Five recommendations from the franco-ontarian community for the federal budget 

Ottawa, May 27, 2026 – As part of the federal government’s pre-budget consultations, the Assemblée de la francophonie de l’Ontario (AFO) submitted the Franco-Ontarian community’s recommendations to Canada’s Minister of Finance, the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne.

It presents five priority recommendations aimed at better mobilizing the Francophone and bilingual workforce as a driver of Canada’s socio-economic development; strengthening the cultural and community capacities of French Ontario as a lever for institutional completeness, vitality, and development; ensuring meaningful access to French-language health services for Ontario’s Francophones; and structuring the Francophone early childhood sector to ensure equitable access to French-language child care services.

“Ontario’s Francophonie represents a strategic driver of Canada’s economic, social and cultural development. It is essential that federal investments fully reflect the realities, needs and potential of our community,” said Fabien Hébert, President of the AFO.

The following recommendations have been submitted to the federal government:

– That the Government of Canada implement an integrated and structured strategy to mobilize the Francophone and bilingual workforce in order to support Canada’s economic growth, address labour market needs, and strengthen the vitality of Francophone communities, including through the creation of a distinct economic stream for Francophone immigration.

– That the Government of Canada recognize the strategic role of Francophone minority cultural institutions in supporting community vitality, institutional completeness, and economic development, and establish sustainable, targeted, and transformative investments to strengthen their capacities in creation, dissemination, discoverability, cultural mediation, heritage transmission, and outreach, notably through relevant federal mechanisms, including Canadian Heritage and the Canada Council for the Arts.

– That the Government of Canada provide structured, predictable, and tailored funding to support the construction, renovation, modernization, and long-term sustainability of Francophone community infrastructure in minority settings, particularly in Ontario, in order to strengthen French-language living spaces, access to essential services, inclusion, community belonging, and linguistic transmission.

– That the Government of Canada integrate, into the renewal of bilateral health agreements, clear and measurable requirements, along with accountability mechanisms, for the systematic collection of information on linguistic identity and on the official language in which individuals are most comfortable receiving health services, including through health cards and medical records, in order to support improved planning of French-language health services across all provinces and territories.

– That the Government of Canada require, through the Canada Health Transfer (CHT), the collection and transmission to the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) of relevant, comparable, and harmonized linguistic variables, including linguistic identity and the official language in which individuals are most comfortable receiving health services, in order to measure the actual use of French-language health services by official language minority communities and improve accountability regarding public health investments.

– That the Government of Canada, through the renewal of the Canada–Ontario early childhood agreements, integrate binding linguistic clauses and dedicated targets for the development of French-language child care spaces, implement mandatory linguistic accountability measures and reliable, comparable data collection, and support the deployment of a Francophone workforce strategy, essential levers for the sustainable development of French-language child care services.

The AFO remains available to continue collaborating with the Government of Canada, in the best interests of the country and of Franco-Ontarians.

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CONTACT INFORMATION:
Grace Selenga
Corporate Communications Manager
(613) 878-3026
gselenga@monassemblee.ca