French immersion enrolment in BC public schools has been on the decline since the COVID-19 pandemic’s first year, according to the latest numbers compiled by Canadian Parents for French (CPF).
However, school districts in the Kootenays are bucking that trend — numbers are actually up slightly.
Compared with 2019-2020, there were 1,902 fewer students in French immersion in B.C. schools in 2023-2024, the CPF is reporting. The decrease in French immersion enrolment has taken place despite 28,000 more students in B.C. public schools compared to four years ago.
But in School District 5, which includes French Immersion schools in Cranbrook and Fernie, there has been a 2.82 per cent increase in FI students compared to the prior year (657 vs 639); and a 13.08 per cent increase in FI students compared to five years ago (657 vs 581).
All student enrolment in School District 5 is up slightly — 0.52 per cent compared to the prior year (6,043 vs 6,012). Over the past five years, all enrolment up 7.66 per cent (6,043 vs 5,613).
The numbers across the Kootenays are similar. In School Districts 5, 6, 8, 10, 20, 51, there has been a 2.13 per cent increase in FI students compared to the prior year (1,585 vs 1,552), and a 26.6 per cent increase compared to 2018-2019 (1,475 vs 1,165).
All student enrolment in those districts is up 4.7 per cent compared to 2018-2019 (18,776 vs 17,933), and 8.44 per cent of total students are in French Immersion.
Across the province, in 2023-2024, the French immersion enrolment rate was 8.69 per cent, down from 8.95 per cent the year before. The number of French immersion students declined from 52,849 to 52,514. The proportion of students in French immersion in BC has gone below nine per cent for two straight years, after staying above nine per cent for the eight years before that dating back to 2014-2015.
As well as the Kootenays, two other regions of the province accommodated more French immersion students than the year before — Vancouver Island and Skeena North Coast. Other regions, including the Lower Mainland, Thompson Okanagan, Cariboo/Prince George, and the Northeast, saw declines over the last year.
“There has been a small but consistent decline in the number of students enrolled in French immersion in public schools in the province over the last four years,” said CPF BC & Yukon President Alex Hughes. “It’s not a trend we would expect considering the continued popularity of French immersion and the annual wait lists in a number of school districts.”
The advantages to learning a second language include graduation from Grade 12 with a Bilingual Dogwood Certificate. French Immersion programming benefits the cognitive and social development of students, and, since Canada is a member of both La Francophonie and the Commonwealth, its bilingualism is a vital tool for commercial development. Against a global background of trade and competition, the acquisition of a second language is seen as an economic asset.
The Immersion Program provides students with an education equivalent to what is available in the English language program, while providing opportunities to develop a high level of proficiency in French. Students that graduate from the program in Grade 12 should be able to participate easily in French conversation, take post-secondary courses with French as the language of instruction, and accept employment with French as the language of work.
Canadian Parents for French is a nationwide, research-informed, volunteer organization that furthers bilingualism by promoting opportunities to learn and use French for all those who call Canada home.
