At the start of the 1960s, instruction in the minority language was provided at the elementary and secondary levels only in Quebec. Since 1982, section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms has guaranteed the right to instruction in the minority language. When it came into force, there were no French-language schools in half the provinces of Canada. Nearly twenty years later, governments have taken important steps to strengthen the French-language school system and give parents' representatives responsibility for their management. However, only about half of children born to parents whose mother tongue is French are enrolled in a French-language school in a minority community.
Schools play a central role in the development of the minority communities.
According to the Supreme Court of Canada, section 23 is intended to remedy, at the national level, the progressive historic erosion of the official language communities. It is clear that much work remains to be done to attract more of this potential pool of students to French-language schools. The vitality of the French-speaking minority communities depends on their ability to ensure that their young people are properly schooled in French. The challenge, therefore, is to increase enrolment in these schools in order to strengthen the vitality of the French linguistic minority communities. This study proposes a plan to attract more of the target school population over the next ten years.