Ontario – The Ontario government is investing $2 million across the province to help support the vitality of the Franco-Ontarian community. The following organizations will receive funding through the 2023-2024 Francophone Community Grants Program:
Community and Culture Stream
| Organization | Project Name | Project Description | Maximum Grant | Target Communities |
| Association canadienne-française de l’Ontario – Stormont, Dundas et Glengarry | Francophonie in the Spotlight: Celebrating Culture and Diversity | “Francophonie in the Spotlight” proposes several monthly activities to more than 700 local residents who will celebrate the diversity of the French language and culture in the Eastern Counties. Community partnerships will also be encouraged through arts, culture, folklore and heritage programmes. | $50,000 | East |
| Association des Francophones du Nord-Ouest de l’Ontario (AFNOO) | Welcoming, Developing and Recognizing the Francophone Community | This project will enable AFNOO, in partnership with Club Franco-Boréal, to offer Francophone programming. The project “Welcoming, Developing and Recognizing the Francophone Community” aims to reach 400 Francophones/Francophiles in the Kenora, Dryden, Ignace and Sioux Lookout region. | $21,500 | North |
| Association des juristes d’expression française de l’Ontario | L’information juridique francophone au cœur de nos régions ontariennes | This project will enable the Ontario Legal Information Center to reach out to community organizations and litigants in northern and western Ontario with the aim of creating new partnerships to offer two (2) free legal information workshops. | $30,000 | East |
| Association francophone à l’éducation des services à l’enfance de l’Ontario (AFÉSEO) | Francophone Early Childhood Connection | This project will enable AFÉSEO to add a tool to its portal to help 350 Ontario employers recruit internationally. This initiative will enhance the entire early childhood sector development and raise the international recruitment process in French to a higher standard of professionalism. | $50,000 | East |
| Big Brothers Big Sisters of Leeds and Grenville | Big Brother and Big Sisters of Leeds and Grenville project “BBBSLG Francophone Mentoring Initiative” | This project will work to ensure that BBBSLG programs are available and accessible to the Francophone community, specifically vulnerable children and youth, in Leeds and Grenville. The project will allow the hire of a bilingual Program Coordinator and will allow for French-speaking volunteer mentors to match with youth in the Francophone community. This project will impact 250 people and strengthen partnerships with the local French school boards. | $35,532 | East |
| Big Brothers Big Sisters of Ottawa | Big Brothers Big Sisters of Ottawa BBBSO 1:1 Mentoring Program Expansion to Francophone Youth (BBBSO Francophone Expansion Project) | The mentoring program expansion will engage ten Francophone school boards, schools, and community organizations to build capacity to deliver one-to-one mentoring programs to Francophone children and youth in Ottawa and Renfrew County. A hundred Francophone children and youth will benefit directly from the project, and ten Francophone staff members, matches, and volunteers will provide input to develop a one-to-one mentoring program for Francophones and identify organizations to collaborate with. | $50,000 | East |
| Carefor Health and Community Services | Recruitment of 15 Bilingual Francophone PSWs | The recruitment of 15 bilingual Francophone PSWs will enable Carefor to better meet the vital care needs of French speaking clients and community members — primarily seniors, person with physical limitations, and cognitive impairments — in the Eastern Counties region. | $34,759 | East |
| Carrefour francophone de Sudbury | Innovative, Engaging and Inclusive Approach to Francization and Early Childhood Language Transmission | This initiative will enable Carrefour francophone de Sudbury to undertake a project that will boost francization rates in early childhood centres in Greater Sudbury and Sudbury East, in collaboration with parents and partners including AFÉSEO and Collège Boréal. | $50,000 | North |
| Centre canadien pour l’unité de famille (CCF) | Youth Skills | Twenty-five young Black Francophone newcomers from the Peel-Halton region will be recruited and trained by experts with an outreach / recruitment / training and retention plan to ensure that the Canadian Center for Family Unity (CCF) can continue to offer and expand its services. | $50,000 | Central |
| Centre Charles-Émile-Claude, centre polyvalent des aîné(e)s Inc. | Culinary Lab – Health and Flavours Workshops | Culinary Lab – Health and Flavours Workshops will enable the elderly to rediscover the pleasure of a simple and nutritious cuisine. The chef will provide practical information on meal planning and food preparation. He will also encourage socialization. | $30,000 | East |
| Centre communautaire régional de London | Building the Organizational Capacity of Carrefour ethnoculturel francophone | The Centre communautaire régional de London, in partnership with the Association marocaine de London, the Association canado-congolaise de London, the Association culturelle burundaise-canadienne de London and others, will improve the skills of eight French-language ethnocultural organizations by offering capacity-building workshops. In addition, a community event will be held to celebrate National Francophone Immigration Week. | $49,236 | West |
| Centre de santé Communautaire Hamilton/Niagara | Niagara Francophone Economic Integration Project for Refugees | This “Niagara Francophone Economic Integration Project for Refugees,” in partnership with the Francophone Employment and Resource Centre (CERF Niagara), will assist Francophone asylum seekers in their job search process and prepare them for the Canadian workplace. Ninety-five Francophones will benefit directly, and 15 Francophones will be involved in the implementation of the project. | $36,175 | West |
| Centre des services communautaires Vanier (CSC Vanier)/ Vanier Community Health Services Centre (Vanier CSC) | Constellations Project | The project aims to inform Francophones in Vanier and across Ontario of the French-language activities, information, resources, and services of the Vanier CSC through a new website. The goal of this project is to create a website that represents the core services of the Vanier CSC. This should improve access to information for Francophone newcomers through video learning modules. | $50,000 | East |
| Centre franco-ontarien de folklore | Diverse Roots, Communal Vibrancy | This project will allow the Centre franco-ontarien de folklore to produce “Diverse Roots, Communal Vibrancy,” a series of five evenings of multicultural exchanges, music and virtual folktales, as well as two in-person events in the Niagara region and in Sudbury. Both in-person performances will showcase the diversity, heritage, and richness of French Ontario during Black History Month in February 2024. | $42,400 | North |
| Centre francophone du Grand Toronto | Revitalizing the Volunteer Program at the Centre francophone du Grand Toronto | The objective of this project is to develop and implement a volunteer training program. The project aims to relaunch the CFGT’s mentorship program to enable Francophones and Francophiles to gain experience. New volunteers will support the following services: legal aid, health and health promotion, mental health, settlement and integration, employment, child development and housing. The target community is the Francophone and Francophile community in the Greater Toronto Area. | $50,000 | Central |
| Centre francophone Hamilton | Franco-influencer Generation | This project of the Centre francophone Hamilton, in partnership with the Centre de santé communautaire Hamilton-Niagara, the Viamonde, Mon Avenir and other school boards, will celebrate Ontario’s Francophonie by developing a digital content creation training program designed with and for high school youth in the Hamilton and Niagara region. | $35,500 | West |
| Centre Pauline-Charron | Let’s celebrate the richness and diversity of our Francophonie | This project will enable the Centre Pauline-Charron to organize the 2nd edition of the festival “Let’s celebrate the richness and diversity of our Francophonie” during Francophonie Month in 2024. The three-day festival will include intergenerational activities, speakers, conferences, shows, an exhibition and food. | $30,713 | East |
| Centr’Elles | Helping Francophone Women in Northwestern Ontario Achieve a Better Quality of Life in French | This project will enable Centr’Elles, in partnership with Féminin Pluri-elles, to offer 72 training workshops and five cultural educational activities. The project “Helping Francophone Women in Northwestern Ontario Achieve a Better Quality of Life in French” aims to reach 350 Francophone women in Thunder Bay and Greenstone. | $50,000 | North |
| Épelle-Moi Canada | Club FRANCOFUN ÉMC | This project will allow Épelle-Moi Canada to offer a series of ten fun workshops to young Francophones and Francophiles aged six to 16 from the GTA (Halton, Peel, Toronto, York, Durham). In partnership with Synergie Éducative and Sephora French Centre, the project will promote and celebrate Ontario’s Francophonie. | $50,000 | West |
| First Work | Empowering Francophone Support and Collaboration within the First Work Employment Network | This project will ensure that Francophone employment service providers and job seekers across Ontario can gain access to resources and training sessions in French. The project will also develop Francophone sessions at the First Work Workforce Development Conference in October 2023. The project’s partners are the Francophone Employment and Resource Centre (CERF Niagara), the Collège Boréal, the Eastern Ontario Training Board, Job Zone d’emploi, Youth Services Bureau, RBC Future Launch, Partners for Employment Centre, and the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development and Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. | $45,000 | Central |
| Hospice Niagara | Bilingual Hospice Palliative Care | This “Bilingual Hospice Palliative Care” project will support Hospice Niagara in Welland in delivering palliative and end-of-life care programs and services to the Francophone community by recruiting and training bilingual staff. 50 Francophones will participate in the project, and five Francophones will be involved in implementing the project. | $27,459 | West |
| Jack.org | Enhancing Jack.org’s Peer-Based Programming in Francophone Communities Across Ontario | Jack.org will provide more advanced education to young Francophone Ontarians to ensure they have the knowledge, tools, and network to look after their own mental health, support their peers, and drive change in their communities. This project will assist in the re-development of a web platform to reach out to more Francophone youths in Ontario in order for them to gain a stronger understanding of how culture, religion, community and other social determinants impact their mental health. | $30,000 | Central |
| La Clé d’la Baie en Huronie – Association Culturelle Francophone | My Franco-Ontarian Music Community | This project will allow La Clé d’la Baie en Huronie to create opportunities for five Franco-Ontarian artists to answer questions from their fans after each show. The project will be carried out in partnership with CFRH and Le Goût de vivre, who will promote the project and distribute the interview material. . | $39,910 | Central |
| Le Centre Culturel-les Trois P’tits Points | The Art in Mind | The “Art in Mind” initiative will hire a community development officer to create tools to increase community engagement and generate an audience development plan. This officer will also organize 12 workshops offered by local artists. The proposed activities will be aimed at young people and young Franco-Ontarian families residing in the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry. . | $42,172 | East |
| Le Club Amical du Nouveau Sudbury | Developing and Innovating Services and Activities for Francophone Seniors. Ensuring the vitality of Ontario’s Francophonie with the direct collaboration of our Francophone seniors | This project will enable the Club Amical du Nouveau Sudbury to offer two communication and first aid coaching sessions to the Board of Directors and support a new coordinator in the development of 18 new activities for the centre. With the support of Collège Boréal, FARFO and the ACFO of Greater Sudbury, the initiative will ensure an increase in volunteers and expand collaboration between service providers for better services for members of Sudbury’s Francophone senior community. | $35,406 | North |
| Le Labo | 6 Degrees | This project will enable the Laboratoire d’art to create a collaborative, community-based art project initiated by four Francophone female artists from the Greater Toronto Area. The project will conclude with an exhibition at Le Labo studio. The project will collaborate with several Franco-Ontarian artists, as well as the Théâtre français de Toronto, Charles Street Vidéo, the MOFIF (Le Mouvement ontarien des femmes immigrantes francophones/The Ontario Francophone Immigrant Women’s Movement) and CHOQ FM. | $25,000 | Central |
| Les Compagnons | Les Compagnons – Pride and Franco-Ontarian Culture for Youth | Through a series of workshops and cultural events for families led by artists/leaders, this project will enable the Compagnons to offer “Pride and Franco-Ontarian Culture for Youth” to build Francophone pride and identity in five official-language minority communities in the Nipissing District. | $50,000 | North |
| Mauril-Bélanger Social Innovation Workshop | Supporting Ontario’s francophonie with your voice! | The program “Supporting Ontario’s Francophonie with Your Voice” aims to offer top-notch interpretation services to non-profit organizations, ultimately making them more inclusive to Francophones. In collaboration with Impact Hub Ottawa, Ottawa Tool Library, Association des communautés francophones d’Ottawa (ACFO), Coalition for All Women Initiative (CAWI) and Ottawa Tool Library, five activities will be implemented with 51 individuals benefiting from the project. | $30,701 | East |
| Mouvement des intervenants et des intervenantes en Communication Radio de l’Ontario (MICRO) | Meet at the Francophone and Cultural Hub of Ontario | Through the project “Meet at the Francophone and Cultural Hub of Ontario,” MICRO will produce a series of reports promoting the work of Franco-Ontarian artists, including performances that will take place during the 43rd edition of Contact Ontarois. The project will raise listeners’ awareness of the full range of Francophone arts and culture in Ontario. | $40,400 | North |
| Near North Palliative Care Network | Palliative Care for the Northern Francophonie: Francophone Services Coordinator | This project will allow Near North Palliative Care Network to hire a Francophone Services Coordinator. This person will work to increase capacity to serve the Francophone community in a variety of ways, such as improving the quality of NNPCN’s bilingual documents, forms and informative documents, supporting Francophone organizations to provide palliative and bereavement care services to clients and training their volunteers. | $28,576 | North |
| Ontario Physical and Health Education Association | Stop, Start & Consider: Helping Francophone students feel a sense of belonging at school | This project will increase OPHEA’s capacity to support Ontario’s Francophone school communities and generate a deeper sense of belonging for every student, especially students who identify as gender non-binary and trans and students living with a disability. “Stop, Start & Consider: Helping Francophone students feel a sense of belonging at school” will create practical tools, tip sheets and videos that will benefit Francophones across Ontario. | $49,918 | Central |
| Ottawa Fringe Festival | Ottawa Fringe Festival | This project will support the Ottawa Fringe Festival in presenting 12 Francophone theatre performances and workshopped projects during the 2024 winter festival “Undercurrents”, which will run from February 7-17, 2024, at Arts Court in downtown Ottawa. Captions will be available for Anglophone patrons. The festival will hire and train Francophone volunteers. | $32,000 | East |
| Ottawa Network for Education/ Réseau d’Ottawa pour l’éducation | Junior Achievement (JA) World of Choices (WOC) Francophone Career Exploration Experience Pan-Ontario Project | The project will provide career education and inspiration to Francophone students in grades 5-8 across Ontario. The project involves a province-wide virtual half-day forum, engaging 800-1,200 students and will take place on March 20, 2024, to coincide with the International Day of Francophonie. The project also includes a pilot program in Ottawa that will engage 45-70 grade 5-8 students through an in-person World of Choices event in an elementary school. The project aims to serve historically underrepresented groups and will reach rural and remote communities across Ontario. | $43,052 | East |
| RAFO Rive-Nord Inc. | Franco-Folies | The project will enable RAFO Rive Nord to offer six intergenerational educational and cultural activities thanks to the support of its key partners. The project aims to strengthen the sense of belonging of Francophones in the Elliot Lake and North Shore region. | $41,039 | North |
| Rendez-vous des aînés francophones d’Ottawa (RAFO) | Personal Development and Professional Enrichment for RAFO 2023-2024 Volunteers | This project will allow RAFO to foster the personal and professional development of its volunteers. Volunteers will benefit from cross-cultural exchanges and learn how to welcome diverse members and stakeholders of the Francophonie as well as improve their own leadership. | $28,000 | East |
| Réseau-femmes du sud-ouest de l’Ontario | Francophone Women Entrepreneurs Tradeshow in Southwestern Ontario | The regional trade show aims to promote female entrepreneurship in the south-west of the province via media campaigns, workshops, exhibitions, and seminars. | $49,852 | West |
| Services communautaires de Prescott-Russell | Creating a New Dynamic and Interactive Website | The “Creating a New Dynamic and Interactive Website” initiative will provide online services to clients and community partners in the United Counties of Prescott and Russell. This new technology will make service request transactions and the entire booking process easier. | $44,003 | East |
| Société de Développement Communautaire de Prescott-Russell/ Prescott-Russell Community Development Corporation | Professional Communication and Marketing Training | The “Professional Communication and Marketing Training” initiative will provide 15 team members with communications training. The project will also include the development and implementation of communications and marketing tools. | 16,144 $ | East |
| Sofifran | Niagara Francophone Book Fair | This book fair will showcase French literature, including works by Franco-Ontarians, and will promote exchanges between authors and the general public. In collaboration with Brock University, the Conseil scolaire Viamonde, the Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir, among others, the fair will be held in St. Catharines. | $49,976 | West |
| Théâtre Action Inc. | Le Studio – Master Classes and Paid Professional Internships | This provincial project will enable Théâtre Action to offer four master classes in writing, adaptability, movement, and inclusive creation, as well as six paid professional internships in backstage management and administration to the artists and artisans of French Ontario. This initiative for promoting specialized training will be done in collaboration with the Association des théâtres francophones du Canada to ensure maximum outreach and recruitment throughout Ontario. | $50,000 | East |
| Tourism Kingston | Bienvenue à Kingston | Tourism Kingston’s project “Bienvenue à Kingston” will strengthen its capacity to deliver services and supports to Francophone residents and visitors through its Visitor Information Centre, a critical resident and visitor information resource and community hub. This project will deliver an enhanced event calendar that showcases French-language events, Francophone live music and the delivery of French-language information about Kingston. | 30,000 $ | East |
| Valor & Solutions | Skills Development for Francophones with Intellectual Disabilities | The project will provide training to groups and organizations offering services in French in Eastern Ontario and across Ontario. By translating and adapting the Skills System web platform into French, clinicians working with French-speaking people with intellectual disabilities will have access to a virtual platform to support their French-speaking clients across Ontario. | $49,165 | East |
| Valoris pour enfants et adultes de Prescott-Russell/Valoris for Children and Adults of Prescott-Russell | Orientation and Coaching Model to Promote Employee Stability | The “Orientation and Coaching Model to Promote Employee Stability” initiative will create favourable working conditions and provide quality coaching services in French to nearly 50 employees who work in group homes for adults with intellectual disabilities in the United Counties of Prescott and Russell. | $50,000 | East |
| Water Rangers | When French comes first for ocean water testing! | The project will engage ten partner organizations and four bilingual staff by offering ten educational lessons developed in French, two French training videos, one promotional video celebrating the Franco-Ontario community, and five excursions and events with Franco-Ontarian partners. | $23,000 | East |
| Windsor International Film Festival | The Windsor International Film Festival “WIFF’s Francophone Film Program” | This project will assist the Windsor International Film Festival to develop a Francophone film workshop that will cater to the professional development of Francophone filmmakers and producers. | $49,480 | West |
Economic Development Stream
| Organization | Project Name | Project Description | Maximum Grant | Target Communities |
| Aiducation | Large-Scale Support for French-language Schools | Aiducation’s “Large-Scale Support for French-Language Schools” initiative will support families who choose an alternative approach to traditional education in the Thunder Bay area. The project aims to offer virtual and face-to-face school support services to 86 Francophones. | $7,479 | North |
| Altimex Consulting & Services Inc. | TechnoClic! | The project “TechnoClic! Technology for Everyone!” has been created for the Francophone minority community. Computer literacy training sessions will help spread the use of French-language technology tools and raise awareness in the community. | $50,000 | Central |
| Centre de service à l’emploi/ Employment Services Centre | Diversity and Inclusion | The project aims to provide training for employers to raise awareness of diversity and inclusion as a way of tackling labour shortages.The project will be delivered in the greater rural Francophone region of Prescott and Russell, Stormont and Glengarry. | $50,000 | East |
| Conseil de la coopération de l’Ontario/ Cooperation Council of Ontario | CCO in Action: Investing for the Future! | The project aims to foster the professional development of CCO team members on one the hand and on the other hand to provide learning opportunities for Ontario’s Francophone not-for-profit organizations. | $37,602 | Central |
| Renfrew County Community Futures Development Corporation | Renfrew County Francophone Job Creation 4.0 | Renfrew County Francophone Job Creation 4.0 will offer employers a 50% wage subsidy, providing an incentive to hire 12 Francophone individuals for full-time positions. These employees will participate in 4 training/networking sessions offered in French. By promoting the recruitment and training of bilingual staff, this project will ultimately strengthen the capacity of organizations to provide products and services to Francophones. | $50,000 | East |
| Société Économique de l’Ontario | The Entrepreneurs Forum | The Entrepreneurs Forum will be an opportunity to celebrate Francophone entrepreneurship in Ontario. It will bring together entrepreneurs with similar interests and objectives, enhancing their capacity to provide products and services to the province’s Francophones. | $9,091 | East |