TORONTO — As part of the Ontario government’s plan to train more French teachers, the province is funding an additional 110 French-language teacher education spaces for the 2023-24 academic year. The new spaces at the University of Ottawa and the Toronto-based Université de l’Ontario français will help address teacher shortages for schools in Toronto and Eastern-Ontario.
“We are taking meaningful action to address the shortage of French-language teachers in Ontario,” said Jill Dunlop, Minister of Colleges and Universities. “By adding more French-language teacher education spaces, we’re providing students with more choice and increased access to high-quality French-language postsecondary education, helping prepare them to succeed in meaningful and rewarding careers.”
“Our government is ensuring a strong and promising future for our Francophonie by increasing Ontario’s capacity to train new French-language teachers,” said Caroline Mulroney, Minister of Francophone Affairs. “Education is a vital priority for every francophone family in the province. We share their determination to meet the needs of their children and to support them directly within their communities. We look forward to soon welcoming all these new graduating teachers to schools in Toronto and Eastern Ontario!”
“Our government is taking action to tackle a decade long national French teacher shortage by investing in our plan to further recruit and retain highly-qualified French-language educators in Ontario,” said Stephen Lecce, Minister of Education. “Together by adding an additional 110 teacher education spaces in our postsecondary schools and reducing certification timelines by 50 per cent for internally trained educators, we are helping to secure new educators and create new pathways to get more qualified teachers supporting French-language education across Ontario.”
This investment enhances Ontario’s four-year French Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategy launched in June 2021. The multi-pronged strategy will help recruit, train and retain French-language and French as a Second Language teachers in both the French-language and English-language school systems.
This initiative is part of the Canada-Ontario Agreement on Minority-Language Education and Second Official Language Instruction 2020-21 to 2022-23 and the Canada–Ontario Agreement on the Establishment of the Université de l’Ontario Français 2019–20 to 2026–27. Funding in these agreements allows for federal and provincial supports to enhance and establish French-language programs.
Quick Facts
- Ontario and Canada are funding an additional 40 French-language teacher education spaces at the Université de l’Ontario français and 70 at the University of Ottawa for the 2023-24 academic year.
- The additional teacher education spaces at the l’Université de l’Ontario français will be supported by funding provided under the Canada–Ontario Agreement on the Establishment of the Université de l’Ontario Français 2019–20 to 2026–27.
- Since 2021, Ontario has added 780 additional French- and English-language teacher education spaces.
- Ontario is investing $12.5 million over four years in the French Teacher Recruitment and Retention Strategy.
- Ontario provided $73 million in 2022-23 to support more than 32,000 postsecondary students enrolled in French-language and bilingual programs in the province.
Quotes
“The positive response from the minister for our need is a vote of confidence from the government and allows Université de l’Ontario français to partake in the solution in light of teaching shortages and the training of future teachers in the province. Our bachelor’s in education confronts the reality teachers face in French-language minority education. We are thrilled to see the enthusiasm toward our new bachelor’s in education.”
– Pierre Ouellette
president and vice-chancellor, l’Université de l’Ontario français
“We are proud to work with the Ontario government to advance French-language education across the province. As the University of Ottawa trains 80% of the province’s Francophone teachers, this partnership will help support the vitality and development of the greater Franco-Ontarian community.”
– Jacques Frémont
President and Vice-Chancellor, University of Ottawa
“This substantial funding to train more French teachers with the Ontario government comes right in time. Through the Action Plan for Official Languages, we are investing $15.2 million over five years to strengthen teacher recruitment and retention for minority French-language schools and French second-language programs. With this funding, we are not only investing in the future of our students but we are also strengthening our communities. It will benefit and empower our youth and enable them to thrive in a bilingual world and open doors to countless opportunities.”
– The Honourable Randy Boissonnault
Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages
SOURCE Province of Ontario
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