In recent years, the Department of French has been delighted with the visit of several distinguished guests including:

• Québécois writer Chloé Savoie-Bernard (February 25, 2020) hosted by Dr. Joëlle Papillon
• Franco-Ontarian writer Hédi Bouraoui (November 5, 2015) hosted by Dr. Suzanne Crosta
• Acadian writer Georgette LeBlanc (September 30, 2015) hosted by Dr. Joëlle Papillon and graduate student Christina Maksymetz
• Acadian writer France Daigle (October 17, 2013) hosted by Dr. Joëlle Papillon and graduate student Dersim Barwari

In 2015 we joined the province to celebrate  400 years of Francophone presence in Ontario! 

The Department of French is pleased to announce that its Mac-O Franco Ontario project has received official accreditation by the organization responsible for overseeing all activities to celebrate 400 years of French presence in Ontario. The Mac-O Franco Ontario project is integrated within the French 1A06 course and students will present the results of their research on December 7th at the Student Centre with regional not-for-profit francophone organizations and members of the francophone and francophile community in attendance.

“This activity is a perfect fit within the Department’s mission,” stated Eugène Nshimiyimana, Chair of the Department of French at McMaster University.  “It will highlight francophone diversity through our first year students’ voices and research.  By making our students aware of our francophone cultural heritage, we will ensure that this new generation will have an inalienable feeling of belonging to a community which is strong, diverse and open to others.”

“We are thrilled that our project has been officially recognized, especially since it will enable our students to participate in a historic event, at both provincial and university levels,” commented Suzanne Crosta, professor and Mac-O Franco Ontario project leader. “Through this project, almost 200 students will have the opportunity to discover our Franco-Ontarian heritage and to interact with various French-speaking stakeholders from the community.”

All members of the francophone and francophile community are invited to partake in this celebration of Franco-Ontarian heritage, which will take place at the Student Centre on Monday December 7th from 10am to 3pm.

This project was made possible thanks to, in part, financial support from Assemblée de la Francophonie de l’Ontario (AFO) and Canadian Heritage, the two organizations responsible for managing celebrations of 400 years of French presence in Ontario.

Canadians account for almost 10% of the world’s Francophone population. Bilingualism is a part of the Canadian Constitution: the  loi sur l’éducation / Education Act of 1990 recognizes Francophones’ rights to receive a primary and secondary education in French and in 2003, the Government announced Le plan d’action pour les langues officielles / Action Plan for Official Languages to guarantee and reinforce French-language services in the public sector (police, courts of law, healthcare, public services, etc.).

Ontario’s Francophone population includes 550 000 people, with an ever-increasing influx of immigrants from other Francophone regions and countries. Hamilton itself is a microcosm of the Francophone world.

Hamilton is one of the twenty-five designated areas under the Loi sur les services en français / French Language Services Act which guarantees everyone the right to receive services in French. Hamilton has a very active Francophone community. The city has its own Centre français(which organizes cultural activities), a Francophone church (Notre Dame) and Christian Centre (Beth-éden), a Francophone community health centre, several French-language elementary schools, as well as two French-language secondary schools, several French immersion schools, a French-language post-secondary institution (Collège Boréal), as well as an Employment Resource Centre managed by the ACFO (Association Canadienne Française de l’Ontario). There are research and volunteer opportunities with all of these organizations and institutions. You can learn about French-language events and cultural activities in Ontario by reading l’Express out of Toronto and Le Régional in the Greater Hamilton region; you can also listen to Radio-Canada and watch television programming on Radio-Canada, TV5, TFO or TV Ontario.