Education that meets the needs of Saskatchewan people

Jun 8, 2022

In the Saskatchewan’s Growth Plan, the government identified 20 Actions for the 2020s with key priorities:

• to grow Saskatchewan’s population by increasing immigration and keeping more young people in the province;
• to deliver on the purpose of growth by ensuring growth builds a better quality of life for Saskatchewan families and communities; and,
• to develop Saskatchewan’s labour force.

These priorities are further emphasized in the government’s 30 Goals for 2030, which include increasing the Saskatchewan population to 1.4 million people and creating 100,000 new jobs.

Achieving these priorities ― creating strong communities, economy and people ― requires strategic partnerships between governments, industry, agencies, educational sector partners, communities, and organizations. This includes the French-speaking communities of Saskatchewan, which need to increase their ability to offer services in law, nursing, management, and many other vital fields.

As a unique academic institution whose primary goal is to fulfill the university’s education needs and to improve educational opportunities for Saskatchewan minority French-speaking communities, La Cité universitaire francophone takes its role seriously in providing support toward the realisation of these Growth Plans within the Francophone minority context.

Over the years, La Cité made reasonable investments in building stronger ties and creating new services for the community. Strengthening ties with the community is vital and supports the ability to identify key areas where expertise can be created, developed, or even enhanced for community empowerment. As a result, through consultations, La Cité is developing new and targeted courses, programs, and services designed to address shortages in key strategic areas.

For example, since 2018, in partnership with the Faculty of Nursing, La Cité has helped develop the Collaborative Bilingual Bachelor of Science in Nursing program. The four-year program (50 percent in French and 50 percent in English), provides students with exclusive access to scholarships, services, and resources in French. It is designed to provide expertise in healthcare delivery, by producing nurses who can work and address Saskatchewan’s health challenges in both English and French.

La Cité is happy to congratulate the first group of three bilingual nurses who will receive their degrees during the upcoming June 2022 Spring Graduation. The trained bilingual nurses will not only provide healthcare services in Canada’s official languages, but they will also be contributing to the Saskatchewan Growth Plan by delivering a better quality of life for Saskatchewan families and communities.

Similarly, in partnership with the Programme de Common law en français (PCLF) at the University of Ottawa, La Cité also launched the Integrated Pathway in French and Francophone Intercultural Studies and Law. The program allows students to obtain a combined Bachelor of Arts and Juris Doctor within six years. Training bilingual lawyers strengthens Saskatchewan’s ability to meet its obligation of providing equitable judicial services in Canada’s official languages.

The Government of Saskatchewan’s Return to list