In a talk to the Club canadien de Toronto on June 19, Glendon Principal Kenneth McRoberts convincingly demonstrated the importance of studying in French at the university level and Glendon’s role as a “geographical centre for post-secondary education in French in southern Ontario, particularly in the central region.”
Emphasizing the importance of a university education for both the individual and society, Principal McRoberts remarked that “we all know examples of inventions or innovations by university researchers
resulting in private sector applications that have contributed to energizing our economy and creating jobs. Universities are also the perfect place for analyzing our social, economic and political institutions in a critical and thoughtful manner.”
Quoting Roger Martin and Richard Florida, the Principal explained that “the future of the Ontario economy also depends on the development of what these two researchers call the ‘creativity-oriented society’.” “Creativity-centred employment” consists of applying reasoning capabilities and knowledge to changing situations and of deciding on the best way to proceed – “and this is something that is learned at the university,” he pointed out.
He then posed the question of the importance of being able to pursue university studies in French in Toronto. After all, he said, “the main language of work in Toronto is English.” Indeed, while 110,000 GTA residents speak French, a much larger number speak Mandarin, Italian or Punjabi – and there is no real francophone enclave in the city.
To counter these often-repeated arguments, Principal McRoberts explained that a practical knowledge of French offers undeniable employment advantages in the province’s capital. “Most head offices in Canada are located in Toronto and their clients include French-speaking Québécois and minority francophone communities. Toronto is where the major Canadian media and communications companies are based. Bilingualism may not be required everywhere but it offers a definite competitive edge in the job market. Why couldn’t our francophone and francophile students consolidate their linguistic advantage through university studies in French?”
The Glendon Principal also made a point of reminding us that Canada was founded as a historical partnership between two language communities: francophone and anglophone. In his view, understanding Canada in this way may no longer be so common as it was when the Laurendeau-Dunton Commission was sitting (and for which he was a research assistant); but it has lost none of its validity. Finally, he thinks it’s necessary to give greater recognition to the strategic importance of francophones in southern Ontario for the linguistic duality of Canada – especially francophones in the centre of the province.
Indeed, francophones in southern Ontario now represent more than a third of the province’s French-speaking population. The central region alone accounts for 29% of Ontario’s francophones, i.e., more than 170,000 French speakers. The GTA is home to 110,000 francophones. And, above all, the number of francophones in southern Ontario, unlike other regions of the province, is continuing to increase. Moreover, the school system reflects this demographic growth: in response to strong demand, nine new francophone schools will be opening soon.
A Paradox
Nearly 15,000 students are registered in French immersion programs, while 78,000 others are taking courses in basic French. These figures also reflect a major investment by Canadians through the various taxes they pay to governments. It is obvious that, if graduates of the immersion and basic French programs do not use French when they go to university, their knowledge of the language will atrophy. “Unfortunately, 70% of francophones in southern Ontario pursue their university education primarily in English, unlike their counterparts in the eastern and northern regions of the province,” he pointed out.
For the Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities, this paradox is explained by the narrow range of university programs available in French in southern Ontario – essentially offered only at Glendon College. This is a far cry from the program options available in eastern and northern Ontario at the University of Ottawa and Laurentian University, respectively. Furthermore, the Ministry has set up a committee of experts mandated to recommend ways for developing postsecondary studies in French in southern Ontario.
Southern Ontario thus plays a crucial role in the future of the province’s francophonie. Moreover, this is the region with the largest pool of francophiles in the country; and francophones and francophiles alike attach great importance to a university education. Many of them, however, opt to attend unilingual English-language universities. How can we change this situation? For Principal McRoberts, the solution to this challenge lies with Glendon, which is the only institution in southern Ontario that offers university programs in French. All study programs are available in both French and English, and the majority of tenured professors are able to teach in both languages. “Admittedly,” he says, “Glendon is part of York University, which is unilingual, but the College enjoys all the institutional autonomy of a faculty.” It has its own student recruitment department, looks after its own student admissions and manages all student services. Glendon already offers more than 20 undergraduate study programs, four Master’s level programs and now a Ph.D. program. In the view of Principal McRoberts, this range of programs needs to be expanded.
He states categorically: “It’s essential to have a broader selection of programs if we want to reverse the current situation in which graduates of francophone schools and immersion programs opt to pursue their university education in English.”
For him, now that Glendon is solidly established as a bilingual campus in the heart of Toronto, it is only logical that the College should fully assume its role as a geographical centre for postsecondary education in French in southern Ontario in collaboration with the province’s other bilingual and francophone institutions, such as the University of Ottawa, Collège Boréal and La Cité collégiale.
Reminding us that Glendon has already demonstrated its ability to provide such programs, Principal McRoberts concluded with these words: “We must go further still if we want to reverse the trend among francophone students in southern Ontario to pursue their postsecondary education in English. This is important so that the public investment in French immersion programs will not be wasted when these students undertake their postsecondary studies. As the only university campus offering French-language programming, we are looking forward to strengthening our contribution to our community in this regard.”
By Michel Héroux
Editor’s note: This report was published after McRoberts delivered his talk. See French Language Services Commissioner, Investigation Report, The State of French-Language Postsecondary Education in Central-Southwestern Ontario: No access, no future, June 2012, 72 p.
