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Enabling Fund for Official Language Minority Communities

Official Language Minority Communities (OLMCs) generally consist of Francophones outside of Quebec and Anglophones in Quebec. The main objective of the Enabling Fund is to enhance the development and vitality of OLMCs. It does this by strengthening the capacity of OLMCs in the areas of human resources and community economic development, and by promoting partnerships at all levels.

The Fund helps OLMCs to develop community projects and to access additional sources of funding for those projects. Rather than supporting individuals, the Fund creates conditions that enable sustainable human resources and community-wide economic development for OLMCs. The Enabling Fund complements existing support programs in the communities.

Examples of suitable activities include, but are not limited to:

  • creating and sustaining linkages between the Government of Canada and OLMCs through national collaboration and consultation processes;
  • preparing community plans for adoption by communities;
  • creating, consolidating and sustaining partnerships, alliances and networks and exchanging information;
  • mobilizing stakeholders, as well as strengthening their capacity to be self-reliant and implement development projects; and
  • research and analysis.

Investments to date have supported a number of economic activities, such as the creation of partnerships, the preparation of community economic development plans and capacity building. As a result, OLMCs have been able to take advantage of opportunities and address unique issues related to human resources and community economic development needs.

How funding works

Funding is provided to not-for-profit organizations that represent the interests of OLMCs and that can provide leadership in economic and human development matters on behalf of OLMCs in their province or territory.

These organizations are part of two networks:

  1. The Réseau de développement économique et d’employabilité (RDÉE), composed of RDEÉ Canada, the national coordinating body, and 12 provincial/territorial organizations in Francophone and Acadian communities; and
  2. The Community Economic Development and Employability Corporation (CEDEC) and its nine Community Economic Development and Employability Committees in Anglophone communities in Quebec’s regions.

All of these organizations are part of a pan-Canadian community that includes human resources development institutions working toward the vitality of OLMCs.

National committees

The national committees are instruments for bringing the Francophone and Anglophone minority communities and the Government of Canada closer together.

Twice a year, Francophone minority communities are represented by RDÉE at the National Committee of Economic Development and Employability, which comprises representatives from various federal stakeholders.

Similarly, the Quebec English-speaking community is represented by CEDEC at the National Human Resources Development Committee for the English Linguistic Minority, which comprises representatives from various federal departments.

Related information

Roadmap for Canada’s Linguistic Duality

The Fund is one component of the Government of Canada’s strategy to strengthen linguistic duality in Canadian society, the Roadmap for Canada’s Linguistic Duality 2008-2013: Acting for the Future, which recognizes and supports the diversity of OLMCs across Canada. This Roadmap engages community leaders and leverages partnerships to strengthen community capacity in the areas of human resources and economic development. For Canadians, the Fund provides continued support for minority-community economic and labour-market development, through partnerships, development plans and capacity building.

In light of today’s knowledge based economy, linguistic duality is a key competitive advantage that can help Canada further its economic success.

Alternate formats

Canadian Heritage—Roadmap for Canada’s Linguistic Duality 2008-2013: Acting for the Future: Early childhood, family and literacy. 

To access the Portable Document Format (PDF) version, you must have a PDF reader installed. If you do not already have such a reader, there are numerous PDF readers available for free download or for purchase on the Internet:

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Date Modified:
2011-10-18