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This article was published 6/9/2019 (385 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Steps away from the tombstone of iconic Métis leader Louis Riel, Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont announced a lengthy list of promises to improve French services across the province if his party is elected Sept. 10.

Lamont began a Friday morning news conference in French. In his opening statements, he said Manitoba was founded on the principle that French speakers, as all other Manitobans, could preserve their right to teach their language to their children.

"Riel was not just fighting to secure rights for his own people, he was fighting for all of our rights," he told reporters in English. "And over the years, that dream and those rights were suppressed."

Lamont criticized the Pallister government for launching an "assault" on French-speaking populations by gutting the Bureau de l’éducation française.

The latest Statistics Canada data show about four per cent of Manitobans speak French as their mother tongue. More than eight per cent (about 100,000) can speak both official languages. Meanwhile, enrolment in French immersion is on the rise.

Lamont listed a number of Liberal promises to benefit the province’s French-speaking population. Among them, restoring the bilingual assistant deputy minister position, renovating French schools (in addition to opening a new one in Transcona) and revisiting francophone immigration targets.

Reading off his list outside Saint Boniface Cathedral, Lamont also said he would support bilingual municipalities, expand the Université de Saint-Boniface and create an office of French-language services in the ministry of francophone affairs.

"There are francophones outside of Quebec," the Liberal leader said.

When asked how the party would pay for the programs, he said the Liberals will publish a fully costed plan Sunday.

Francophone advocate Derrek Bentley told the Free Press he believes the growing number of French immersion students is proof there’s a desire to expand services in Manitoba. "People believe that knowing Canada’s official languages is important," he said.

Manitoba should work towards getting official bilingual status, Bentley said, adding he’d like to see the next premier consult with francophones about the value of French services.

The NDP promised to recruit more French teachers earlier in the campaign, while the PCs said their plan to build 20 new schools includes three under the Division scolaire franco-manitobaine. The Green party’s education platform does not mention the French language.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @macintoshmaggie