The Government of Canada issues a statement to mark the International Day of La Francophonie

OTTAWA, ON, March 20, 2026 /CNW/ - The Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture and Minister responsible for Official Languages, made the following statement:

"On this International Day of La Francophonie, we join Francophones and Francophiles from around the world to celebrate the French language in all its beauty and diversity.

The Canadian Francophonie is at the heart of our collective identity and represents a significant competitive advantage for Canada, as the Francophonie accounts for 20% of global merchandise trade and 16.5% of global income. More than 320 million people worldwide speak French, and we are proud that a quarter of the Canadian population is part of this Francophonie, made up of dynamic communities from coast to coast to coast, each with its own history and identity.

The vitality of the Francophonie relies largely on education. That is why our government has invested a historic $1.4 billion in the Protocol for Agreements for Minority-Language Education and Second-Language Instruction (2024–2028) and has signed agreements with every province and territory to support it.

These agreements provide funding to promote the recruitment and retention of teachers in French-language minority schools and French second-language teachers, while reaffirming our government's commitment to ensuring equitable access to high-quality education for all.

Canada is also committed to strengthening the Francophonie on the international stage. Whether as a founding member of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie or with the Francophone Ambassadors' Group at UNESCO, Canada continues to play a leadership role in promoting the influence and protection of French, fostering equitable discoverability of linguistically diverse cultural works and content online, and implementing the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions in the digital environment.

On this special day, I invite you to speak, write and sing in French, and to discover works by Francophone and Francophile artists. For the Month of La Francophonie, I hope you enjoy the many activities taking place across the country or take part in the discussions on social media using the hashtags #Francophonie and #MonthOfLaFrancophonie.

I wish you an excellent International Day of La Francophonie!" 

SOURCE Canadian Heritage