This survey was conducted as part of the provincial election campaign of 501 Francophones in Ontario. In addition to answering questions about political parties and their leaders, respondents also talked about topics related to Francophonie.

When asked what they think of the statement French is in decline in Ontario, 61.4% of respondents indicated that they totally or somewhat agreed. This perception seems to be strongest among the youngest: almost 70% of the 18 to 34-year-olds surveyed state that they fundamentally agree.

On the other hand, respondents aged 55 and over are the most likely (82.6%) to agree with the following statement: It is important to protect the survival of the French language in Ontario. Across all categories, this statement received an overall agreement of 79%.

Nearly three-quarters of survey respondents also believe Ontario should be a bilingual province.

At the question How important is it for the Prime Minister of Ontario to be able to speak French?, 41.2% of the Franco-Ontarians surveyed consider it very important and 37.3% quite important.

Keep in mind that none of the leaders of the four main parties are currently fluent in the language.

That’s about the same for almost all questions, we’re always about two-thirds or three-quarters, depending on the wordingnotes Sébastien Dallaire, senior vice president at Ipsos Canada.

” There is a strong majority of Franco-Ontarians who would like to see changes, who want us to do more, but we cannot speak of a consensus. It’s not unanimous. »

Priority Francophone issues

Among a range of issues related to the status of French in Ontario, respondents were asked to identify the one they felt would be a priority for the next government.

Access to healthcare in French is the top priority for 20.4% of those surveyed, without however being significantly different from the other issues mentioned. Access to French higher education is not far behind (17.8%), roughly on par with 15%, the economic development of francophone companies and the lack of francophone teachers.

When it comes to healthcare, nearly 77% of respondents agree with the following statement: The Ontario government should provide health services in French of the same quality as English in all regions of Ontario. Here, too, Sébastien Dallaire is surprised that there is no consensus.

We could have expected a stronger result. There may be some resignation or acceptance that it is not always possible to get the same services in French. There may be a minority who say: It’s OK […] Given the minority situation in the province for francophones, I don’t expect that we can achieve thishe interprets.

On another issue, the Franco-Ontarians surveyed seem broadly in favor of reinstating an independent commissioner for French language services.

The Liberal Party, the NDP and the Greens have promised to return full autonomy to the Commissioner for French Language Services if elected. This position now reports to the Office of the Ombudsman.

Francophone immigration

Only 9.3% of respondents see Francophone immigration as a priority for the next government.

At the question To what extent do you agree or disagree that the provincial government is doing enough to integrate French-speaking newcomers by referring them to French-language resources?, Respondents are split: 49.4% say they agree.

Sébastien Dallaire notes age differences here. Younger people are significantly happier than older people […] and unfortunately there is no clear evidence as to why the difference is so pronounced.

We know that young people are generally more pro-immigration from one survey to the next, for higher immigration thresholds. But in this case we are really talking about integrating Francophone immigrants by offering them services, so why are young Franco-Ontarians more optimistic?

In addition, the respondents were asked to select two preferred measures for the integration of francophone newcomers.

Improving the provision of French-language services in the regions with the most minorities to attract and retain immigrants and to recognize diplomas obtained abroad rank first, with 50.3% and 47% respectively.

Regional differences

The survey divides respondents into two geographic categories: those from eastern Ontario and those from the rest of the province. Sébastien Dallaire notes that this leads to some regional differences in the answers.

We see on certain issues that perhaps Eastern Ontario residents are a bit more discerning about the future of French, the place that French should be.

It’s the largest concentration of Franco-Ontarians there, so the importance of accessing services in French when there are many Francophones is perhaps a right that’s respected a little more than self-evidently that we want to preserve, hey explains. And the fact that we’re also closer to Quebec: we have a very different point of comparison.