The Manitoba government will provide an additional $350,000 to the Université de Saint-Boniface (USB) to permanently expand the capacity of its bachelor of education degree program to between 60 and 70 students per year.
“Since 2017, USB has been receiving temporary grant funding from the federal government to expand admissions to the program to an average intake of 62 students a year from an average intake of 37 students, but that support is ending,” said Advanced Education, Skills and Immigration Minister Jon Reyes. “This provincial funding will make that expansion permanent, which will help ensure planning stability for the university and help address an ongoing shortage of French and French immersion teachers in Manitoba.”
USB’s bachelor of education degree program is the only education program in Manitoba designed entirely to prepare students to teach in the public school system’s French and French immersion programs. The funding will transition the program from the temporary federal funding and will be used to permanently hire additional instructors to deliver the program.
“We are thrilled that the provincial government has heeded our call for permanent funding in order to maintain our current capacity,” Dr. Sophie Bouffard, president, Université de Saint-Boniface. “With this, USB will continue to work toward addressing the increased demand for French-speaking teachers and fulfilling its academic and social mission in support of the continued development of the francophonie manitobaine.”
Reyes noted supporting the program’s permanent expansion lines up with the implementation of Manitoba’s Skills, Talent and Knowledge Strategy , aligning training capacity with the labour market demand for French-language teachers.
“The demand for French immersion instruction continues to grow in Manitoba and this investment will help ensure we have teachers to address the need,” said Families Minister Rochelle Squires, minister responsible for francophone affairs. “I want to thank the team at USB for their dedication and hard work is supporting the francophone community and others across the province.”
“Manitoba supports the delivery of French-language instruction in Manitoba and having additional teachers to provide these services is key to the vitality of Manitoba’s francophone community,” said Education and Early Childhood Learning Minister Wayne Ewasko. “This funding will help ensure the staff needed to provide these services is available and ready to join the classroom as soon as possible.”
For more information on the Université de Saint-Boniface, visit ustboniface.ca.
