All right.
Now I'm going to talk about education.
When I was a teacher, I would organize exchange trips for my French immersion students. We went to Quebec City and Rivière‑du‑Loup. They were really impressed to see just how much the French fact was a part of Canadian identity. The students stayed with francophone families so they could be immersed in francophone culture. They were eating poutine before you could find it everywhere like you do now. Those trips were a good thing, because the students were there, in a francophone community, realizing what it meant to be Canadian.
Not only did English-speaking students go to Quebec City, but Quebec students also came to British Columbia. It was the first time most of them had ever seen British Columbia's famous mountains. They went to Whistler. They took the ferry to Victoria. They got to see how beautiful that part of the country is and experience an anglophone environment.
What struck me was that it helped the students better understand what it means to be Canadian, thanks to the people they met on those exchange trips. That's as true for the anglophone students who stayed in francophone communities in Quebec as it is for the francophone students who stayed in anglophone communities. As Canadians, we should be proud of our linguistic duality. Canada welcomes immigrants from many different cultures, but our linguistic duality always remains.
Canada is known as one of the world's most open countries when it comes to immigration. That has long been the case, and I think it even goes back to the time of our founding. From the earliest settlements, the francophone and anglophone cultures have existed side by side, as have indigenous cultures. Openness is in our DNA. When the Liberals accuse us, the Conservatives, of being against French, it's like saying we're against our Canadian identity. It's very important to make that clear.
Now I want to tell you about my family. I have three children. The youngest went to a French immersion school. French immersion schools are very popular in Canada. Some 500,000 people in British Columbia have attended French immersion schools. That shows there is an appetite for French. It also has to do with the fact that Canada is officially a bilingual country, and being bilingual means more job opportunities. Another reason is that learning other languages is important. The French fact is very important in Canada, and that's evident across the country.
Still today, parents looking to put their kindergarten-aged children in French immersion programs sometimes have to wait for spaces to open up. That was a problem for me. My daughter Simone was number 42 on the list for a school that had 40 spots. She wasn't able to start French immersion then. We had the right to send our kids to a school within the school board, but, in our case, the school was an hour away by bus, so it wasn't really an option for us.
It's important to understand that there are many francophones in minority communities who have the right to send their children to school within their regional school board, but it's not always a practical or easy thing to do. That is why it's important to have enough schools. It's always a challenge.
Basically, my daughter Simone wasn't able to get into an immersion program, but my youngest daughter was able to go to French immersion school. Even better, she went on to register for the Bureau des affaires francophones et francophiles program at Simon Fraser University. She did her entire bachelor's program in French, and it worked out well for her. She really learned French. She also took classes at Université de Montréal for six months.
The appetite for francophone culture and French learning is even greater in minority communities. The challenge before this committee and the government is to find ways of supporting the vitality and growth of Canada's francophone community. That is very important.
My youngest daughter went to French immersion school, and it worked out well. My oldest son is 38, and he's a lawyer in Edmonton. He was part of a non-denominational Christian group for six months, and he studied with Youth With a Mission, in Montreal and in Dunham. He also worked in France. He was able to learn some French. My mother encouraged me to speak French, and I did the same with my children. That's what we want.
I want to turn to another subject. As an MP, one of the things I like most about being here, in Ottawa, is how many opportunities I have to speak French, whether it's with the parliamentary security officers, the leaders or staff members. I'm often free to speak French, and that's very encouraging. I like that. Even here, in this committee, I'm glad to be able to speak French right now. I know I need to work on my French, and that's what I'm doing. Thank you for being patient with me, by the way.
I do want to say something about Ottawa. It's a place that illustrates the heart of Canada. It underscores the importance of our linguistic duality. Look at where we are. All we have to do is step outside to see Quebec across the river. Queen Victoria's decision to choose Ottawa as the capital is one of the most important decisions ever made since our country's creation. It is the link between Lower Canada and Upper Canada.
It's crucial to see that relationship between the two. Quebec is mostly francophone. The capital, where we are now, is right on the border of the two provinces. In addition, many members, such as my colleagues, Mr. Généreux and Mr. Godin, live on the other side of the river, in Gatineau. Many other members live not far from here. That's why I think Ottawa is such a good example. I know that French is frequently used in government by parliamentarians, but it is also spoken by a large number of people. There is the University of Ottawa, which I believe has about 20,000 francophone or francophile students.
The city of Ottawa plays a really important role in the francophonie, and I'm happy about that, because we have the opportunity to practice speaking French here. It showcases our country's bilingualism and the importance of French, which are essential elements of Canadian identity. It's the political capital. Culturally, we have the Canadian Museum of History, located across the river in Gatineau, just two minutes away. It is a museum in Quebec that tells the story of Canada.
Canada does not exist without French or without Quebec. It's part of who we are. I remember, back when I was a student and when I was teaching Canadian history, talking about some of the people who really stood out in Canadian history. The first one that comes to mind is Jacques Cartier. He stood out, not because he discovered an unknown land, since Canada was already inhabited by indigenous peoples, but because he introduced the Europeans who came here in 1534 to the land. Jacques Cartier was also a cartographer. He sailed up the St. Lawrence River and made his way to Stadacona, which is now Quebec City, and then to Hochelaga, which is now Montreal. I believe there were about 3,000 indigenous people in Stadacona.
