Canada

Cultural, scientific and technical cooperation

France’s cultural action is extensive. Priority is given to the cultural and broadcasting industries, educational cooperation and debate. The initiatives carried out are generally co-financed, and run with major public and private partners. In the creative industries, three aspects are being addressed systematically: spreading French creativity, promoting French expertise, and the opportunities for our content businesses to access the Canadian market. The greatest success in terms of educational cooperation has been the growth of DELF-DALF French language certification. Our educational cooperation also includes other aspects such as the promotion of French expertise and educational engineering, and the training of Canadian teachers.

Academic and research cooperation is particularly dynamic, thanks to student exchanges and joint supervision of PhDs. Since 2011, most of the major Canadian universities, including outside Quebec, have become open to the idea of joint supervision with French establishments. French and Canadian postgraduate mobility increased in late 2014, thanks to an agreement between French and Canadian institutions (Mitacs-Campus France agreement). The France-Canada Research Fund (FFCR) was set up in 2000 to support various exchange projects. There is particularly active scientific cooperation between major French research bodies (CNRS, INSERM) and Canadian ones, in sectors such as IT, energy, medicine and biotechnologies.

Decentralized cooperation is developing rapidly, as French and Canadian local governments build partnerships in various fields. However, 90% of these projects are in Quebec.