Last fall, ICTC published Mapping Career Pathways for Ontario's Francophone and Bilingual Workforce, a report that explores how French-language skills are valued by employers in the labour market and influence Francophone and bilingual career pathways, and how Francophone and bilingual post-secondary students navigate Ontario’s post-secondary education system. The report highlighted the high demand for French-speaking talent throughout Ontario’s labour market.
As a part of this research, ICTC commissioned a survey of Francophone students in Ontario and other primarily English-speaking provinces, as well as French-speaking students in Québec, for comparison. The survey was intended to help ICTC better understand the perspectives of Francophone post-secondary students regarding their preferences when choosing post-secondary programs, as well as their post-graduation plans and career ambitions.
In this article, ICTC presents previously unreleased supplemental data from the student survey. A companion to the main report, this article provides a comparative analysis of Francophone student preferences throughout Canada’s Anglophone provinces and Québec.
In total, 340 Francophone respondents from across Canada participated in the survey. This included 87 respondents from Ontario, 167 respondents from Québec, and 86 from the other Canadian provinces. The survey was active between January and February 2023.
Key Takeaways
The survey highlights the emphasis Francophone students place on their Francophone identities and the importance of having access to higher education programs in French. The survey also demonstrates the importance Francophone students place on working while they study, as well as enhancing their career readiness through internships, co-ops, and other work-integrated learning programs while still in school. Finally, the survey outlines the challenges students throughout Canada face when accessing housing and participating in supplemental, but highly beneficial, educational opportunities like study abroad programs.
A sister article by ICTC researchers on leveraging French language skills to enhance employment prospects in Anglophone Canada is available here.
Language, Identity, and Higher Education Language of Study Preferences
Francophone student respondents from across Canada overwhelmingly reported the importance of the French language to their identities.
The importance of the French language to respondents’ individual identities was most pronounced throughout the Anglo-Canadian provinces. In Ontario, 84% of respondents reported that the French language is important to their identities; in all other Anglo-Canadian provinces, nearly all (99%) respondents reported the French language as important to their identities. In French-speaking Québec, 84% of respondents reported the French language as important to their identities (Figure 1).
The importance placed on French identity was reported to be a factor in choosing whether to pursue studies at Francophone institutions. This was the most pronounced in Ontario, where most respondents (94%) reported their French identity as a significant factor when choosing to study at a Francophone institution. Throughout the other Anglophone provinces, 82% of respondents reported their French identity as a factor. Seventy-four percent of respondents from Québec reported their French identities as a factor when choosing to study at a Francophone institution (Figure 2).
In addition to the reported importance of the French language and identity, respondents from across Canada (90%) also reported that their comfort learning in French was an important factor when choosing to study at a Francophone institution. Responses ranged from 89% in Ontario to 91% in the other Anglophone provinces and 90% in Québec (Figure 3).
Preferences for Institution and Class Size
Overall, respondents across the country reported favouring smaller institutions when choosing a university or college. Most respondents in Ontario (85%) and the other Anglophone provinces (89%) reported an overwhelming preference for studying at institutions with 10,000 students or fewer. However, Francophone respondents in Québec were more open to studying at large institutions with over 10,000 students (21%) and were less inclined (14%) to study at smaller institutions with 1,000 students or less (Figure 4).
Along with strong preferences for small and medium-sized institutions, respondents in most provinces also assigned importance to smaller class sizes. Francophone students in Québec were split between those who reported small class sizes to be important (53%) and those who regarded them as an unimportant consideration (43%) (Figure 5).
Relocating for Post-Secondary Studies
Relocating away from family and friends can be a difficult life choice for any student planning to pursue post-secondary studies—as well as for recent graduates seeking employment opportunities. However, because there are few Francophone post-secondary institutions outside of Québec, Francophone students throughout Anglophone Canada must make this choice in order to access French language higher education programs.
On the question of willingness to relocate within their home province to pursue post-secondary studies, around half of the respondents from Québec (53%) were willing to relocate within their province. In Ontario, only 29% of respondents were willing to relocate within the province, while 43% of respondents from the other Anglophone provinces reported being willing to relocate within their home province in pursuit of post-secondary studies (Figure 6).
Regarding relocating to Québec to pursue post-secondary studies in French, few Franco-Ontarians (35%) reported being willing to relocate to Québec—the majority preferring to stay in Ontario. Equally, 58% of Québec respondents were unwilling to relocate to Ontario to pursue their post-secondary studies. Yet, French-speaking students from the other Canadian provinces were more open to pursuing their studies in Québec, with 43% of respondents reporting to be willing to relocate (Figure 7).
Student Housing
Canada is currently facing an acute housing shortage. Canadian students face increasingly unaffordable and accelerating rents and difficulty finding accommodations in some communities. Just over half (54%) of Ontario-based respondents reported planning on living at home during their post-secondary studies, with 14% of respondents from Ontario planning to live on campus in dorms or apartments and 24% planning to live in accommodations off campus. The number of respondents planning to live at home for the duration of their studies was much higher in Ontario than in the other Anglophone provinces (28%) and Québec (33%) (Figure 8).
The reported propensity for students in Ontario to live at home may be driven by the relatively high price of accommodations in the province. As of July 2024, Ontario has the second highest average rental rates in Canada—second only to British Columbia—with rents averaging $2,382/month, according to data from Rentals.ca. This compares to Québec, with a $1,979/month average rent, Atlantic Canada, with a $2,145/month average rent, and Alberta, with a $1,798/month average rent.
However, staying home to save money on rent may also reduce student program choice, especially for Francophone students wishing to pursue their post-secondary studies in French.
There are many cases where a student’s program of choice is unavailable in French near their home. In such cases, a student could be forced to choose between relocating to a different region and risking paying extremely high accommodation costs or staying at home and forgoing attending their post-secondary program of choice in French.
Such a decision may be especially difficult—or even unrealistic—for French-speaking students from low-income families or marginalized communities, who may not be able to afford to relocate out-of-region or out-of-province in pursuit of a French-language post-secondary program of choice.
Studying Abroad
Study abroad and international education opportunities enrich student education, increase student career readiness and post-graduation employment prospects, and even change students’ career choices and life trajectories.
However, the Canadian Bureau of International Education (CBIE) 2016 Learning Abroad Survey notes that only 2.3% of Canadian university students and 1% of college students pursue study abroad opportunities even though 86% reported being interested in studying abroad. There is a notable gap between Canadian students’ stated interest in studying abroad and students pursuing study abroad opportunities.
In Ontario, a notable majority of respondents (63%) placed importance on study abroad opportunities when choosing a post-secondary institution. In Québec, Francophone students were split in placing importance on studying abroad, with 48% placing importance on studying abroad and 47% not considering it important. Conversely, in the other Anglophone provinces, the majority of respondents (77%) placed importance on pursuing study abroad opportunities while pursuing post-secondary studies (Figure 9).
Regarding pursuing career opportunities overseas post-graduation, there were significant regional differences in willingness to relocate outside Canada. Only 39% of respondents from Ontario and 29% from Québec reported being willing to move abroad for a career opportunity. Conversely, 69% of respondents in the other Anglophone provinces were willing to relocate abroad to pursue a career opportunity (Figure 10).
Working While Studying
Most survey respondents reported that they were currently working full- or part-time or planned on working in the future as they pursue their post-secondary studies. Only a minority of respondents (11%) throughout Canada reported not currently working and not intending to work during their studies. Respondents based in Québec and Ontario reported either already working or planning to work during their post-secondary studies at rates of 84% and 81%, respectively. Most respondents (94%) throughout the other Canadian Anglophone provinces reported that they were either working or planning to work during their studies (Figure 11).
The increased cost of living in Canada and the post-graduation career benefits of having some work experience while still a student may incentivize Francophone students throughout Canada to work at least part-time during their post-secondary studies.
Work Integrated Learning: Co-op Programs and Internships
Work Integrated Learning opportunities, such as co-op placements and internship programs are increasingly common features in Canda’s higher education landscape. Recent research by ICTC on Work Integrated Learning (WIL) programs finds such programs create critical pathways for students to integrate into the workforce post-graduation. Likewise, campus programs such as formal career development workshops and mentorship programs can help post-secondary students explore career options and identify desirable career paths post-graduation. WIL programs focused on digital economy roles have also been shown to benefit students and employers economically.
Survey respondents overwhelmingly perceived the value of access to WIL programs in their post-secondary studies. This strong response reflects student concerns for post-graduate career outcomes and a positive perceived value placed on post-secondary WIL programming. This perceived value held for both co-operative education programs, internships, as well as access to campus career development workshops and mentorship programs—though respondents in all Canadian regions were less certain about the importance of mentorship programs compared to other types of post-secondary career development supports (Figures 12 to 15).
Perceptions of the Importance of French in the Workplace
On whether students perceived their French language skills as important to their future employment, Francophone respondents across Canada overwhelmingly (91%) believed this to be the case. The importance placed on French language skills was especially high in Ontario and the other Anglophone provinces (both 93%), though respondents in Québec also placed significant importance (90%) on their French language skills in the workplace (Figure 16).
Indeed, ICTC research on the value of French-language skills in the Ontario workplace confirms that there is a notable salary premium for bilingual French-English workers in some industries.
The student survey data presented in this article notes the contemporary preferences of Francophone post-secondary students in Ontario, Québec, and elsewhere in Canada. Students who participated in the survey across Canada highlighted the importance of post-graduate career outcomes and access to campus career supports such as WIL programming. The survey also draws attention to the desirability of study abroad programs to enrich students’ post-secondary education experiences.
Furthermore, the data demonstrates the challenge students face in accessing housing in high-cost areas of the country and the often-difficult decision Francophone students face when relocating outside of their community or province to access choice French-language post-secondary education programs. It also highlights regional differences in preference regarding core post-secondary education concerns, such as institution and class size. Finally, the survey reveals the importance students place on their Francophone identities and strong preferences for pursuing studies in the French language.
Erik Henningsmoen is a research and policy analyst with the Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC). Erik co-authored, with Faun Rice, ICTC’s September 2023 report: Mapping Career Pathways for Ontario’s Francophone and Bilingual Workforce: Insights for Post-Secondaries, Employers, and Students.
