Minister responsible for Official Languages (Canada)

Canadian government minister

The minister of official languages (French: ministre des langues officielles) is a minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet.

The minister is responsible for administering Official Languages Act, ensuring that government services are available in both English and French, protecting minority language rights, particularly in the area of education, as well as promoting bilingualism throughout Canada.

Randy Boissonnault has served as the minister of official languages since July 2023.

^[3]

Background

In 2003, the first minister responsible for Official Languages was sworn in, on the creation of the "Official Languages Branch of Intergovernmental Affairs" within the Privy Council Office.^[4] In 2006, responsibility was shifted from the Privy Council Office to the Department of Canadian Heritage, and the branch was renamed the "Official Languages Secretariat".^[5] From 2015 to 2019, the post was called Minister of Tourism, Official Languages and La Francophonie.^[6]

Sections 42 and 43 of the Official Languages Act give the minister of Canadian heritage the specific responsibility of taking measures to advance the equality of status and use of English and French in Canadian society; under section 44 of that Act, the minister must submit annual reports to Parliament on the matters relating to official languages for which the minister is responsible.^[7][8]

List of ministers

See also

• Department of Canadian Heritage
• Official bilingualism in Canada
• Official Languages Act (Canada)
• Minister of Canadian Heritage

References

1. "Constitutional Duties". The Governor General of Canada. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
2. "House of Commons Procedure and Practice - 1. Parliamentary Institutions - Canadian Parliamentary Institutions". www.ourcommons.ca. Retrieved 2020-04-20.
3. Curry, Bill; Kirkup, Kristy; Raman-Wilms, Menaka; Dickson, Janice (2021-10-26). "Trudeau cabinet shuffle: Anita Anand moves to Defence, Steven Guilbeault to Environment, Mélanie Joly to Foreign Affairs". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2021-10-26.
4. "Official Languages Secretariat". Retrieved 2011-07-23.
5. "Order Transferring from Privy Council Office to the Department of Canadian Heritage the Control and Supervision of the Official Languages Secretariat, SI/2006-45".
6. "Departments and Roles: 1867 - Today". lop.parl.ca. Retrieved 2021-05-20.
7. Official Languages Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. 31 (4th Supp.)
8. "Canadian Heritage Official Languages Annual Reports".