Philippe Couillard will remind the importance of French to Doug Ford

Premier Philippe Couillard met with his newly elected Ontario counterpart, Doug Ford, at the Council of the Federation's New Brunswick opening cocktail on Wednesday night

Philippe Couillard intends to remind Doug Ford of the importance of the French fact in Canada, during their first meeting in the Council of the Federation.

Indeed, last week's speech by the new Conservative Prime Minister of Ontario did not contain a word in French, while the Ministry of Francophone Affairs was abolished.

On the eve of the Council of the Federation, which opens tomorrow in Saint-Andrews, New Brunswick, Premier Philippe Couillard said he will "certainly" discuss the issue with his Ontario counterpart. "It's something that we, as Quebeckers, have to watch with attention. We have a responsibility and solidarity to practice with francophones outside Quebec, "he says.

Premiers of the provinces and territories took the traditional family photo on the eve of the Council of the Federation, which begins tomorrow in St. Andrews, New Brunswick.

Diplomatic, Prime Minister Couillard however did not want to say if the absence of French in the speech of the throne was a mistake. "I will not describe what Mr. Ford does, it's his choice," he said.

Decline

However, he recalled the actions of Doug Ford's predecessor, Liberal Kathleen Wynne, who "took a lot of initiative during her tenure to deal with the French fact in Ontario". "And for that, I think we francophones must be grateful to him," he says. Philippe Couillard invited Prime Minister Ford to continue in this direction.

In fact, the annual report of the Ontario French Language Services Commissioner released on Wednesday sounded the alarm: Franco-Ontarians will constitute at most 4% of the province's population by 2028 if nothing is done. to turn the tide.

In defense of French

This is the second time in a week that Philippe Couillard is defending the French language. Last Wednesday, he invited the European giant Airbus to respect the "Quebec footprint" in the C Series, developed by Bombardier and renamed A220 at a ceremony held exclusively in English.

At the beginning of his term, Philippe Couillard was rather criticized for a speech he had given only in English at the Artic Circle conference in Iceland. When journalists asked him if it was his duty to make the French language shine, he had replied: "the whole world knows that Quebec is francophone".