Franco-Ontarians are Francophone Canadians that reside in the province of Ontario. Most are French Canadians from Ontario. In 2021, according to the Government of Ontario, there were 650,000 Francophones in the province. The majority of Franco-Ontarians in the province reside in Eastern Ontario, Northeastern Ontario, and Central Ontario, although small francophone communities may be found in other regions of the province.
The Government of Ontario is the body responsible for the administration of the Canadian province of Ontario. The term Government of Ontario refers specifically to the executive—political ministers of the Crown, appointed on the advice of the premier, and the non-partisan Ontario Public Service, who staff ministries and agencies to deliver government policies, programs, and services—which corporately brands itself as the Government of Ontario, or more formally, His Majesty's Government of Ontario.
Gisèle Lalonde, was a Canadian politician and community activist, who served as the mayor of Vanier, Ontario from 1985 to 1991.
Dyane Adam, was the Canadian Official Languages Commissioner from 1999 to 2006. She was responsible for promoting bilingualism within the government of Canada. She holds a PhD in psychology from the University of Ottawa and taught at this university, as well as at Glendon College and Laurentian University.
Association of Colleges and Universities of the Canadian Francophonie promotes community college and university education in minority francophone communities in Canada, through cooperation between its member institutions. In the community it serves, each member institution plays a crucial role in cultural, social and economic development. The association represents its member institutions on topics of mutual interest before the Government of Canada, national and international organizations. Up until 1 April 2015, the organisation was known as the Association of Universities of the Canadian Francophonie, or in French, Association des universités de la francophonie canadienne (AUFC), when it did not include community college members.
The Franco-Ontarian flag is a symbol created to represent Franco-Ontarians, reflecting the diverse languages, seasons and people of Ontario. The design consists of two bands of green and white. The left portion has a solid light green background with a white fleur-de-lys in the middle, while the right portion has a solid white background with a stylized green trillium in the middle.
The lieutenant governor of Ontario is the representative in Ontario of the Canadian monarch, King Charles III, who operates distinctly within the province but is also shared equally with the ten other jurisdictions of Canada, as well as the other Commonwealth realms and any subdivisions thereof, and resides predominantly in his oldest realm, the United Kingdom. The lieutenant governor of Ontario is appointed in the same manner as the other provincial viceroys in Canada and is similarly tasked with carrying out most of the monarch's constitutional and ceremonial duties. The current lieutenant governor of Ontario is Edith Dumont, sworn in on November 14, 2023.
Violet Elizabeth Dowdeswell is a Canadian public servant who served as the 29th lieutenant governor of Ontario from 2014 to 2023. As lieutenant governor, Dowdeswell was the viceregal representative of the Crown in Right of Ontario and the first in over seven decades to serve under two different Canadian sovereigns. A champion of democracy and civil society, she is also the longest-serving lieutenant governor in Ontario's history.
Antoinette Perry, is a Canadian former schoolteacher and the 29th lieutenant governor of Prince Edward Island since 2017, acting as the province's viceregal representative of King Charles III of Canada. She was appointed on September 14, 2017, by Governor General David Johnston on the constitutional advice of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and was sworn in on October 20, 2017, succeeding H. Frank Lewis. Perry's swearing in ceremony took place in Tignish, Prince Edward Island, marking the first time a PEI lieutenant governor was sworn in outside of the province's capital, Charlottetown.
Gaétan Gervais, was a Canadian author, historian and university professor, most noted as a prominent figure in Franco-Ontarian culture. With a group of university students at Laurentian University, he designed the Franco-Ontarian flag, and was a founding member of the Franco-Ontarian Institute.
Linda Cardinal is a Franco-Ontarian political scientist. She is a University Professor and a Canada Research Chair in Canadian Francophonie and Public Policies at the University of Ottawa. Cardinal was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 2013 and honoured with the Ordre des Palmes Académiques and Member of the Order of Canada. She was also the first coordinator of the francophone studies program at the University of Ottawa.
The Université de l’Ontario français is a French-language public university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university campus is situated in the East Bayfront neighbourhood of downtown Toronto, near the Toronto waterfront.
S.O.S. Montfort was a Franco-Ontarian movement that fought to save Montfort Hospital, the only primarily francophone hospital in Ontario, after the Mike Harris government announced it would be shutting down the hospital in 1997. One of the largest mass movements in Franco-Ontarian history, the level of mobilisation it saw and the ultimate success of the campaign has been noted as a significant moment in the struggle for French-language rights in Ontario and in the wider Canada.
The 2018 Franco-Ontarian Black Thursday occurred on 15 November 2018, when the government of Ontario, led by Doug Ford, announced a number of cuts to Franco-Ontarian institutions in the province, notably the elimination of the office of the French Language Services Commissioner and of the soon-to-be-opened Université de l'Ontario français. The cuts provoked a significant backlash from the Franco-Ontarian community, leading to the largest mass mobilisations in Franco-Ontarian history, surpassing those of SOS Montfort two decades earlier, and leading to the government of Ontario mostly backing down from the cuts.
Nous Sommes, Nous Serons is a slogan often used by the Franco-Ontarian community in Canada. Signifying that the Franco-Ontarian community has long existed in Ontario, continues to exist, and will exist in the future, it has especially been used as a symbol of resistance against attempts to suppress the French language in Ontario.
Almanda Walker-Marchand was a Canadian feminist and founder of the Fédération des femmes canadiennes-françaises.
Mélissa Ouimet is a Franco-Ontarian singer and songwriter.
Pierre Ouellette is a Canadian academic, broadcast executive, and president of the Université de l'Ontario français in Toronto. He was formerly president of the Université de Hearst from 2011 until 2016 and was director of Radio-Canada's French-language Ontario unit from October 11, 2016 until 2021.
Manon Jeannotte is the 30th and current lieutenant governor of Quebec. She is a member of the Gespeg Mi'kmaq First Nation. Following her appointment, the National Assembly of Quebec unanimously voted a non-binding motion to abolish the position of Lieutenant Governor. She assumed the role of Lieutenant Governor on 25 January 2024, choosing to be sworn in at her office rather than in the National Assembly as is customary.
