Efforts to establish a Francophone university in central and southwestern Ontario emerged during the 2010s, with several Franco-Ontarian groups, including the Francophone Assembly of Ontario, releasing a report that recommended the creation of a Francophone university within that region on 3 October 2014. A private member's bill to establish a Francophone university was later introduced in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario on 26 May 2015. However, the bill failed to pass as the legislature was prorogued. While the legislature was prorogued, a report released from the French Post-Secondary Education Advisory Committee in Central and Southwestern Ontario noted that post-secondary Francophone services were insufficient in central and southwestern Ontario, and recommended establishing a Francophone university within Greater Toronto to help rectify the issue. The private member's bill was reintroduced on 21 September 2016, after the legislature reconvened. On 22 September, a planning committee was created to help establish the institution, and included the former federal Commissioner of Official Languages; members from other Toronto-based universities including Ryerson University and the University of Toronto; the president of the provincial French-language public broadcaster TFO; and members from other Ontario-based Francophone organizations. The legislation to establish the institution, the Université de l’Ontario français Act, 2017 was passed in 14 December 2017, and formally went into effect on 9 April 2018. Members of the university's board of governors were appointed shortly afterwards, on 31 December 2018. However, following the 2018 Ontario general election, the newly formed Progressive Conservative government had announced plans to cancel funding for the establishment of the institution. The issue of funding became a major political issue for the new government among the province's Franco-Ontarian residents. However, in September 2019, the governments of Ontario and Canada announced they had signed a memorandum of understanding, which would see both governments provide C$126 million to fund the institution over the following eight years. The university offered its first academic program in September 2019, a higher education pedagogy program offered to student teachers at Collège La Cité. The university's first graduate certificates were issued for those who completed the program. The institution plans to accept its first cohort of full-time students in fall 2021.
Campus
The Université de l'Ontario français is situated in downtown Toronto, near the shoreline of Lake Ontario. The university plans to situate its first campus within 9 Lower Jarvis Street, a high-rise in the East Bayfront neighbourhood of downtown Toronto. The university plans to lease of space within the building, with plans to open the campus to the public by June 2021.
Administration
The governance of the university is conducted through the board of governors and the university senate, both of which were established in the Université de l'Ontario français Act, 2017. The board of governors is responsible for governing and managing the university. The board's members includes the university's administration, faculty, student body, and members appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council for Ontario. The senate is responsible for the university's academic and education policy, including standards for admission and qualifications for degrees, diplomas, and certificates issued by the university. The university's president and vice-chancellor serves as the university's chief executive officer, with Normand Labrie named to the position on an interim basis on 4 July 2018. In April 2020, the university named André Roy as the first official president of the university; with Roy's term as president beginning on 1 August 2020. The board of governors is also empowered to appoint a chancellor, who acts as the ceremonial head of the institution. However, the university has not yet appointed a person to the position.
Academics
The official instructional language of the university is French. The university is the province's first public university where French is the sole official language of the institution.
