Fewer than twenty Ontario high school students have submitted an application for admission to the Université de l’Ontario français (UOF) for a second consecutive year. Members of the Franco-Ontarian community see it as the consequence of a poorly chosen region for settlement. Others call for patience.
Only fourteen students have applied to study full-time at university next fall, five less than at the same time last year. Rector Pierre Ouellette explained in July, a few months before the first start of the school year, that the university had not been able to recruit as many local students as hoped because of the late approval of the programs. The university particularly targets students from the center and south-west of the province, where the French-speaking population is growing.
But students from this region are less likely to study in French than their Franco-Ontarian peers, according to University of Ottawa professor André Samson, who is not surprised by the latest data from the Center for Admissions Application Ontario universities. As part of a study, in 2014, the professor surveyed thousands of twelfth graders in French schools in the province about their school transition.
“These young people live in a totally English-speaking environment,” he says in an interview, about the students he met in three schools in the Toronto area during his research. They therefore identified less with French. “The reasons that motivate the pursuit of post-secondary studies in French are mainly related to language identity and the language spoken at home,” writes the professor in a presentation of his study.
“You have to be patient and trust the administration,” warns Torontonian Michael Norris. The former member of a government committee exploring the project of a French-speaking university, before the opening of the University of French Ontario, still firmly believes in the project. “Interest will grow over time,” he promises.
Linguistic insecurity
At the time of the graduation from Étienne-Brûlé high school in Toronto, in 2019, only four of the 60 graduates chose to continue their education in French, recalls Natasha Pelletier. The Torontonian, formerly president of the Fédération de la jeunesse franco-ontarienne (FESFO), is one of the four members of the cohort who took over the management of a Francophone establishment.
Her best friend, like several other students, enrolled at Ryerson University, she says. “The vast majority of students were not comfortable speaking French because of linguistic insecurity,” describes Natasha Pelletier. Many did not like to speak the language. “The education system doesn’t really prepare us well to be comfortable in French,” says the University of Ottawa student.
“To do post-secondary studies in French, you need an excellent level of French that sometimes goes beyond the level generally obtained after high school,” said Véronique Ponce, a former French teacher at Collège des Grands Lac, a post-secondary institution in Toronto. which served the center and south-west of the province between 1995 and 2001. “It’s quite an issue despite Ontario’s language planning policy,” she adds.
At the University of Ottawa, Natasha Pelletier notes that she was also able to find a larger French-speaking community than that of the UOF. “Who would want to study in French in an English-speaking environment when Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City are nearby and offer a social life and support in French that we don’t have here in Toronto? asks Véronique Ponce.
fierce competition
25-year-old Michael Norris says he would have joined the UOF if he had the chance. “I am a Francophile, my parents are Anglophones and I would have graduated from the UOF,” explains the man who is now an economic development officer at the Conseil de la coopération de l’Ontario. But the competition is fierce in the region, points out André Samson. “Ideal for students [torontois] it’s going to study at the University of Toronto and I understand them: it’s prestigious and it attracts students from all over the world,” notes the professor.
The grade 12 students he met also had “severe vocational indecision,” says Samson. The latter is in favor of the expansion of programs in French in Ontario, but thinks that the opening of a French campus in Toronto of an already existing university, with recognized programs, would have been a more attractive offer. “When you’re young, you’re anxious, so you don’t want to worry that [notre programme] gets us nowhere,” says Natasha Pelletier.
The university’s funding agreement provides funding from the provincial and federal governments for eight years. “You have eight years to build the reputation of the UOF, it’s not a lot of time,” notes Michael Norris, who worked briefly for the establishment in 2020. As the first graduates of the university enter on the labor market, the establishment will gain notoriety, he says. “In 14-15 years, it will explode,” thinks the Franco-Ontarian.
In the case of amphitheaters and performance halls, the limit of 500 people will be lifted.
On March 14, 21 days later, the province plans to lift capacity limits at all indoor public facilities. Up to 50 people can gather inside. “There is no doubt that we will continue to face challenges in the coming weeks, but if we follow this gradual approach and people get vaccinated, I am sure that we will be able to manage these challenges” , said the Minister of Health on Thursday.
This story is supported by the Local Journalism Initiative, funded by the Government of Canada.