Télévision française de l’Ontario (TFO)

In 1967, the government of John P. Robarts responded to the demands of groups defending the Franco-Ontarian cause including the Association canadienne-française de l’Ontario (ACFO), by creating the Comité franco-ontarien d’enquête culturelle. Under the chairmanship of Roger Saint-Denis, a member of the board of directors of the Ontario Arts Council, this committee launched an investigation into Franco-Ontarian participation in the arts and culture in Ontario. Two years later, it tabled a report that was pessimistic, to say the least.

The report was entitled La Vie culturelle des Franco-Ontariens and it was better known as the Saint-Denis Report. Drawing on its recommendations, Premier Robarts created the Franco-Ontarian Arts Office of the Ontario Arts Council and a French Language Section, the precursor to TFO, as a means of fighting the assimilation of the Franco-Ontarian community. Recently relocated TFO, TV Ontario’s French-language network, started broadcasting in 1987. It became an active participant in the development and vitality of Ontario’s Francophone community, especially through its programming for French-language schools, which airs on television and over the Internet.

On April 1, 2007, TFO became an independent body with its own board of directors. On April 8, 2008, Education Minister, the Honourable Kathleen Wynne, tabled a legislation giving the French-language network independence and budget autonomy from the English language network, TVO.