University of Sudbury gets $10.8M from the province to offer French-language programs

The University of Sudbury has received $10.8 million from the provincial government to re-launch French-language courses in a partnership with the University of Ottawa.

The University of Sudbury was a federated school affiliated with Laurentian University, but those ties ended when Laurentian filed for insolvency in 2021. 

That meant Laurentian was no longer providing funding to the University of Sudbury for offering classes for Laurentian students and the U of S started working toward becoming a standalone francophone school.  

With its new partnership with the University of Ottawa, the University of Sudbury says it will offer 33 programs in health sciences, management and commerce, social sciences, and arts. It will also include a minor in leadership, which it calls its flagship program.

The university is also setting aside $1 million in scholarships, and says tuition will be free for the 2025-2026 academic year.

"I know what it is to struggle to pay that tuition, having to work two jobs. Like I've done it," said University of Sudbury president and vice-chancellor Serge Miville.

"And we're saying, 'Let's support students as best as we can right now because they need this to be able to get the education that they deserve.'"

Miville said students will be categorized as "special students" with the University of Ottawa due to the arrangement with that institution. But their degrees will be from the University of Sudbury.

He said the new funding from the province will go, in part, toward hiring faculty members who can start teaching courses in September.

Miville added that the university will ramp up its course offerings, and will start with introductory first-year courses in the fall.

"This historic investment reflects our government's commitment to strengthening access to French-language post-secondary education, especially in northern Ontario," said Caroline Mulroney, Ontario's minister of Francophone Affairs, in a news release.

"Because of this partnership, we are delivering on our promise to bolster Ontario's francophonie as a social, cultural and economic engine for years to come."

Fabien Hébert, president of the Assemblée de la francophonie de l'Ontario, said the funding announcement is "fantastic" news.

"It's the fruition of four years of continuous political work from our part and the part of the University of Sudbury to respond to a need that has been clearly identified within the region of Sudbury," he said.

Hébert said that with more francophone immigration to the region there is a need for more post-secondary education in French to train more bilingual workers.