Ontario's Francophone Community: Regional Views Provide Important
Perspectives

Ontario Trillium Foundation uses long-form census data to highlight aging community and increasing diversity

TORONTO, Aug. 9 /CNW/ -

NEWS
Five new regional reports released today detail the demographic trends of Ontario's Francophone community in Toronto and targeted regions in Eastern, Northeastern and Southwestern Ontario.

Customized to reflect the Francophone community's unique circumstances and regional characteristics, the five reports provide a snapshot of the trends at play within the community between 2001 and 2006. They use the new inclusive definition of Francophone and reflect the most robust and accurate census information currently available.

Collectively, the five statistical reports highlight that:

• The Francophone community is increasingly diverse. In Toronto, it mirrors more and more the diversity of the city with one in three Francophones belonging to a visible minority. That ratio is 9 per cent in Champlain and 6.8 per cent in Southwestern Ontario.
• The Francophone community in Northeastern and Southwestern Ontario is decreasing and faces challenges due to its aging population and a proportionately low number of children and youth.
• The Champlain region is home to the province's largest Francophone community, with over a quarter million people. While Francophones earn slightly more than other Champlain residents, there are substantial income gaps for visible minority Francophones.
• Although Francophones are a small proportion of the city's total population, Toronto has one of the largest Francophone communities in Ontario with more than 53,000 Francophone residents.
• Over 66 per cent of Ontario's Francophones use French at work. This proportion is notably higher in Champlain with 86.4 per cent.

QUOTES

"These latest reports are an essential tool to boost the impact of our grants, allowing us to be strategic on how funds are allocated and priorities are set to best support Ontario's communities.

We are pleased to have been able to use the information provided by the long-form census from Statistics Canada. Our Foundation and indeed Ontario's communities and not-for-profit sector rely on this unique source of information about populations, languages, employment, income and education at the community level."

- L. Robin Cardozo, CEO, Ontario Trillium Foundation

"In a region as diverse and changing as ours, data on local demographic, social and economic trends matter a lot. This latest research by the Foundation will benefit greatly Champlain's Francophone community, the largest in the province." 

- Gérald Samson, outgoing Chair, Champlain Grant Review Team, Ontario Trillium Foundation

MORE INFORMATION

The five regional profiles cover the following geographical areas:

• Champlain - Ottawa and parts of Eastern Ontario
• Algoma, Cochrane, Manitoulin, Sudbury
• Muskoka, Nipissing, Parry Sound, Timiskaming
• Essex, Kent, Lambton
• Toronto

In 2009, OTF and the Office of Francophone Affairs released jointly a provincial statistical overview Profile of Ontario's Francophone Community.

Research conducted at the Foundation's Knowledge Sharing Centre is part of OTF's ongoing efforts to build healthy and vibrant communities, by collecting and disseminating current statistical information about Ontario communities.

A leading grantmaker in Canada, the Ontario Trillium Foundation strengthens the capacity of the voluntary sector through investments in community-based initiatives. An agency of the Government of Ontario, OTF builds healthy and vibrant communities.

LEARN MORE

Read Your Community in Profile
Follow L. Robin Cardozo on Twitter
Learn more about the Ontario Trillium Foundation

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