Even though Quebec is the only province that prides itself on being predominantly French-speaking, there are quite a few other Canadian cities that have smaller bilingual or exclusively French communities.
READ ALSO: Jollibee Is Opening Up 100 New Locations Across Canada
TL;DR Ontario's Ford government has decided to cut most French language services as well as abolish the plans for a francophone university. Quebec's politicians have spoken out against the decision. CAQ government Premier François Legault will be confronting Doug Ford on the unpopular decision today.
Ontario is one of these provinces. Up until last week, there were even plans to fund a new francophone university for French-speaking Ontarians and the hundreds of Québécois students each year that make plans to study in the neighbouring province.
Unfortunately, it now looks like Ontario's 600,000 French-speaking residents will be out of luck. The plans have totally changed.
The new Ford government has completely scrapped even the idea of a francophone university, and has plans to totally remove the Office of the French Language Services Commissioner.
Needless to say, Quebec's CAQ government is outraged.
Preserving the French language in Canada has always been a major issue, so even Trudeau spoke out about the provincial changes, admitting that he is "deeply disappointed" in the decision.
Other politicians in Quebec have also spoken out about Ford's unexpected decision, such as Montreal mayor Valérie Plante and Quebec City mayor Régis Labeaume, who even called the changes "petty."
@radiocanadainfoFrançois Legault, Quebec's Premier, has already made it super clear that he wants the French language protected in Canada, and will even be confronting Ford about his drastic changes today when they meet in Toronto.
With the massive cuts being made by the Ford government in Ontario in hopes to pay down the provincial deficit, French minorities in the province will be without important services and institutions that are neccessary where English is predominant.
Meanwhile in New Brunswick, a right-wing party that opposes some French-language services is also on the rise. This is definitely a concerning trend.
As of now, it doesn't look like Ford is going to budge on his exclusionary decision. Stay tuned for more information about cuts to francophone services across Canada.
