Question Period Note: Official Languages Investments in the Atlantic Region

Summary of the Government of Canada's investments and achievements in support of French in the Atlantic Region since the launch of the Action Plan for Official Languages.

• The Action Plan for Official Languages 2018-2023 represents the most comprehensive investment in official languages in Canada’s history.
• In 2018-2019, we invested more than $59.4 million under the Action Plan in the Atlantic provinces to support the development of official language minority communities and to promote linguistic duality.
• Under the Action Plan, 51 community organizations in the Atlantic provinces received an increase of 20 percent of their annual financing.
• These investments directly support the development and vitality of official-language minority communities.

• In 2018-2019, the Department of Canadian Heritage invested more than $59.4 million under the Atlantic Action Plan to support official language minority communities and the promotion of linguistic duality.
• This total represents investments in New Brunswick ($34.1 million), Nova Scotia ($12.8 million), Prince Edward Island ($6.8 million) and Newfoundland and Labrador ($6 million).
• In 2018-2019, the Department increased by 20 percent the core funding for 51 organizations in the region, representing 19 groups in New Brunswick, 18 in Nova Scotia, 6 in Prince Edward Island and 8 in Newfoundland and Labrador.
• As part of the Action Plan, and following the dialogues held in the fall of 2018 with communities in the Atlantic Region, 12 organizations were targeted for funding in addition to the bonus announced in May 2018. Also, several recurring projects (9) are now funded as programming.
• According to Statistics Canada (2016), 269 130 people in the Atlantic provinces identify French as their mother tongue. New Brunswick, the only official bilingual province in the country, is home to 232,450 Francophones. There are 29,465 in Nova Scotia, 4,865 in Prince Edward Island and 2,350 in Newfoundland and Labrador.
• Four infrastructure projects were approved in 2018-2019 for the Atlantic region, for a total investment of $4 million:
o In New Brunswick: the Cafétorium-Théâtre at École Étoile de l'Acadie in Rogersville ($3,150,000);
o In Nova Scotia: renovation of the George Cottreau Auditorium ($150,000) and the Gustave Blanche Building ($500,000) at Université Sainte-Anne;
o In Prince Edward Island: Centre Belle-Alliance - École-sur-mer in Summerside ($267,000)
• The Action Plan for Official Languages 2018-2023 represents the most comprehensive investment in official languages in Canada’s history, that is, nearly $2.7 billion, including close to $500 million in new funding.

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