The Minister responsible for La Francophonie is a member of the

Canadian Cabinet The Cabinet of Canada (french: Cabinet du Canada) is a body of ministers of the Crown that, along with the Canadian monarch, and within the tenets of the Westminster system, forms the government of Canada. Chaired by the prime minister, the ...

who handles relations with the

Organisation internationale de la Francophonie The (OIF; sometimes shortened to the Francophonie, french: La Francophonie , but also called International Organisation of in English-language context) is an international organization representing countries and regions where French is a ...

, an international community of francophone nations considered the French equivalent of the

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the ...

Role

The Minister responsible for the Francophonie is one of three ministers currently associated with the department

Global Affairs Canada Global Affairs Canada (GAC; french: Affaires mondiales Canada; AMC)''Global Affairs Canada'' is the applied title under the Federal Identity Program; the legal title is Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (). is the department ...

. A similar position exists at the provincial level in the Government of Quebec. It is traditional that the minister be from Quebec or from a Francophone community outside Quebec. It is tacitly understood that the minister should speak French fluently.

List of ministers

Jean-Luc Pépin Jean-Luc Pepin, (November 1, 1924 – September 5, 1995) was a Canadian academic, politician and Cabinet minister. Political biography Pepin was a political science professor at the University of Ottawa when he was first elected to the House o ...

(1983–1984) * Jean Chrétien (1984) *

Monique Vézina Monique Vézina, (born July 13, 1935) is a former Canadian politician. She now works with a Non-governmental organization in the field of international development. Vézina was born in Rimouski, Quebec. Prior to entering politics, she worked fo ...

(1984–1986) * Monique Landry (1986–1993) *

(1993) (second time) *

André Ouellet André Ouellet (), (born April 6, 1939) is a former longtime Liberal federal politician and Cabinet member in Canada. Following his political career, he served as chairman of Canada Post. First elected to the House of Commons of Canada in a ...

(1993–1996) *

Pierre Pettigrew Pierre Stewart Pettigrew (born April 18, 1951) is a Canadian politician and businessman. Early life and career Born in Quebec City, Pettigrew has a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy from the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (1972) ...

(1996) *

Don Boudria Donald Boudria, (born August 30, 1949) is a former Canadian politician. He served in the House of Commons of Canada from 1984 to 2005 as a member of the Liberal Party of Canada, and was a cabinet minister in the government of Jean Chrétien. M ...

(1996–1997) * Diane Marleau (1997–1999) *

Ronald Duhamel Ronald J. Duhamel, (March 2, 1938 – September 30, 2002) was a Canadian Member of Parliament and Senator. Biography Ronald Duhamel was born in Saint Boniface, Manitoba, he obtained a Bachelor of Arts (BA) from Lakehead University and a M ...

* (1999–2002) *

Denis Paradis Denis Paradis (born April 1, 1949) is a Canadian politician and lawyer who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Brome—Missisquoi from 2015 until 2019 and previously from 1995 to 2006. A member of the Liberal Party of Canada, Paradis ...

* (2002–2003) *

Denis Coderre Denis Coderre (born July 25, 1963) is a Canadian politician from Quebec. Coderre was the member of Parliament for the riding of Bourassa from 1997 until 2013, and was the Immigration minister from 2002 to 2003 and became the mayor of Mont ...

(2003–2004) *

Jacques Saada Jacques Saada, ( ar, جاك سعادة; born November 22, 1947) is a Canadians, Canadian politician and former Canadian Cabinet, cabinet minister. Saada is a teacher and linguist by profession and was Chief Executive Officer of a translation ...

(2004–2006) *

Josée Verner Josée Verner, (born December 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician. She represented the electoral district of Louis-Saint-Laurent in the House of Commons of Canada from 2006 to 2011 as a member of the Conservative Party of Canada. She also served ...

(2006–2007) *

Maxime Bernier Maxime Bernier (born January 18, 1963) is a Canadian politician who is the founder and leader of the People's Party of Canada (PPC). Formerly a member of the Conservative Party, Bernier left the caucus in 2018 to form the PPC. He was the membe ...

(2007–2008) *

(2008–2011); second time * Bernard Valcourt (2011–2013) *

Steven Blaney Steven Blaney (born April 8, 1965) is a Canadian businessman and Conservative politician. He served as the Minister of Public Safety Canada (July 15, 2013 – November 4, 2015) and previously as the Minister of Veterans Affairs and Minister o ...

(2013) *

Christian Paradis Christian Paradis (born January 1, 1974) is a Canadian politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Mégantic—L'Érable from 2006 to 2015. A member of the Conservative Party of Canada, he was first elected in the 2006 federal el ...

(2013–2015) *

Marie-Claude Bibeau Marie-Claude Bibeau (born April 4, 1970) is a Canadian politician who was elected to represent the electoral district (Canada), riding of Compton—Stanstead in the House of Commons of Canada, House of Commons in the 2015 Canadian federal elect ...

(2015–2018) *

Mélanie Joly Mélanie Joly (born January 16, 1979) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who has served as Minister of Foreign Affairs since October 2021. A member of the Liberal Party, Joly represents the Montreal-area riding of Ahuntsic-Cartierville in th ...

(2018–present) (*) Secretary of State responsible for La Francophonie and not a member of Cabinet.

References

{{Portal bar, Canada Francophonie

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...