France and Ontario have a relationship that is as old as Ontario itself: the first European settlements in Ontario were established by French traders and many French speakers still live and work in Ontario today. Ontario and France remain close both economically and culturally. Ontario is a bilingual province with all government services available in French, and there are numerous French firms operating in Ontario and employing thousands of Ontarians.
- France is Ontario's ninth largest trading partner.
- In 2010 Ontario goods imported by France were valued at C$712 million while goods exported by France to Ontario were valued at C$2.2 billion. See the Ontario-France Trade Fact Sheet.
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- In 2009 Ubisoft, a French producer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment products, announced the construction of a new studio in Toronto, Ontario.
- France is responsible for 15 per cent of Europe's capital investment in Ontario.
- In 2008 Sanofi Pasteur, the French vaccine company, announced a $100M investment in the construction of a research and development centre in Toronto, Ontario, to improve existing vaccines and create new ones.
- In March 2010, at a business seminar in Toronto about investing in France, Quand Medical Corporation, a Toronto-based developer of medical information and alert technology, announced a strategic alliance with Taztag SAS, a France-based company specializing in contactless solutions leveraging Near Field Communication.
- In the fall of 2010 Ontario's Ministry of Economic Development and Innovation organized a tour to France for Ontario business leaders and innovative companies.
- BNP Paribas, a French bank ranked one of the ten best global banking groups, has offices in Toronto.
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- The first French immigration to Ontario, indeed the first of any immigration to Ontario, began in the 1600s, with the explorations of Etienne Brule and the arrival of Samuel de Champlain. Champlain spent a few years exploring Ontario after arriving via the St. Lawrence River in search of the Northwest Passage, before establishing the first European settlements in Ontario, what was then known as New France.
- In the 2006 Census, 1.4 million Ontarians identified their ethnic origins as French.
- In 2006 there were 582,695 Ontarians who identified their primary language was French.
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- The Group of Seven, Canada's most famous and loved painters, were influenced by impressionism and post-impressionism, developed in France.
- The government of France, in partnership with the University of Toronto, created Canada's first Centre d'Excellence in 2007, an interdisciplinary faculty dedicated to the study of French culture and language worldwide, including culture, history, literature, linguistics, political science, music, commerce and education.
- French Culinary Institute Le Cordon Bleu has had a school in Ottawa, Ontario, since 1988. Each year the Institute graduates approximately 500 students in the art of fine French cuisine and patisserie.
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- Toronto, the capital of Ontario, is home to more than 125 popular French restaurants, such as Bonjour Brioche, Le Select Bistro, and Auberge du Pommier.
- Ontario has become a notable producer of wines, and the regions in which the grapes are grown are on the same latitude as that of Burgundy, France. A 1989 Canadian Ice Wine, Inniskillin, has won France's highest award, the Grand Prix d'Honneur.
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The International Marketing Centre in Paris
The mandate of this International Marketing Centre, located in the Canadian Embassy, is to promote awareness of Ontario and the province's many business opportunities, to work with French companies to find investment opportunities in Ontario, to promote awareness of and access to Ontario-produced goods and services, and to build relationships with the media and local governments.
For more in-depth information on Ontario's investment advantages in a variety of key industries and sectors, review the list of Ontario Industry Profiles:
Contact Information
Mr. Stefan Mazareanu
Counsellor (Commercial - Ontario)
Languages spoken (in addition to English): French and Romanian
Email: stefan.mazareanu@international.gc.ca
Ms. Marie-Josee Guglieri
Email: Marie-Josee.Guglieri@international.gc.ca
Tel.: (011 33 1) 4443-2362
Fax: (011 33 1) 4443-2370
Ontario International Marketing Centre
c/o Embassy of Canada
35, avenue Montaigne
75008 Paris, France
