The french language education in Ontario from yesterday to today. Problematize the notion of choice with regard to the school form

Choice of schooling by families is both a new trend and an old one in Ontario. In this article, the notion of school choice is examined as it applies to French-language education, which has taken various forms over time and in different local contexts across the province. The author brings together sociohistorical data compiled and presented online by the Centre de recherche en civilisation canadienne francaise at the University of Ottawa, historical case studies and monographs, as well as new original research. From those sources it becomes clear that parents and communities have, through their actions and choices, influenced the forms taken by minority-language education; and that, in return, those different forms and the education policies that underpin them have helped to structure the schooling choices made by families.