Alberta works to support French minority-language education and second-language programs through OLEP funding.
Obtaining federal OLEP funding
The federal government funds official languages in education through regular annual or specific project funding.
Regular annual funding
Step 1. Federal, provincial, and territorial governments negotiate a single base agreement, called a protocol
- Protocol for Agreements for Minority-Language Education and Second-Language Instruction 2019-2020 to 2022-2023 (ratified February 2020)
The Protocol for Agreements for Minority-Language Education and Second-Language Instruction sets out how the governments work together and shows how the federal government gives money to all provinces and territories.
Governments renegotiate the protocol every 4 or 5 years to reflect changing priorities.
It takes an average of 2 years to negotiate each new protocol.
Step 2. The federal government negotiates with each province and territory individually to create unique agreements
- Canada-Alberta Agreement on Minority-Language Education and Second-Language Instruction 2023-24: Provisional Arrangements (ratified October 2023)
- Canada-Alberta Agreement on Minority-Language Education and Second-Language Instruction 2020-2021 to 2022-2023 (ratified April 2021)
The Alberta government and the federal government negotiate the Canada-Alberta Agreement for Minority-Language Education and Second-Language Instruction to:
- expand on important objectives in the Protocol for Agreements for Minority-Language Education and Second-Language Instruction
- identify strategies and initiatives specific to Alberta
- create a detailed action plan to show how Alberta will distribute federal funding
It takes an average of 6 to 12 months to negotiate these agreements.
Specific projects or goals are funded through a separate application process (refer to the Additional OLEP funding page for more information).
Step 3. Provinces and territories get federal funding
Each province and territory gets federal funding to give to funding recipients according to its action plan. The federal government usually gives this funding in 2 parts each year.
Step 4. Funding recipients report back to government
The Alberta government collects reports during the protocol term from each funding recipient, creates a combined report, and submits it to the federal government.
We repeat this process at the end of the protocol term to create a more detailed report showing how funding helped recipients achieve their goals.
Legislation and policies
The following legislation, policies and resources guide the delivery of French minority (francophone) education and French second-language instruction (includes French as a Second Language courses and French immersion programs) in Alberta:
- Section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
- Alberta’s French Policy
- Education Act
- Guide to Education
- Funding Manual for School Authorities
Learn more about French language education in Alberta.
Archive
- Amendment to the Canada-Alberta Agreement on Minority-Language Education and Second-Language Instruction 2020-2021 to 2022-2023 (ratified March 2023)
- Canada-Alberta Agreement for Minority-Language Education and Second-Language Instruction 2019-2020 Amending Agreement (ratified April 2020)
- Protocol for Agreements for Minority-Language Education and Second-Language Instruction 2013-2014 to 2017-2018
Contact
Connect with the Alberta Official Languages in Education Programs (OLEP) office:
Hours: 8:15 am to 4:30 pm (open Monday to Friday, closed statutory holidays)
Phone: 780-427-2940
Toll free: 310-0000 before the phone number (in Alberta)
Email: [email protected]