Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his excellent question.
The Liberal Party was the party of choice for me as a francophone and as an Acadian. The Liberal Party was in power when the first Official Languages Act was passed in 1969, and it was the party that made French one of our country's two official languages. It is also the party behind the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, section 23 of which guarantees the right to education in French throughout the country.
It was also the Liberals who undertook an ambitious modernization of the Official Languages Act. I would like to acknowledge the work of my colleague from Moncton—Dieppe; my predecessor, Mr. Arseneault; several other francophone members from across the country; and my colleague across the floor as well. They did excellent work on this file.
Our new government is planning concrete measures for francophones. For example, during the election campaign, we committed to increasing the francophone immigration target to 12% by 2029. This is a concrete measure that will contribute to the vitality of French.
As we know, French has been in decline in Canada outside Quebec since 1969. Under the Official Languages Act, we are required to restore the demographic weight. With a 12% target, we are putting the demographic weight of francophone communities outside Quebec back on track to grow.