Franco-Ontarians

Franco-Ontarians ( or if female, sometimes known as Ontarois and Ontaroises) are Francophone Canadians that reside in the province of Ontario. Most are French Canadians from Ontario. In 2021, according to the Government of Ontario, there were Francophones in the province. The majority of Franco-Ontarians in the province reside in Eastern Ontario, Northeastern Ontario, and the Golden Horseshoe). There area also more isolated francophone communities scattered across other regions of the province, such as in Essex, Penetanguishene, and Welland, among others.

The first francophones to settle in Ontario did so during the early 17th century, when most of it was part of the ''Pays d'en Haut region of New France. However, French settlement into the area remained limited until the 19th century. The late 19th century and early 20th century saw attempts by the provincial government to assimilate the Franco-Ontarian population into the anglophone majority with the introduction of regulations that promoted the use of English over French, for example Regulation 17. During the late 1960s and 1970s, because of the Quiet Revolution, Franco-Ontarians established themselves as a distinct cultural identity – having only identified as French Canadians before. Francophone rights were furthered in the 1970s as a result of C'est l'temps, a Franco-Ontarian civil disobedience movement that pressured several provincial departments to adopt bilingual policies.