March 20, 2023
Manitoba Government Celebrates 35th International Francophonie Day
The Manitoba government is marking the International Day of La Francophonie with a flag-raising event at the Legislative Building, Families Minister Rochelle Squires, minister responsible for francophone affairs, announced today.
“Today, on the 35th International Day of La Francophonie, we join francophones and francophiles in Manitoba, across Canada and around the world in celebrating the richness of the French language – a cornerstone of our province’s heritage and identity,” said Squires. “I encourage all Manitobans to learn and celebrate the richness of our francophone roots and the past, current and future contributions of the francophone community to our province.”
On March 20, over 300 million people worldwide who are part of the Francophonie celebrate their pride in speaking and living in French, the minister noted. This year’s theme – 321 million francophones, billions of cultural content – places an emphasis on the diversity of francophone culture around the world, and also on the importance of ensuring that it can be easily accessed online so that the French language continues to thrive as technology moves forward, the minister added.
According to the latest census figures, French is the mother tongue for 35,000 Manitobans, and over 110,000 Manitobans can speak French. Since 2018, over 2,000 new French-speaking immigrants have settled in Manitoba, the majority through the Manitoba Provincial Nominee Program.
Francophone immigration to Manitoba continues to increase, thanks in part to the Manitoba government’s strong collaboration with community partners. Recently, the Manitoba government participated in recruitment fairs in France and Morocco to recruit skilled bilingual workers for industry sectors experiencing significant labour shortages.
For more information on the International Day of La Francophonie, visit: https://francophonie.org/journee-internationale-de-la-francophonie-2023.
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