B.C.'s francophone community is a bit different from other communities elsewhere in Canada. We have to deal with a major challenge as a result of the low percentage of francophones. In absolute terms, our community is very large. It's the third largest after those of Ontario and New Brunswick. However, in relative terms, we are forced to turn to the anglophone majority.
As you said so well, there's an enthusiasm or an interest that is reflected, for example, in a very great attachment to Canadian Parents for French. Moreover, the largest provincial branch of that national organization is the one in British Columbia. We have excellent relations with Canadian Parents for French. I attended their annual gala two weeks ago. Furthermore, the current opposition leader, Adrian Dix, speaks French. We hope to maintain this interest in French.
As regards what the federal government can do, it could help us stimulate further interest in French among the large population of anglophones who are learning French. In British Columbia, the number of people in French immersion programs has doubled in 10 years, from 20,000 to 40,000, and it's now 45,000, which represents roughly 7% of the entire student population in British Columbia. We still have a lot to do, but we've already made major progress.
In 1983, I was a student in British Columbia, and very few people spoke French to me. Eighteen years later, when I started teaching at the University of Victoria in 2001, I often crossed paths with students of 18, 19 or 20 who recognized my French accent or heard me speak French and spoke to me or spontaneously served me in French. They were young people working at a Tim Hortons, a gas station or in stores.
Personally, I'm quite optimistic.