Cornwall puts in pitch to host francophone university

Cornwall, Ont., is putting in a pitch to become home to Ontario's newest francophone university — despite every indication the facility is heading to Toronto.

Cornwall city council passed a resolution Monday night to ask Ontario's minister of training, colleges and universities to consider it as the site for a new campus of the Université de l'Ontario français (UOF). 

"It's been several years that we've had a committee working on a university project," Cornwall Mayor Bernadette Clement said in a french-language interview with Radio-Canada. 

According to the resolution, the city's significant francophone population "would benefit from the ability to attend and attain post-secondary education at a French-language university." 

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In September, the Ontario and federal governments announced they'd reached an agreement to jointly fund the university, which Premier Doug Ford's government had previously scrapped.

Serving young francophones

Cornwall has its work cut out if it wants to play host to the UOF: The funding agreement specifies it's going to Toronto, and the president of the university's governance council, Dyane Adam, feels southern Ontario is the right place for it.

"That's where all the needs are," Adam said. "Toronto has as many francophones as New Brunswick.... They are young, and the population is growing."

According to Adam, immigration and population projections indicate Toronto will see a significant increase in francophones over the next 10 years. 

She isn't ruling Cornwall out entirely, however.

"The [UOF] is planning to have a satellite in the eastern region one day," she said. "I guess it's not impossible." 

The federal government has provided $1.9 million to build the UOF.