$2 million funding announcement for Campus Saint-Jean

From left to right: Monique Baker, Executive Director of FrancoSud, Nathalie Lachance, President of ACFA, the Honourable Randy Boissonnault, Minister of Employment, Labour Development and Official Languages, and Jason Carey, Dean and CEO of Campus Saint-Jean at the University of Alberta.

Campus Saint-Jean, the francophone campus of the University of Alberta, will receive nearly $2 million as part of an envelope to support official languages in Alberta. The Honourable Randy Boissonnault, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages, made the announcement at an event held on Wednesday, March 6 at Edmonton's Cité francophone.

This funding will enable Campus Saint-Jean to renovate its workspaces, providing an optimal working environment for its staff and better meeting the needs of its student and faculty members.

In addition, this funding includes $427,000 to offer a work experience program by partnering with local businesses to provide francophones and newcomers with the opportunity to acquire recognizable skills and work experience.

In his address, Dean Carey thanked Minister Boissonnault, a Campus Saint-Jean alumnus, for his ongoing support. The Dean also underlined the important role of University of Alberta President Bill Flanagan in the development of Francophonie: "I would like to thank the federal government, as well as the Honourable Randy Boissonnault, Campus alumnus and ambassador par excellence, for his ongoing support. I would also like to thank all our partners who have the Campus at heart, and in particular the President of the University of Alberta, Bill Flanagan, a great friend of the Francophonie - his support is one of the most valuable assets of Alberta’s Francophonie. It's thanks to these visionaries and the hard work of our great team, and our partners in various levels of government and in the community that we can realize all these projects at Campus Saint-Jean, at the heart of Alberta's francophonie."