This text is part of the special Francophonie booklet

Organize the first Québec Canadian Francophonie Day: this is the mandate given by the Quebec government to the Center de la Francophonie des Amériques. On March 22nd, all francophone communities in the country will be honored to celebrate their significant contribution to the French language.

“This reflects the government’s commitment to reaffirm its desire to unite us in a common project to promote French in Canada,” said Sylvain Lavoie, President and CEO of the Center de la francophonie des Amériques.

Its aim is to make known the reality and the added value that Canadian Francophonie brings to the practice of the language from East to West. A reality that is all the more important in minority communities like New Brunswick, where Sylvain Lavoie is from.

A variable reality

An initiative all the more important as it takes place in the context of the decline of the French language that we are witnessing in Quebec today. “Speaking French is a choice we make and renew every day,” says Sylvain Lavoie. The 2.7 million Canadian Francophones living outside of Quebec represent very dynamic communities that work hard to promote French and develop their communities in a context that is not always easy. Some of their ideas, initiatives or suggestions could stimulate our reflections here in Quebec to preserve the vitality of Francophonie,” emphasizes Sylvain Lavoie.

In fact, in certain contexts speaking French in the rest of Canada can be likened to an act of resilience. Which we don’t always measure in Quebec. It is this reality of Canadian francophone communities and their sense of belonging to the French language that this day of March 22 seeks to underline in the context of the Mois de la Francophonie.

In program

It is the faces of two people who took part in the 2022 edition of the Forum of Young Ambassadors of Francophonie America that appear in the image of Canada’s Francophonie Quebec Day: Annie Desjardins, from New Brunswick, and David Kandula, from Alberta but resident in Ontario. This forum is a training program in French, aimed at young adults in America aged 18 to 35, aimed in particular at developing their leadership skills and making them aware of the various challenges and problems of the Francophonie America.

In Montreal, the grand finale of the Dictée PGL de la Francophonie will be organized for the occasion by the Paul Gérin-Lajoie Foundation as part of the Francofête celebrations of the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF). The business world is thus challenged to participate in the exercise. The dictation text, written by the New Brunswick author Vanessa Léger, will be read out personally by the minister. Fransaskois artist Alexis Normand will also perform at the ceremony. A way of underlining the importance given to the international language French, spoken on five continents and expressed in a multitude of fields of activity, both in the world of culture and in the economy.

Jean-François Roberge, Minister for the French Language and Minister responsible for Canadian Relations and Canadian Francophonie, will submit a motion to the National Assembly on March 22 to mark Quebec Canadian Francophonie Day.

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