The Concours d’art oratoire is a public speaking contest organized by Canadian Parents for French for secondary students in French programs across Canada. Every spring, an estimated 80,000 students take part in this annual competition. The provincial finals took place on May 2 at the Holiday Inn & Suites Pointe-Claire Montreal Airport in Pointe-Claire, Québec. CPF was pleased to welcome over 50 students from the Sir Wilfrid Laurier and Western Quebec School Boards, as well as their parents and teachers. The students were divided into three groups based on their grade level, and then each group was further divided into five categories, based on their French speaking ability. Here are the winners of each category:

Secondary 1/2
Core – Kiana Lovell (Rosemere High School, Rosemere)
Enriched – Zoé Croteau (Rosemere High School, Rosemere)
Enriched plus – Jasmine Bannister (Mother Teresa Junior High School, Laval)
Immersion – Jannah Mustafa (Rosemere High School, Rosemere)
Francophone – Chloé Guastaferri (Mother Teresa Junior High School, Laval)

Secondary 3/4
Core – Elizabeth Hua (Rosemere High School, Rosemere)
Enriched plus – Callista Smith (Philemon Wright High School, Gatineau)
Immersion – Valérie Kapsa (Philemon Wright High School, Gatineau)
Francophone – Clody Doucet (Philemon Wright High School, Gatineau)

Secondary 5
Core – Odessa Fontenelle (Philemon Wright High School, Gatineau)
Enriched plus – Huan-Wen Qiu (Philemon Wright High School, Gatineau)
Francophone – Caroline Zamor (Philemon Wright High School, Gatineau)

The Secondary 5 first place winners will now advance to the national finals of the Concours d’art oratoire, held in Ottawa, ON on May 30, where they will have the chance to win scholarships to the University of Ottawa, the University of Moncton, the University of Prince Edward Island, the Université de Saint-Boniface, the Université Sainte-Anne and La Cité Collégiale.

Better French language skills are a key aspiration for Quebec’s non-Francophone youth. The Concours program helps fulfill that aspiration by giving youth a meaningful forum in which to practice and develop confidence in their French language skills.

We would also like to thank our sponsors, Canadian Heritage, the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages, Global Montreal, the Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN) and the Association canadienne des professeurs d’immersion (ACPI) for their generous support in helping us provide such a meaningful opportunity for the participants of the Concours.

Canadian Parents for French (www.cpf.ca) is the national network of volunteers which values French as an integral part of Canada and which is dedicated to the promotion and creation of French second language learning opportunities for young Canadians.

Information
Marla Williams
Canadian Parents for French
514-434-2400
mwilliams@cpf.ca