financial support for 11 projects. The latter contributed to the implementation of economic development and diversification activities through partnerships, mainly with municipalities, organizations and businesses, cooperatives, and colleges in OLMCs. The projects provided direct support for the tourism and industrial sectors, as well as helping to prepare young people from OLMCs for employment. Thus, thanks to funding for a total of 11 projects funded to the tune of $1,110,000, a number of partnerships were created, and $1,423,870 in funding was leveraged from other partners. In addition, in 2022–2023, 11 organizations were supported directly, 85 businesses were helped indirectly, 2 jobs were created directly, 35 students were able to obtain an internship, and a number of Grade 11 students were made aware of opportunities to pursue post-secondary studies in French, about bilingualism and entrepreneurship.
Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions	10,200,000	2,040,000	2,154,920	Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions supported significant projects by not-for-profit organizations that benefited OLMCs, including: Financial support provided to the Youth Employment Services Foundation enabled the Foundation to deliver a wide range of activities and services to English-speaking entrepreneurs across Quebec. Financial support for the Secretariat to the Cree Nation Abitibi-Témiscamingue Economic Alliance, which promotes lasting ties and socio-economic alliances between the Cree Nation (Eeyou Istchee), Jamésie, Abitibi-Témiscamingue and Nunavik.
Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency	400,000	80,000	80,000	The Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency supported 6 OLMC-related projects in the North. Funded activities included renovating infrastructure for Francophone communities, improving access to official language use on websites and in other documents, and attracting Francophone visitors to the territories to fill job vacancies.
Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario	4,450,000	919,576	919,576	In 2022–2023, 6 projects were approved, for a total investment of $1,276,126, leveraging $492,220 in additional resources from other sources. The projects are of variable duration and will be completed between 2022–2023 and 2024–2025. They are being carried out in the communities of New Liskeard, Sudbury, Sturgeon Falls, Haileybury and Noëlville. The final results for the 3 projects completed in 2022–2023 are as follows: 2.43 full-time jobs created 8 businesses created or maintained 5 studies or plans developed 30 events carried out
Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario	4,450,000	890,000	869,210	In 2022–2023, the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario continued to support 2 ongoing projects under the Economic Development Initiative, helping businesses and community organizations in Southern Ontario. This involved developing networking activities and research reports and accessing expertise and capital (in the form of non-refundable contributions) to support the growth of Francophone businesses and entrepreneurs, resulting in job creation. By the end of the reporting period, support had been provided to a total of 37 businesses and organizations (including those from the following equity-deserving groups: 3 run by women, 2 run by newcomers to Canada and 2 run by members of racialized communities), creating or maintaining over 65 full-time jobs while leveraging $814,423 from other sources to cover the total project costs. A total of 1,871 people received training or mentoring through 272 networking and training activities.
Pacific Economic Development Canada and Prairies Economic Development Canada	3,200,000	640,000	640,000	Pacific Economic Development Canada and Prairies Economic Development Canada continued to fund a three-year pan-West pilot project with the Francophone Economic Development Organizations (FEDOs). This project, worth $1.8M over three years, provides the FEDOs with the ability to identify and support community economic development projects that have direct and tangible impacts on Francophone communities, including projects that will help mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 on communities. This pilot initiative brings the funding decisions closer to the community, thereby facilitating community engagement and further developing and strengthening communities in the West. As part of the first call for proposals, in September 2020, the FEDOs approved 17 projects, for total funding of $424,553.44. As part of the second call for proposals, in April 2021, the FEDOs approved 20 projects, for total funding of $548,321.88. An additional $50,000 went to 3 multi-year projects in Year 2. As part of the third call for proposals, in April 2022, the FEDOs approved 12 projects, for total funding of $615,124.68. The projects selected are developing and diversifying the economy in the following areas: trade and investment; tourism; youth; immigration; green economy; community capacity-building with a focus on economic development.
Public Health Agency of Canada – New Funds in Action Plan 2018–2023
Enhanced Early Childhood Health Promotion Programming	10,000,000	2,200,000	2,389,556	Through the program, in 2022–2023 the Community Health and Social Services Network and Société Santé en français enjoyed considerable reach and had a positive impact on OLMCs across Canada. Thanks to their third-party funding model, 59 organizations across Canada helped communities develop comprehensive, culturally and linguistically appropriate programs to improve the health and development of children (0–6 years) living in the communities and their families. Over 16,180 participants in the Healthy Early Years program had access to programming. This represents an increase of 55% over the previous year and of 285% since the program was launched. The results of a participant survey carried out this year point to improvements in knowledge and skills, health and well-being, behaviour and self-confidence. During 2022–2023, program partners successfully adapted their activities to developments in the COVID-19 pandemic and were able to provide responsive mental health services for children, parents and families. Through knowledge transfer and exchange initiatives, the Community Health and Social Services Network and Société Santé en français were able to share best practices and resources, and deliver training and capacity-building activities to their partners. Networks and collaborations were established between program partners, representing over 489 partnerships to support the development and implementation of early childhood community service plans.
Canada Council for the Arts – Historical Base
Market Access Strategy for Artists from Official Language Minority Communities	2,750,000	550,000	550,000	This year, the Canada Council for the Arts received a total of 43 eligible applications for the Market Access Strategy for Official Language Minority Communities Fund. Of these, 20 projects were funded, for a total of 20 separate recipients. The entire budget of $550,000 was allocated to these grants. Overall, the Fund’s grants benefited artists and organizations in 8 OLMCs across Canada. The fund supported a wide variety of activities, including showcases, networking meetings, promotional materials, translations, marketing strategies and performances.
National Research Council Canada (NRC) – Historical Base
Strengthening Language Industries and Technologies^{Footnote 24}	10,000,000	2,000,000	2,301,961	This year, National Research Council Canada carried out several projects to strengthen language technologies, including: designing and implementing machine translation systems for the translators of the Parliament of Canada; creating a massive bilingual corpus of Government of Canada texts, and training machine translation systems and large language models on that corpus; improving machine translation quality measures and benchmarking against other solutions; proposing improvements to human evaluation of machine translation and the metrics used, and co-organizing sessions at the 2022 Workshop on Machine Translation; releasing the free-of-charge, user-friendly software ReadAlong Studio for aligning text with speech in audio books and videos; continuing to develop interactive grammars for Indigenous languages and implementing a new framework called Gramble, which will be used to develop conjugators and facilitate the creation of these interactive grammars; launching a new project to explore the potential applications of text-to-speech technology for Indigenous languages; and broadening the research and collaborations surrounding responsible artificial intelligence and text analysis, resulting in 14 publications at international conferences and workshops.
Public Services and Procurement Canada (Translation Bureau) – Historical Base
Language Portal of Canada	16,000,000	3,200,000	3,162,100	The Language Portal of Canada continued to help Canadians communicate better in the two official languages, promote Canadian language expertise and showcase OLMCs by publishing over 2,500 new content items on its website and social media. The number of page views for the Portal and its writing tools grew to 10.5 million, and the combined total of its social media followers and weekly newsletter subscribers had exceeded 57,000 by March 31, 2023. The Portal hosted 48 presentations and kiosks, as well as numerous communications activities to promote its resources. Partnerships were established or maintained with various organizations. For example, the Portal renewed its partnership with the Rendez-vous de la Francophonie and created content for language skills–testing contests. Lastly, the Portal added the Guidelines for Inclusive Writing to its range of resources to help the federal public service and any other interested organization produce writing that is free of discrimination.
Statistics Canada – New Funds in Action Plan 2018–2023
Additional, Ongoing Support to Statistics Canada’s Language Statistics Section	2,997,270	599,454	604,405	Statistics Canada released: 1 analysis on language used at work by graduates of English-language, French-language or bilingual post-secondary institutions; 1 technical note on choosing the reference population for census statistics on language of work; 3 tables that provide a better estimate of English- and French-language services in the private sector, based on the addition of language questions to the summer 2022 Canadian Survey on Business Conditions; 1 series of 7 regional infographics on the characteristics of official language minority businesses and owners; 1 infographic on the characteristics of official language minority businesses and owners, and another defining official language minority businesses; 1 historical table on population by knowledge of official languages and geography, from 1951 to 2021; and lastly, 3 fact sheets presenting key facts on the French language in Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia in 2021 (the fact sheets for the other provinces and territories will be released in 2023). These products were released in the context of Statistics Canada’s having released the data on languages, language of work and language of instruction from the 2021 Census of Population and having done the field collection for the Survey on the Official Language Minority Population in May 2022. A number of presentations were made to community groups and partners, and a dozen dialogue sessions were organized with OLMC representatives to inform them and obtain their advice on the best ways to present and disseminate the Census data, which, for the first time, included information on children eligible for minority-language education. Statistics Canada also met with the External Advisory Committee on Language Statistics, which provided advice and guidance on the preferred approach for its Census data release plan. Overall, Statistics Canada doubled its target, delivering 41 initiatives: 29 activities (target of 15) and 12 analytical products (target of 7).
Total
Total – Historical Base	2,169,194,820	552,797,641	586,650,191	-
Total – New Funds in Action Plan 2018–2023	484,605,705	148,646,438	137,475,332	-
Total Government Investments in Official Languages	2,653,800,525	701,444,079	724,125,523	-

Table 1 notes

Table 1 note *

The results of the final reports for a given fiscal year are available the following fiscal year. The statistics presented reflect the most recent results available at the time they were submitted for publication.

Return to table 1 note * referrer

Appendix 2: Total Government Investments in Official Languages over the Five Years of Action Plan for Official Languages 2018–2023

Table 2: Summary of Government Investments in Official Languages 2018–2023
Initiatives	Total Allocated 2018–2023 (in dollars)	Actual Spending 2018–2019 (in dollars)	Actual Spending 2019–2020 (in dollars)	Actual Spending 2020–2021 (in dollars)	Actual Spending 2021–2022 (in dollars)	Actual Spending 2022–2023 (in dollars)	Total Actual Spending 2018–2023 (in dollars)
Canadian Heritage – Historical Base
Minority-Language Education (federal-provincial/territorial agreements)	805,100,000	162,836,521	164,912,889	191,018,045	205,150,312	224,311,837	948,229,604
Cooperation with the Non-Governmental Sector (minority-language organizations)	8,750,000	1,750,000	1,750,000	1,639,000	1,547,470	1,750,000	8,436,470
Intergovernmental Cooperation on Minority-Language Services (federal-provincial/territorial agreements)	81,000,000	14,895,500	14,983,500	14,675,000	14,508,500	14,308,500	73,371,000
Cooperation with the Community Sector (minority-language organizations)	159,500,000	32,658,800	32,238,550	33,567,364	32,999,120	34,252,663	165,716,497
Strategic Fund	22,500,000	2,479,937	3,844,071	740,199	2,972,762	2,642,015	12,678,984
Community Cultural Action Fund	10,000,000	1,939,682	2,000,000	1,887,500	1,332,085	2,000,000	9,159,267
Support for Second-Language Learning (federal-provincial/territorial agreements)	448,000,000	88,113,435	87,100,815	89,322,708	92,723,747	176,210,777	533,471,482
Collaboration with the Non-Governmental Sector (second-language organizations)	4,850,000	909,420	1,025,000	1,046,850	971,270	1,834,120	5,786,660
Summer Language Bursary Program (Explore, Destination Clic)	84,500,000	13,932,738	16,923,407	7,119,807	9,691,947	12,146,715	59,814,614
Official Language Monitors (Odyssey)	35,500,000	6,206,585	7,114,398	7,114,398	7,114,398	7,114,398	34,664,177
Promotion of Linguistic Duality (appreciation and rapprochement)	18,500,000	3,499,258	3,361,373	3,578,150	3,654,301	3,650,000	17,743,082
Promotion of Bilingual Services in the Voluntary Sector	1,100,000	253,100	212,606	217,639	212,000	220,921	1,116,266
Support for Interpretation and Translation	2,500,000	416,005	493,549	347,227	470,596	446,728	2,174,105
Young Canada Works in Both Official Languages	18,630,000	3,589,844	5,005,060	7,725,659	6,711,166	4,893,320	27,925,049
Exchanges Canada (official language initiative)	11,250,000	2,250,000	2,040,000	782,500	495,375	1,890,000	7,457,875
Music Showcases for Artists from Official Language Minority Communities	5,750,000	1,150,000	1,150,000	1,150,000	1,150,000	1,150,000	5,750,000
National Translation Program for Book Publishing	4,000,000	800,000	800,000	800,000	800,000	800,000	4,000,000
Canadian Heritage – New Funds in Action Plan 2018–2023
Increase in Core Funding for Organizations	57,370,000	6,547,269	11,324,610	11,619,864	13,475,000	14,403,257	57,370,000
Enhancement of the Community Cultural Action Fund	11,160,000	127,018	2,519,518	2,110,592	3,045,787	2,615,350	10,418,265
Fund for the English-Speaking Communities of Quebec	5,280,000	-	949,682	1,636,401	1,134,886	1,278,400	4,999,369
Strengthening Community Media and Radio	14,530,000	1,895,283	4,422,069	3,697,009	1,891,131	2,594,508	14,500,000
Support for Community Spaces – Infrastructure	67,250,000	12,113,238	9,926,953	21,326,752	20,605,267	40,072,428	104,044,638
Strengthening Strategic Investment Capacity	10,000,000	1,508,303	2,000,000	2,000,000	2,000,000	2,500,000	10,008,303
Civic Community School Support Fund	5,250,000	-	1,024,660	1,007,560	1,417,780	1,500,000	4,950,000
Teacher Recruitment Strategy in Minority-Language Schools	31,290,000	-	2,214,104	10,091,538	9,192,232	9,891,051	31,388,925
Enhanced Support for French-Language Services in the Territories (2017)	60,000,000	9,341,447	10,129,790	10,129,790	10,493,044	10,955,044	51,049,115
Support for Educational and Community Infrastructure ($80 million over 10 years) (2017)	28,000,000	3,892,062	2,165,687	3,892,062	7,892,062	7,892,062	25,733,935
Mobile Application for Learning and Retaining English and French as Second Languages	16,500,000	674,176	6,000,000	2,983,131	2,784,492	2,784,492	15,226,291
Enhancement of the Explore Second-Language Program	21,000,000	3,915,000	4,200,000	0	2,993,722	4,200,000	15,308,722
Enhancement of the Odyssey Official Language Monitor Program	17,500,000	1,521,722	3,500,000	3,500,000	4,706,278	3,500,000	16,728,000
Bursaries for Post-Secondary Education in French as a Second Language	12,600,000	-	3,000,000	3,000,000	3,000,000	2,850,000	11,850,000
Teacher Recruitment Strategy in Immersion and French Second-Language	31,290,000	-	2,988,411	7,370,248	8,828,211	9,189,346	28,376,216
Additional Support for Young Canada Works in Both Official Languages (2017)^{Footnote 25}	1,200,000	1,200,000	-	-	-	-	1,200,000
Employment and Social Development Canada – Historical Base
Social Partnership Initiative in Official Language Minority Communities	4,000,000	1,686,189	1,149,953	1,488,592	1,471,653	975,775	6,772,162
OLMC Literacy and Essential Skills Initiative	7,500,000	532,781	1,924,358	1,160,515	1,121,994	11,108,513	15,848,161
Enabling Fund for OLMCs (employability and economic development) including the increase in core funding to organizations ($4.5 million over five years)	73,500,000	13,485,901	14,178,768	15,711,623	14,315,065	14,939,491	72,630,848
Employment and Social Development Canada – New Funds in Action Plan 2018–2023
Support for Early Childhood Development ‒ Support for the Opening of Daycares and Daycare Services	6,849,682	1,024,929	1,253,029	1,443,443	1,453,029	1,653,029	6,827,459
Support for Early Childhood Development – Professional Training and Capacity-Building for Early Childhood Educators	13,150,000	20,831	4,077,907	2,608,095	2,510,000	2,608,095	11,824,928
Health Canada – Historical Base
Official Languages Health Contribution Program (networks, training and access to health services)	174,300,000	34,950,463	36,731,529	35,204,951	36,466,182	35,212,181	178,565,306
Health Canada – New Funds in Action Plan 2018–2023
Increase in Core Funding for Organizations	4,400,000	440,000	880,000	880,000	1,100,000	1,100,000	4,400,000
Enhancement of the Official Languages Health Contribution Program ‒ Training and Retention of Health Human Resources	5,000,000	1,000,000	1,000,000	1,000,000	1,000,000	1,000,000	5,000,000
Enhancement of the Official Languages Health Contribution Program – Strengthening the Capacity of English-Language Health Networks in Quebec	3,500,000	700,000	700,000	700,000	700,000	700,000	3,500,000
Enhancement of the Official Languages Health Contribution Program – Innovative Projects	4,000,000	-	1,168,000	1,000,000	1,000,000	1,000,000	4,168,000
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada – Historical Base
Immigration to Official Language Minority Communities	29,408,190	5,881,638	5,881,638	5,881,638	5,881,638	5,881,638	29,408,190
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada – New Funds in Action Plan 2018–2023
Francophone Integration Pathway	36,553,615	4,144,607	4,051,093	8,798,514	8,862,810	8,835,746	36,553,615
Cooperation and Accountability	4,185,138	586,349	569,482	773,299	735,600	427,578	4,185,138
Department of Justice Canada – Historical Base
Networks, Training and Access to Justice Services, Including Additional Funding for the Access to Justice in Both Official Languages Support Fund ($10 million over five years)	50,194,995	7,959,967	9,254,755	9,021,994	9,391,859	10,144,521	45,773,096
Contraventions Act Fund	49,611,635	5,068,907	6,006,983	5,730,555	5,356,676	6,613,853	28,776,974
Department of Justice Canada – New Funds in Action Plan 2018–2023
Core Funding for Organizations	3,750,000	669,016	940,000	940,000	940,000	930,985	4,420,001
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada – Historical Base
Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (coordination)	1,600,000	385,787	277,562	306,942	299,854	244,458	1,514,603
Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency	6,200,000	1,202,375	1,230,000	1,230,000	1,191,517	1,230,000	6,083,892
Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions	10,200,000	2,108,091	2,150,389	2,040,053	2,360,893	2,154,920	10,814,346
Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency	400,000	80,000	80,000	80,000	80,000	80,000	400,000
Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario	4,450,000	890,000	953,000	757,303	860,424	919,576	4,380,303
Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario	4,450,000	906,180	874,000	843,000	879,500	869,210	4,371,890
Pacific Economic Development Canada Prairies Economic Development Canada	3,200,000	1,087,544	630,649	646,243	640,000	640,000	3,644,436
Public Health Agency of Canada – New Funds in Action Plan 2018–2023
Enhanced Early Childhood Health Promotion Programming	10,000,000	124,187	2,293,305	2,589,963	2,362,204	2,389,556	9,759,215
Canada Council for the Arts – Historical Base
Market Access Strategy for Artists from Official Language Minority Communities	2,750,000	550,000	550,000	630,500	552,585	550,000	2,833,085
National Research Council Canada – Historical Base
Strengthening Language Industries and Technologies	10,000,000	2,124,388	2,710,743	2,361,055	1,792,748	2,301,961	11,290,895
Public Services and Procurement Canada (Translation Bureau) – Historical Base
Language Portal of Canada	16,000,000	3,060,320	3,200,000	3,088,600	2,968,176	3,162,100	15,479,196
Statistics Canada – New Funds in Action Plan 2018–2023
Additional, Ongoing Support to Statistics Canada’s Language Statistics Section	2,997,270	601,400	670,131	605,491	661,455	604,405	3,142,882
Total
Total – Historical base	2,169,194,820	419,641,356	432,739,545	448,915,610	468,135,813	586,650,191	2,356,082,515
Total – New funds in Action Plan 2018–‍2023	484,605,705	52,046,837	83,968,431	105,703,752	114,784,990	137,475,332	493,979,342
Total Government Investments in Official Languages	2,653,800,525	471,688,193	516,707,976	554,619,362	582,920,803	724,125,523	2,850,061,857

Appendix 3: 2022–2023 Expenditures of the Official Languages Support Programs by Component

Table 3: Expenditures of Canadian Heritage’s Official Languages Support Programs – Grand Total
Program	Expenditures
Development of Official Language Communities Program	379,534,587
Enhancement of Official Languages Program	222,740,963
Grand Total	602,275,550

Table 4: Expenditures of the Development of Official Language Communities Program by Component
Component	Sub-Component	Expenditures
Community Life	Cooperation with the Community Sector	48,655,920
	Intergovernmental Cooperation on Minority-Language Services^{Footnote 26}	25,263,544
	Fund for the English-Speaking Communities of Quebec	1,278,400
	Strategic Funds^{Footnote 27}	6,289,382
	Community Media Strategic Support Fund	1,500,000
	Community Cultural Action Fund	2,788,313
	Community Cultural Action Fund – Micro-grants	1,827,037
	Community Spaces Fund	9,983,615
	Civic Community School	1,500,000
	Young Canada Works in Both Official Languages / Young Canada Works at Building Careers in English and French	2,446,661
	Young Canada Works – Media Internships	1,094,508
	Subtotal: “Community Life” Component	102,627,380
Minority-Language Education	Intergovernmental Cooperation on Minority-Language Education (Protocol)	167,634,388
	Intergovernmental Cooperation on Minority-Language Education (complementary projects)	56,677,449
	Complementary Support for Language Learning	2,683,444
	Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategy in Minority French-Language Schools	9,891,051
	Support for Educational and Community Infrastructure (Investing in Canada Plan)	30,088,813
	Support for Community Spaces – Infrastructure (Action Plan 2018–2023)	7,892,062
	Cooperation with the Non-Governmental Sector	2,040,000
	Subtotal: “Minority-Language Education” Component	276,907,207
All Components	Total	379,534,587

Table 5: Expenditures of the Enhancement of Official Languages Program by Component
Component	Sub-Component	Expenditures
Promotion of Linguistic Duality	Appreciation and Rapprochement	4,724,423
	Promotion of Bilingual Services	330,921
	Support for Interpretation and Translation	446,728
	Subtotal: “Promotion of Linguistic Duality” Component	5,502,072
Second-Language Learning	Intergovernmental Cooperation on Second-Language Learning (Protocol)	172,845,229
	Intergovernmental Cooperation on Second-Language Learning (complementary projects)	3,365,548
	Complementary Support for Language Learning	24,277,669
	Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategy in French-Immersion and French Second-Language Programs	9,189,346
	Cooperation with the Non-Governmental Sector	2,264,440
	Bursaries for Post-Secondary Education in the Second Language	2,850,000
	Young Canada Works in Both Official Languages / Young Canada Works at Building Careers in English and French	2,446,659
	Subtotal: “Second-Language Learning” Component	217,238,891
All Components	Total	222,740,963

Appendix 4: 2022–2023 Expenditures of the Official Languages Support Programs by Province and Territory

Table 6: Expenditures of the Official Languages Support Programs by Province and Territory
Province or Territory	Development of Official Language Communities Program	Enhancement of Official Languages Program	Total by Province or Territory
Newfoundland and Labrador	3,728,284	5,387,018	9,115,302
Prince Edward Island	5,271,800	2,126,421	7,398,221
Nova Scotia	15,372,516	8,500,363	23,872,879
New Brunswick	38,901,310	9,272,399	48,173,709
Quebec	60,800,314	24,593,795	85,394,109
Ontario	130,739,373	73,602,250	204,341,623
Manitoba	17,088,114	9,658,225	26,746,339
Saskatchewan	14,838,973	7,593,483	22,432,456
Alberta	20,709,783	22,512,018	43,221,801
British Columbia	17,774,371	19,022,231	36,796,602
Northwest Territories	10,413,927	1,911,429	12,325,356
Yukon	10,632,388	1,750,533	12,382,921
Nunavut	9,599,219	679,820	10,279,039
National	16,477,063	2,703,572	19,180,635
Complementary Support for Language Learning: Explore and Destination Clic	833,700	15,513,015	16,346,715
Complementary Support for Language Learning: Odyssey	1,849,744	8,764,654	10,614,398
Cooperation with the Non-Governmental Sector / Education	3,995,688	6,703,078	10,698,766
Young Canada Works	508,020	2,446,659	2,954,679
Total	379,534,587	222,740,963	602,275,550

Table 7: Expenditures of the Development of Official Language Communities Program by Province and Territory
Province or Territory	“Community Life” Component	“Minority-Language Education” Component	Sub-Total by Province or Territory
Newfoundland and Labrador	2,033,441	1,694,843	3,728,284
Prince Edward Island	2,867,523	2,404,277	5,271,800
Nova Scotia	4,657,387	10,715,129	15,372,516
New Brunswick	8,115,527	30,785,783	38,901,310
Quebec	10,472,079	50,328,235	60,800,314
Ontario	13,377,063	117,362,310	130,739,373
Manitoba	6,568,558	10,519,556	17,088,114
Saskatchewan	4,719,477	10,119,496	14,838,973
Alberta	4,945,353	15,764,430	20,709,783
British Columbia	6,392,110	11,382,261	17,774,371
Northwest Territories	6,766,100	3,647,827	10,413,927
Yukon	9,024,654	1,607,734	10,632,388
Nunavut	5,703,025	3,896,194	9,599,219
National	16,477,063	-	16,477,063
Complementary Support for Language Learning: Explore and Destination Clic	-	833,700	833,700
Complementary Support for Language Learning: Odyssey	-	1,849,744	1,849,744
Cooperation with the Non-Governmental Sector / Education	-	2,040,000	2,040,000
Young Canada Works	508,020	-	508,020
Total	102,627,380	274,951,519	379,534,587

Table 8: Expenditures of the “Community Life” Component of the Development of Official Language Communities Program by Province and Territory
Province or Territory	Support to Organizations	Support to Provincial and Territorial Governments	Sub-Total by Province or Territory
Newfoundland and Labrador	1,683,441	350,000	2,033,441
Prince Edward Island	1,630,023	1,237,500	2,867,523
Nova Scotia	3,356,387	1,301,000	4,657,387
New Brunswick	6,705,527	1,410,000	8,115,527
Quebec	10,472,079	0	10,472,079
Ontario	11,977,063	1,400,000	13,377,063
Manitoba	5,168,558	1,400,000	6,568,558
Saskatchewan	3,959,477	760,000	4,719,477
Alberta	4,295,353	650,000	4,945,353
British Columbia	5,692,110	700,000	6,392,110
Northwest Territories	944,100	5,822,000	6,766,100
Yukon	3,274,654	5,750,000	9,024,654
Nunavut	1,219,981	4,483,044	5,703,025
National	16,477,063	-	16,477,063
Young Canada Works	508,020	-	508,020
Total	77,363,836	25,263,544	102,627,380

Table 9: Expenditures of the Enhancement of Official Languages Program by Province and Territory
Province or Territory	“Promotion of Linguistic Duality” Component	“Second-Language Learning” Component	Sub-Total by Province or Territory
Newfoundland and Labrador	168,514	5,218,504	5,387,018
Prince Edward Island	138,390	1,988,031	2,126,421
Nova Scotia	218,156	8,282,207	8,500,363
New Brunswick	286,086	8,986,313	9,272,399
Quebec	253,097	24,340,698	24,593,795
Ontario	462,279	73,139,971	73,602,250
Manitoba	189,196	9,469,029	9,658,225
Saskatchewan	189,196	7,404,287	7,593,483
Alberta	276,714	22,235,304	22,512,018
British Columbia	532,624	18,489,607	19,022,231
Northwest Territories	83,648	1,827,781	1,911,429
Yukon	600	1,749,933	1,750,533
Nunavut	0	679,820	679,820
National	2,703,572	0	2,703,572
Complementary Support for Language Learning: Explore and Destination Clic	15,513,015	-	15,513,015
Complementary Support for Language Learning: Odyssey	8,764,654	-	8,764,654
Cooperation with the Non-Governmental Sector / Education	-	6,703,078	6,703,078
Young Canada Works	-	2,446,659	2,446,659
Total	29,779,741	191,350,084	222,740,963

Appendix 5: 2022–2023 Education Expenditures

Table 10: Breakdown of Education Expenditures ‒ Support to Provincial and Territorial Governments
	Minority-Language Education	Second-Language Learning	Total
Bilateral Agreements	167,634,388	172,845,229	340,479,617
Complementary Funds	56,677,449	3,365,548	60,042,997
Infrastructure	37,980,875	-	37,980,875
Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategy	7,623,345	7,578,208	15,201,553
Total	269,916,057	183,788,985	453,705,042

Table 11: Breakdown of Education Expenditures ‒ Support to Organizations
	Minority-Language Education	Second-Language Learning	Total
Cooperation with the Non-Governmental Sector	2,040,000	2,264,440	4,304,440
Second-Language Post-Secondary Scholarships	-	2,850,000	2,850,000
Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategy	2,267,706	1,611,138	3,878,844
Young Canada Works	-	2,446,659	2,446,659
Complementary Support for Language Learning (CMEC)	2,683,444	24,277,669	26,961,113
Total	6,991,150	33,449,906	40,441,056

Table 12: Minority-Language Education Expenditures by Province and Territory – Intergovernmental Cooperation
Province or Territory	Bilateral Agreements	Complementary Funds	Infrastructure	Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategy	Total by Province or Territory
Newfoundland and Labrador	1,595,343	0	0	99,500	1,694,843
Prince Edward Island	1,778,339	547,500	31,000	47,438	2,404,277
Nova Scotia	4,483,117	211,065	5,612,305	408,642	10,715,129
New Brunswick	17,912,835	9,188,422	2,676,019	1,008,507	30,785,783
Quebec	50,026,125	0	302,110	0	50,328,235
Ontario	60,130,416	36,678,796	17,024,105	3,216,975	117,050,292
Manitoba	7,284,492	1,695,976	1,436,088	103,000	10,519,556
Saskatchewan	3,300,899	2,900,000	3,569,597	349,000	10,119,496
Alberta	8,312,124	2,563,115	4,522,251	366,940	15,764,430
British Columbia	8,419,177	1,006,575	0	1,956,509	11,382,261
Northwest Territories	1,694,993	1,886,000	0	66,834	3,647,827
Yukon	1,607,734	0	0	0	1,607,734
Nunavut	1,088,794	0	2,807,400	0	3,896,194
Total	167,634,388	56,677,449	37,980,875	7,623,345	269,916,057

Table 13: Second-Language Learning Expenditures by Province and Territory ‒ Intergovernmental Cooperation
Province or Territory	Bilateral Agreements	Complementary Funds	Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategy	Total by Province or Territory
Newfoundland and Labrador	4,998,504	0	220,000	5,218,504
Prince Edward Island	1,750,594	0	237,437	1,988,031
Nova Scotia	8,151,279	0	130,928	8,282,207
New Brunswick	8,145,316	0	840,997	8,986,313
Quebec	23,995,698	0	345,000	24,340,698
Ontario	70,129,953	802,433	2,207,585	73,139,971
Manitoba	9,352,779	0	93,750	9,446,529
Saskatchewan	7,010,088	0	394,199	7,404,287
Alberta	19,123,188	2,563,115	549,001	22,235,304
British Columbia	15,978,362	0	2,511,245	18,489,607
Northwest Territories	1,779,715	0	48,066	1,827,781
Yukon	1,749,933	0	0	1,749,933
Nunavut	679,820	0	0	679,820
Total	172,845,229	3,365,548	7,578,208	183,788,985

Appendix 6: School Enrolment in 2021–2022^{Footnote 28}

Table 14: Enrolment in Second-Language Instruction Programs in Majority System Schools – Total for Canada as a Whole

Type of Second-Language Instruction Program	Year	Total Enrolment in Majority System Schools	Second Language (including immersion)		French Immersion
Type of Second-Language Instruction Program	Year	Total Enrolment in Majority System Schools	Enrolment	Percentage (of total population)	Enrolment	Percentage (of total population)
Total – Students in majority systems taking French as a second language or English as a second-language	1983–1984^{Table 14 note 1}	4,401,997	2,199,253	50%	117,454	2.7%
	2021–2022	4,694,517	2,521,158	53.7%	477,480	10.2%
Total – English-speaking students in majority systems learning French as a second language (Canada outside Quebec)	1983–1984^{Table 14 note 1}	3,464,272	1,607,335	46.4%	117,454	3.4%
	2021–2022	3,796,110	1,726,230	45.5%	477,480	12.6%
Total – Students in the French-language education system learning English as a second language in Quebec	1983–1984^{Table 14 note 1}	937,725	591,918	63.1%	0	0
	2021–2022	898,407	794,928	88.5%	0	0

Table 14 notes

Table 14 note 1

The second language totals for 1983–1984 do not include Yukon, Northwest Territories or Nunavut, for which no data were available. For each of these jurisdictions, the most recent year for which data are available is used to establish the base year.

Return to table 14 first note 1 referrer

Table 15: Enrolment in Second-Language Instruction Programs in Majority Education System Schools by Province or Territory
Province or Territory	Year	Total Enrolment in Majority System Schools	Second Language (including immersion)		French Immersion
Province or Territory	Year	Total Enrolment in Majority System Schools	Enrolment	Percentage (of total population)	Enrolment	Percentage (of total population)
Newfoundland and Labrador	1983–1984	147,500	75,056	50.9%	970	0.7%
Newfoundland and Labrador	2021–2022	63,171	36,951	58.5%	10,473	16.6%
Prince Edward Island	1983–1984	24,964	15,911	63.7%	1,833	7.3%
Prince Edward Island	2021–2022	19,899	12,072	60.7%	5,310	26.7%
Nova Scotia	1983–1984	172,770	95,201	55.1%	894	0.5%
Nova Scotia	2021–2022	118,335	61,248	51.8%	15,750	13.3%
New Brunswick	1983–1984	98,284	70,289	71.5%	11,009	11.2%
New Brunswick	2021–2022	69,975	47,838	68.4%	24,804	35.4%
Quebec	1983–1984	937,725	591,918	63.1%	0	0
Quebec	2021–2022	898,407	794,928	88.5%	0	0
Ontario	1983–1984	1,682,302	909,290	54.1%	65,310	3.9%
Ontario	2021–2022	1,916,556	1,029,480	53.7%	278,535	14.5%
Manitoba	1983–1984	194,182	91,058	46.9%	9,090	4.7%
Manitoba	2021–2022	175,989	78,009	44.3%	27,351	15.5%
Saskatchewan	1983–1984	200,362	52,324	26.1%	4,018	2%
Saskatchewan	2021–2022	180,726	41,850	23.2%	16,641	9.2%
Alberta	1983–1984	447,759	120,868	27%	14,523	3.2%
Alberta	2021–2022	666,798	174,822	26.2%	43,437	6.5%
British Columbia	1983–1984	496,149	177,338	35.7%	9,807	2%
British Columbia	2021–2022	560,139	238,731	42.6%	53,241	9.5%
Yukon	1984–1985	4,667	2,221	47.6%	186	4%
Yukon	2021–2022	5,469	2,331	42.6%	906	16.6%
Northwest Territories	1990–1991	14,016	4,360	31.1%	404	2.9%
Northwest Territories	2021–2022	8,259	2,898	35.1%	1,032	12.5%
Nunavut	2002–2003	8,861	0	N/A	0	N/A
Nunavut	2021–2022	10,794	0	N/A	0	0

Table 16: Enrolment in Minority-Language Education Programs – All of Canada

Scope	Year	Total School Enrolment	Enrolment in Minority-Language School System	Classes	Minority System Share of Total School Enrolment
Total – Canada	1983–1984^{Table 16 note 1}	4,682,999	281,002	-	6%
Total – Canada	2021–2022	4,951,836	257,319	-	5.2%
Total – Minority French-Language Schools	1983–1984^{Table 16 note 1}	3,634,315	152,594	-	4.2%
Total – Minority French-Language Schools	2021–2022	3,969,096	172,986	-	4.4%

Table 16 notes

Table 16 note 1

The minority-language figures for 1983–1984 exclude the three territories—Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut—which had no minority-language schools in 1983–1984. For each of these jurisdictions, the most recent year for which data are available is used to establish the base year.

Return to table 16 first note 1 referrer

Table 17: Enrolment in Minority-Language Education Programs by Province or Territory
Province or Territory	Year	Total School Enrolment	Enrolment in Minority-Language School System	Classes	Minority Language Share of Total School Enrolment
Newfoundland and Labrador	1983–1984	147,603	103	Kindergarten to 12	0.1%
Newfoundland and Labrador	2021–2022	63,537	366	Kindergarten to 12	0.6%
Prince Edward Island	1983–1984	25,480	516	1 to 12	2%
Prince Edward Island	2021–2022	21,060	1,161	Kindergarten to 12	5.5%
Nova Scotia	1983–1984	177,240	4,470	Kindergarten to 12	2.5%
Nova Scotia	2021–2022	124,830	6,495	Kindergarten to 12	5.2%
New Brunswick	1983–1984	146,045	47,761	Kindergarten to 12	32.7%
New Brunswick	2021–2022	99,243	29,268	Kindergarten to 12	29.5%
Quebec	1983–1984	1,066,133	128,408	Kindergarten to 11	12%
Quebec	2021–2022	982,740	84,333	Kindergarten to 11	8.6%
Ontario	1983–1984	1,773,478	91,176	Kindergarten to 12	5.1%
Ontario	2021–2022	2,028,513	111,957	Kindergarten to 12	5.5%
Manitoba	1983–1984	199,743	5,561	Kindergarten to 12	2.8%
Manitoba	2021–2022	181,917	5,928	Kindergarten to 12	3.3%
Saskatchewan	1983–1984	201,130	768	Kindergarten to 12	0.4%
Saskatchewan	2021–2022	182,727	2,001	Kindergarten to 12	1.1%
Alberta	1983–1984	448,835	1,076	Kindergarten to 12	0.2%
Alberta	2021–2022	675,504	8,706	Kindergarten to 12	1.3%
British Columbia	1983–1984	497,312	1,163	Kindergarten to 12	0.1%
British Columbia	2021–2022	566,559	6,420	Kindergarten to 12	1.1%
Yukon	1984–1985	4,697	30	Kindergarten to 8	0.6%
Yukon	2021–2022	5,829	360	Kindergarten to 12	6.2%
Northwest Territories	1990–1991	14,079	63	Kindergarten to 11	0.4%
Northwest Territories	2021–2022	8,478	219	Kindergarten to 12	2.6%
Nunavut	2002–2003	8,901	40	Kindergarten to 12	0.4%
Nunavut	2021–2022	10,899	105	Kindergarten to 12	1.0%

© His Majesty the King in Right of Canada as represented by the Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages, 2024
Catalogue No.: CH10-2E-PDF
ISSN: 2562-704X

Footnotes

Footnote 1

That minister’s official languages responsibilities have been transferred to the Minister responsible for Official Languages further to an order of the Governor in Council (Order-in Council No. 2023-0756).

Return to footnote 1 referrer

Footnote 2

The federal partners are listed in appendices 1 and 2 of this document.

Return to footnote 2 referrer

Footnote 3

The upward variance is mainly due to the additional support for the provincial/territorial governments in the 2021 federal budget—$121 million over three years, starting in 2021–2022—for the delivery of quality post-secondary education in the minority language in Canada.

Return to footnote 3 referrer

Footnote 4

The program funded 4 programming and 7 projects (including 2 programming renewals and 5 projects starting in 2022–2023).

Return to footnote 4 referrer

Footnote 5

The variance is due to the cancellation of the Jeux de la Francophonie and reduced demand on the Fund stemming from workforce issues and reduced capacity of organizations.

Return to footnote 5 referrer

Footnote 6

On the one hand, the upward variance is mainly explained by the additional support provided to provincial and territorial governments to enhance French immersion and French second-language programs in schools and post-secondary institutions, and to help provinces and territories meet the strong demand from students and parents for French immersion and French second-language spaces in Canada through the new funding of $165 million over three years, starting in 2021-2022, provided in Budget 2021.

On the other hand, British Columbia and Nunavut had requested transfers of funds from 2021-2022 to 2022-2023, which also contributed to an increase in actual spending.

Return to footnote 6 referrer

Footnote 7

In order to properly target the needs of the communities, consultations were held with organizations involved in second-language learning for children aged 2 to 6. This resulted in a certain delay in the implementation of the initiative, and had repercussions on the ability to spend the sums that were allocated under the project for the year 2022-2023.

Return to footnote 7 referrer

Footnote 8

The downward variance can be attributed to the fact that the program is gradually resuming its activities following the impacts of the pandemic on the delivery of its initiatives. The ongoing health restrictions due to the pandemic once again affected delivery of the Explore and Destination Clic programs in terms of in-person participation. In addition, the participation rate for the virtual programs was around 30%.

Return to footnote 8 referrer

Footnote 9

The actual amount spent exceeds planned spending. The excess amount was covered by the Appreciation and Rapprochement subcomponent (another sub-component of Promotion of Linguistic Duality) to enable the program to fund more projects.

Return to footnote 9 referrer

Footnote 10

The number of eligible requests fell short of the total budget allocation.

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Footnote 11

As part of the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy, additional funding was allocated to the program for the 2022–‍2023 fiscal year to support the creation of approximately 160 additional youth jobs across Canada. The additional funding contributed to the creation of jobs and youth internships for young people facing barriers, such as those from rural or remote communities, Indigenous people, newcomers and youth from OLMCs.

Return to footnote 11 referrer

Footnote 12

When Action Plan 2018–2023 was launched, the program planned to allocate $2.25 million per year to the initiative. Due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were slightly fewer activities in 2022–2023 than before the pandemic; and the contribution agreement with the recipient, Experiences Canada, and the amount earmarked for the initiative in 2022–2023 were therefore revised downward to $1.89 million.

Return to footnote 12 referrer

Footnote 13

The variance can be explained by the reduced demand on the project envelope stemming from workforce issues and reduced capacity of organizations in the final stages of the pandemic.

Return to footnote 13 referrer

Footnote 14

The resumption of construction projects was slower than anticipated following the pandemic, hampered by labour shortages in the construction industry, supply chain breakdowns in certain key sectors and a general rise in construction costs. This has led to delays in project implementation, or to construction work being brought to a complete standstill in order to find solutions to cost overruns. The surplus of $14,727,572 in 2022–2023 is covered by a three-year reprofile request, from 2023–2024 to 2025–2026, to offset ever-increasing construction costs and meet growing demand on the Community Spaces Fund.

Return to footnote 14 referrer

Footnote 15

The upward variance is mainly due to the reprofiling of unspent funds from fiscal year 2021–2022 ($3,010,571) to fiscal year 2022–2023, in addition to a portion of the new funds announced in Budget 2021.

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Footnote 16

Return to footnote 16 referrer

Footnote 17

All of these additional funds were disbursed in 2018–2019.

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Footnote 18

The variance is due to the new Restigouche project Skills for Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises to Succeed in Rural Canada, which was approved later in the 2022–2023 fiscal year and therefore excluded from the original planned spending.

Return to footnote 18 referrer

Footnote 19

The fact that actual spending in 2022–2023 was $399,907 (48%) less than planned was due to an inability to fill positions during the year on account of staffing delays, and reduced spending on training and travel.

Return to footnote 19 referrer

Footnote 20

An amount of $750,000 over three years (2019–2020 to 2021–2022) was reallocated from the Access to Justice in Both Official Languages Support Fund to core funding for organizations to address recipient needs that exceeded the value of the original allocation. The revised total allocations bring the core funding component for organizations to $4,500,000 over five years.

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Footnote 21

The variance between actual spending of $6.6 million and planned spending of $9.9 million is explained by the fact that, in 2022–2023, some provinces and territories had not yet agreed to implement the Contraventions Act regime and therefore received no funding. The negotiations and progress depend largely on the priorities, and therefore capacity, of the provinces and territories.

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Footnote 22

The variance of $69,015 is explained by two factors: (1) $60,000 was set aside for Nunavut and PEI, two jurisdictions for which Operational/Core funding agreements have yet to be reached; (2) $9,015 was de-commited due to underspending by one of the core funding recipients.

The variance between planned and actual spending of core funding was either redirected to other Support Fund projects, other programs available to OLMCs or returned to the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

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Footnote 23

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting public health restrictions, the semi-annual national consultations with OLMCs in 2020 were virtual and did not incur any costs associated with meeting coordination, such as travel, accommodation, equipment and room rental. In response to positive feedback from stakeholders, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada organized virtual consultations once again in 2022. In addition, in 2022–2023, OLMC organizations submitted low-cost research projects; for example, three out of ten projects were under $25,000.

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Footnote 24

In 2022–2023, National Research Council Canada made an in-kind investment of $301,961 worth of digital technologies labour resources for this initiative.

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Footnote 25