The Rendez-vous de la Francophonie
March 1 to 31, 2019

Message from the Parks Canada Champion and Co-Champion of Official Languages

Linguistic duality is a fundamental value for Parks Canada. It allows us to connect with and unite all Canadians.

As Champion and Co-Champion of official languages, we promote it to enhance the vitality and support the development of official language minority communities across Canada.

Each year, Parks Canada helps bring the country’s linguistic communities closer together. We welcome millions of visitors to engage with Canada’s shared cultural and natural heritage through our national parks, national historic sites and national marine conservation areas.

We are committed to continuing along this path and protecting our official languages. In strengthening the Canadian Francophonie, we strengthen Canada.

Celebrating the vitality of the Canadian Francophonie

Over the last twenty years the Rendez-vous de la Francophonie has provided a key opportunity to celebrate our heritage and our deep and collective attachment to the French language, while sharing its vitality and diversity.

As the Minister Responsible for the Canadian Francophonie, I am proud to be associated with this annual event. Since the defence and promotion of French are intrinsically linked to solidarity between Québec society and the Francophone and Acadian communities, I encourage you to attend this gathering where our language, a source of pride and a springboard for action, will be in the spotlight.

Air Canada is proud to display the maple leaf and to represent Canadian values at home and around the world. Our country's rich bilingualism is one of the values we proudly cultivate. In fact, we are one of the most bilingual private companies in Canada. Also, the expansion of our international network to Paris, Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille, Brussels, Geneva, Casablanca and Algiers, opens our doors to new horizons nurturing the diversity and the richness of our Canadian Francophone culture. We are very proud to support the 21st edition of Les Rendez-vous de la Francophonie, which brings together Francophones, Francophiles and Anglophones to celebrate our Canadian Francophonie that keeps shining around the World.

Every year, the Rendez-vous de la Francophonie provides an opportunity to promote dialogue among all Francophones and Francophiles across the country.

I am pleased to contribute to this initiative through the Language Portal of Canada, a flagship product of the Translation Bureau and a proud partner of the Rendez‑vous.

The Language Portal is brimming with tools to help Canadians communicate more effectively in English and French. Visit canada.ca/our-languages, and be sure to check out the Our Languages blog and the collection of language quizzes!

Enjoy the Rendez-vous de la Francophonie!

NAV CANADA is proud once again to be an official sponsor of Les Rendez-vous de la Francophonie. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Official Languages Act, an important milestone that recognizes our two official languages are at the heart of this country’s identity. As Canada’s air navigation service provider, we are proud to bring Canadians together from coast to coast. We honour Canada’s diversity and are proud to celebrate the important role of our Francophone communities across the country. I wish you all a wonderful time at this year’s celebration – bons Rendez-vous!

The National Film Board of Canada (NFB) is pleased to be part of the Rendez-vous de la Francophonie (RVF) for the 14th year in a row, with four unique documentary and animation programs for francophone and francophile audiences across the country. The NFB’s participation in the RVF reflects its commitment to spreading French-language cultural expression to communities throughout Canada—especially as the country marks the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the Official Languages Act.

Enjoy the films!

Fifty years ago, the Government of Canada passed the Official Languages Act. This marked the culmination of 200 years of linguistic evolution, leading to the attainment of equality between Canada’s Anglophone and Francophone communities in terms of status and the federal government services offered to these communities.

It is important to commemorate this cornerstone of the Canadian identity. It is a distinguishing trait that sets us apart among nations.

The Rendez-vous de la Francophonie (RVF) is an opportunity to recall that there are two official language majority communities in our country, that these two communities are present throughout the territory of Canada and that it is important to mark their presence, their vibrancy and their vitality.

The aim of the 2019 RVF is to put the spotlight on Francophone minority communities. We too often forget that these communities contribute to our country’s economic and cultural development. Francophones have been in Canada for over 4 centuries, and they will still be here in another 400 years.

As Minister of Tourism, Official Languages and La Francophonie, I would like to welcome you to the 21st Rendez-vous de La Francophonie.

Our official languages are at the heart of our identity. That’s why our government is committed to promoting them throughout the country.

Les Rendez-vous de La Francophonie is a wonderful way to showcase the numerous French cultural activities that Francophones and Francophiles can enjoy throughout the country. For 21 years, it has shone a light on the French language and our many cultural expressions.

As Minister of Tourism, Official Languages and La Francophonie, I would like to thank the volunteers, organizers from the Canadian Foundation for Cross-Cultural Dialogue, whose efforts have helped make this important gathering such a success.

À l’aube du 50e anniversaire de la Loi sur les langues officielles, VIA Rail tient tout spécialement à célébrer la dualité linguistique et ce pan de notre histoire en s’associant à la Fondation canadienne pour le dialogue des cultures dans le cadre de l’édition 2019 des Rendez-vous de la Francophonie. L es Rendez-vous représentent d’incontournables rassemblements culturels, tenus partout au Canada, qui favorisent l’épanouissement des communautés de langues officielles. Voilà pourquoi VIA Rail est fière partenaire de cet événement depuis plus de quinze ans.

VIA Rail has chosen to serve all Canadians in the language of their choice, across the country and regardless of demand, whether they are passing through one of our stations, communicating with our call centres or travelling aboard one of our trains. Even though roughly 4.8 million passengers travelled with VIA Rail last year and our ridership is constantly increasing, customer satisfaction with respect to our bilingual service remains as high as ever.

En tant que premier dirigeant de VIA Rail, je me fais un devoir d’exercer une grande influence auprès de tous mes collègues afin de renforcer la culture de service bilingue au sein de notre organisation et de rappeler ce trait hautement significatif de l’identité culturelle de notre pays qu’est le fait de pouvoir vivre en français et en anglais.

We wish the 2019 Rendez-vous the best of success!