Ottawa, February 23, 2021 — Canadian Parents for French is releasing the French as a Second Language Enrolment statistics for the 2018-2019 school year. This document, published by CPF every year, provides a quick analysis of national trends of enrolment in FSL programs, the data is presented by province/territory and by type of FSL program.

It is important to note, these statistics reflect the period pre-pandemic – September 2018 to June 2019 – as it compiles data collected directly from ministries of education from across the country which report after the end of the academic year.

These are some of the key findings of the 2018-2019 edition:

  • Overall student enrolment in FSL programs remains stagnant across Canada. Whereas, consistent growth is being shown in Ontario, Manitoba, Northwest Territories and New Brunswick.
  • Compared to the previous year, French immersion continues to steadily grow in most provinces and territories while enrolment in core French continues to diminish across the country.

“The numbers are consistent with the trends we have been seeing in the last few years. They are a reminder that there is still a lot of work to do to ensure every student in Canada has the opportunity to learn French. We are not yet seeing results of some efforts to address attrition in core French; and knowing the pandemic will influence the statistics for the current year, it may prove difficult to assess any such positive measures taken.

We know the pandemic has really disrupted FSL learning and access. CPF is now monitoring the investments being made into remote learning support and resources, as well as projects underway addressing the usual challenges like teacher recruitment and retention,” said Nicole Thibault, Executive Director, CPF National.

CPF publishes the French as a Second Language Enrolment Statistics annually but does not publish same-year statistics as not all ministries are able to finalize data in time for publication. To download the 2018-2019 edition, please visit the CPF National Website.

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Canadian Parents for French is a nationwide, research-informed, volunteer organization that represents 25,000 members across Canada and champions the opportunity to learn and use French for all those who call Canada home.

For more information, please contact:

Marcos Salaiza, National Coordinator, Communications and Government Relations

Tel: 613.235.1481 x222 Email: msalaiza@cpf.ca