The University of Sudbury (UdeS) and the University of Ottawa (UdO) announced Thursday morning a partnership to offer programs in French that are not taught in the region from September 2025.
The list of programs will be revealed “soon”, but they will be chosen to “meet the priorities of the job market in the region” and “fill training gaps”, declared the rector of the UdO, Jacques Frémont.
This partnership thus aims to “develop a bilingual workforce in the region”, in a context of shortage, while reducing administrative costs, according to the rector of the UdeS, Serge Miville.
“The greatest threat to the sustainability and development of our services in French is the shortage of French-speaking and bilingual labor,” says Peter Hominuk, director general of the Agence de la francophonie de l’Agence de la francophonie. Ontario, which reviewed the agreement.
The courses, which will be taught by professors hired by the northern Ontario institution, “will lead to degrees from both institutions,” Mr. Miville said. An operation that will respect the principle of “by and for French speakers”.
Funding requested
The University of Sudbury has not offered courses since its dissolution from the Laurentian University federation in 2021. At the end of June 2023, the Ontario government refused a funding request to the establishment, which wishes to become entirely French-speaking . But “we continue, we don’t give up,” warned Mr. Miville.
Discussed for several months, the agreement “demonstrates that we are ready to roll up our sleeves and find responsible solutions,” said the president of the Association canadienne-française de l’Ontario du grand Sudbury, Marc Gauthier. “It is now time for the provincial and federal governments to act and fund this partnership. […] We have already waited far too long, and our collective patience is exhausted and reaching its limits. »
This “new model of cooperation” could be reproduced elsewhere, according to Mr. Miville. An expert report published last November also recommended that the University of Hearst and the University of French Ontario join forces with other French-speaking or bilingual establishments in the province to ensure their financial viability.
This report is supported by the Local Journalism Initiative, funded by the Government of Canada.