Ottawa, December 1st, 2022 — Canadian Parents for French is releasing the French as a Second Language Enrolment Statistics for the 2020-2021 school year. This yearly publication provides a quick analysis of national trends of enrolment in FSL programs by presenting the data by province and territory and by type of program.

This edition is the first one to provide an overview of the impact that the pandemic-related school closures had on FSL programs. The results, while not completely discouraging, do show stagnant numbers across the country and a slight drop in enrolment in certain provinces and territories.

Key findings of the 2020-2021 edition:

  • At the national level, enrolment in French immersion remains stable while the overall enrolment in FSL programs fell by one point.
  • Ontario and New Brunswick are the two provinces that continue to grow consistently in all categories.
  • British Columbia’s overall enrolment in FSL programs continues to grow steadily.
  • Core French is the program that showed the most attrition, with a decline in Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

“At a time when we are still waiting for the modernization of the Official Languages Act, these numbers are only a reminder of the work that is still left to do to ensure that all Canadians have access to FSL education. A modernized act would allow us to address the barriers that limit equitable access to quality FSL programs,” said Nicole Thibault, CPF Network CEO.

The figures are obtained by the specific departments of education directly or from Statistics Canada. 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 2020-2021 edition, visit https://cpf.ca/en/research-and-advocacy/research/enrolment-trends/.

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Canadian Parents for French is a nationwide, research-informed, volunteer organization that represents 35,000 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, Communications Manager

Tel: 613.235.1481 x222 Email: msalaiza@cpf.ca