Improving Health-Care Access for Francophones
Province modernizing the delivery of French-language health services to improve quality of care and outcomes
The Ontario government is improving health-care access for francophones by creating a new French Language Health Planning Centre. Designed in partnership with the Assemblée de la francophonie de l’Ontario (AFO) and Hôpital Montfort, the new centre will better address the needs of francophone communities and make it easier for French speakers to connect to health care closer to home.
“Our government heard loud and clear from the francophone community that change is needed. We are proud to take action to make it easier for the more than 650,000 francophones and 1.5 million bilingual people living in Ontario to connect to care, where and when they need it,” says Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “This new centre is designed by francophones for francophones and will help meet their health-care needs for years to come.”
The French Language Health Planning Centre will open September 1, 2025, with a mandate to modernize and improve health-care services and outcomes for francophones. It will have oversight of planning, policies, programs, funding and resource decisions. Staff will have the opportunity to transition from the six existing French Language Health Planning Entities to minimize duplication and reduce administrative burdens.
“With this new centre, we are laying the foundation for better access to French-language health care for generations to come,” said Caroline Mulroney, Minister of Francophone Affairs. “We will continue to work with Ontario’s francophone community to ensure we increase access to health-care services that are more effective, consistent and responsive to the needs of patients.”
Through Your Health: A Plan for Connected and Convenient Care, the Ontario government continues to take bold and decisive action to protect the province’s health-care system and ensure people and their families have access to high-quality care closer to home for generations to come.
“We appreciate the province’s proactive commitment and the opportunity to co-create an innovative model. This announcement reaffirms the government’s mission to ensure the delivery of high-quality French-language health services across Ontario,” says Fabien Hébert, President, AFO. “The creation of the new centre marks a concrete step toward fulfilling this responsibility by strengthening the sustainability of French-language health services planning.”
