Salut Canada offers you enriching experiences, diverse destinations and landscapes according to four very distinct seasons.
Immerse yourself in the French-speaking culture of Canada by discovering the many rural communities of Canada.
In addition to the 8 million Quebecers, nearly 4 million
Canadians speak French including more than one million Francophones living outside Quebec.
Hundreds of experiences await you from the Atlantic to the Pacific, passing through the prairies and the Far North.
Ontario’s diverse Francophone community
Ontario has the largest number of Francophones outside Quebec, somewhere between 500,000 and 600,000, depending on whether mother tongue or first official language spoken is used as the criterion to estimate their numbers. They represent approximately 4% of the province’s total population.
Ontario’s Francophone community is multi-faceted and expresses itself in several ways: literature, song, education, commerce, community organizing, and government services. Francophones are making an invaluable contribution to Ontario’s vitality and multicultural character.
Ontario’s Champlain Scenic Route: Walking in the Footsteps of the Father of New France
In search of a westward passage to trade with China, many French explorers—Nicollet, Radisson, Des Groseilliers and La Vérendrye (both father and son)—crossed the current province of Ontario. Their forerunner, the “first” European to have crossed and described this territory, was none other than the Father of New France, Samuel de Champlain.
In 1615–1616, he travelled through part of what would become Ontario, staying there for ten months. Today, a 1,200 km scenic route showcases that trailblazing journey and the 400 years of Francophone presence that ensued: Ontario’s Champlain Scenic Route. To travel this route is to walk in the footsteps of the famous explorer, cartographer and diplomat, discover Franco‑Ontarians, enjoy outdoor adventures in unspoiled wilderness, uncover Canada’s heritage and history, and taste local products. These are some of the attractions the Route has to offer visitors.
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