Orléans looks to a bilingual future, with the newest Liberal MP bringing plans to integrate the French and English people in the riding. Marie-France Lalonde, the MP elected for the Orléans riding, believes that being bilingual is imperative in this area. At a Starbucks in the newly constructed Trim Road area in Orléans, Lalonde appears to be in her element. After almost 20 years in Orléans after moving from Gatineau, she’s very focused on keeping in touch with her community and ensuring a blend of French and English cultures in her riding.
According to an analysis of Statistics Canada’s 2016 census, Orléans has the third highest Francophone population and the second highest English and French speakers in Ottawa. Lalonde points this towards the high number of government workers in the area who are required to be bilingual. The high level of bilingual officials, along with the high post-secondary graduation rate, makes Orléans one of the highest income ridings in Ottawa.
As a newly elected official, taking over from the previous Liberal winner Andrew Leslie, Lalonde was surprised with the amount of support she received from the community. “I didn’t know I was going to win until after it was over,” she chuckles. She says her main excitement is getting more involved in a community she loves, which is visible from her bubbly conversation with the barista as she orders her coffee.
Lalonde was concerned a Conservative win in her area would result in cuts to education, primarily French education in the area. As former Minister of Francophone affairs, she had been very involved in Francophone rights and education, including supporting the creation of the Université de l’Ontario Français. “It’ll be the first of its kind, a governance for only Francophones.”
The university was proposed and started in 2017. Jason Luckerhoff, the vice-president of program and research development for the university, says that a full range of programs will become available in September of 2021, including law and political science courses. Luckerhoff says that the creation of a French-only university is not a new ask from the Ontario community. “People have been working on that project for the past 40 years. We want at least one governance to be in French, offering only programs in French.”
The federal Liberal government has promised to promote minority-language rights and bilingualism investing $60 million to build cultural centres and infrastructure that support minority-language communities. As part of this, the federal government has also promised to take over funding for a new campus for the sole Francophone university in Ontario. Lalonde states that it was the federal government that convinced the Ontario government to revisit the funding after they cut the university earlier this year. “The federal Liberal government came to the table and reached out to the Ford government, saying “Hey don’t make this harsh decision, let’s sit down and let’s talk.””
Interview with Marie-France Lalonde
In order to further integrate the English and French communities in Orléans, Lalonde is discussing rebuilding a French cultural centre to have a hub for the Francophones in her riding. “This will help the cultural Francophonie, the school boards that are offering French classes.” She also plans to work with the English community, especially seniors in her area, to ensure that they are receiving the same benefits as the Francophone population.
“We do have a friend as a government, and I’m so happy to join them in bringing that voice for Ontario and for Orléans.”