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 70,000 students take part in this annual competition nationwide. The provincial finals took place on May 5th at the CEGEP Gerald Godin in Sainte-Geneviève, Quebec. CPF was pleased to welcome 27 students from the Lester B. Pearson, Sir Wilfrid Laurier and Western Quebec School Boards, as well as their parents and teachers. The students were divided into groups based on their grade level, then further divided into five categories, based on their French speaking ability.
Here are the winners of each category:

Secondary 1
Core – Samantha Rafeli (SWLSB)
Enrichi – Zachary Pelletier (SWLSB)
Enriched plus – Anthony-Jason Campanelli (SWLSB)
Immersion – Rosin Malone (WQSB)
Francophone – Furaha – Safi Karubara (WQSB)

Secondary 2
Immersion – Kaitlyn French (WQSB)
Francophone – Rachel Becher (WQSB)

Secondary 3
Enrichi – Lucas Graham (SWLSB)
Enriched plus – Aniesha Covey (WQSB)
Francophone – Lukka Picklyk (WQLSB)

Secondary 4
Enrichi (Sec 4) – Angelica Antonakopoulos (LBPSB) & Jasmine Brett (LBPSB)
Enrichi plus (Sec 4) – Jessica Richardson (WQSB)

Secondary 5
Core – Julia Avon (WQSB)
Enriched – Chelsea Morgan (WQSB)

The Secondary 5 first place winners will now advance to the national finals of the Concours d’art oratoire, held in Ottawa, ON on June 2, where they will have the chance to win scholarships to the University of Ottawa, the University of Moncton, the Université de Saint-Boniface, the Université Sainte-Anne and Concordia University.

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

We would also like to thank our sponsors: The Government of Canada, Department of Canadian Heritage, the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages, French for the Future, LEARN Quebec and the Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN), Bayard Jeunesse Canada, Renaud Bray and Druide Informatique for their generous financial and in kind support and the Office Québécoise de la langue française for the donations of French guides for the students.