March 20, 2026
Manitoba Government Celebrates International Day of the Francophonie and Announces Next Steps Toward a Truly Bilingual Province
– – –Consultation Results to Guide Creation of Bilingual Strategy: Simard
The Manitoba government is marking International Day of La Francophonie with a series of events, including the official launch of the consultation report on Manitoba: A Truly Bilingual Province, Municipal and Northern Relations Minister Glen Simard, minister responsible for francophone affairs, announced today.
“Manitoba’s Francophonie have a founding role in our province’s history, and they continue to shape our shared future,” said Simard. “Today is a momentous occasion. We are releasing the results of the consultation report we launched in October 2025, the first of its kind in Canada, and reaffirming our commitment to making Manitoba a truly bilingual province.”
The release of the public consultations report follows six months of engagement with Manitobans and outlines the next steps for developing the Manitoba government’s bilingual strategy, including collaborating with key partners in the francophone community.
During the consultation process, almost 2,000 survey respondents and over 100 attendees at 10 round tables across Manitoba shared their views on how Manitobans can live daily in their chosen official language. Participants included leaders from sectors such as education, municipal governments, as well as the private and public sectors.
Since 2023, the Manitoba government has strengthened its support for the francophone community through targeted investments under the Canada–Manitoba Agreement on French-Language Services, expanding bilingual capacity and French‑language services across key sectors, including justice, tourism and municipal services. This includes:
- opening a French‑language judicial services centre in St. Boniface;
- supporting bilingual municipalities to offer services in both official languages; and
- opening a new francophone school in St. Boniface this fall and announcing a second school for the Division scolaire franco manitobaine in Brandon to meet the growing demand for education in French.
The consultation report will serve as the foundation for targeted discussions and the cocreation of a provincial bilingualism strategy.
To view the full report, visit https://gov.mb.ca/fls-slf/truly_bilingual.html.
- 30 -