A program at the University of Prince Edward Island that trains future French teachers once struggled to find students, but it’s now seeing more interest than ever.

Elizabeth Blake, co-ordinator of UPEI’s one-year French second-language bachelor of education program, spoke with CBC News last year about the difficulty in attracting applicants.

A year later, she said enrolment has essentially doubled. The current cohort includes 32 students, and the new group starting in May will include about 35, possibly more.

“We’ve always said we can’t fill our applicant pool, we don’t have enough applicants to fill our seats,” Blake said. “I think if we continue to have more applicants, we’ll be waitlisting.”

Blake said the majority of students graduating this year plan to stay and work on the Island, which is welcome news — schools in Prince Edward Island and across Canada have struggled for years to find French teachers amid a national shortage.

Financial incentives are helping drive that growth.

Blake said Canadian students starting the program in May will each receive a $2,000 scholarship bursary from the department.

Graduates can also receive an additional $3,000 incentive if they go on to work for either the Public Schools Branch or the Island’s French-language school board, La Commission scolaire de langue française.

But Blake believes there is more driving the increase than financial support.

“We can do what we can, but once they go out there, what they’re hearing is great things about the Island, great things about Island schools,” she said.

“Our students are telling other students to come to UPEI, so it is a very huge community collaboration.”

‘We’re in a great spot right now’

Among the 32 students set to graduate, 11 are already signed on with the French-language school board for next year.

It’s a relief for Ghislain Bernard, the school board’s superintendent, especially as French schools continue to grow.

“We still need to find some more, and the problem is that we’ll be competing … with New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Quebec, which are all having their own French teacher shortages,” he said.

“That’s why these bursaries and these programs have become more important.”

Kathleen Couture, executive director of the Association for French Early Childhood Centres on P.E.I., agrees there is a need for more trained French-speaking educators.

The organization has recruited the vast majority of its staff from French-speaking countries overseas. Finding trained educators on P.E.I. has been difficult, until recently.

While early childhood centres currently have enough workers, Couture said expansion plans mean more educators will soon be needed.

“We are going to continue to grow our profession and we’re in a great spot right now, especially for the francophone community of P.E.I.,” she said. “We’re looking forward to hopefully welcoming 25-30 new educators between now and 2028.”

Both the French school board and the association know there is still work to be done, but rising interest in French education programs is promising — not only to address staffing shortages but also to help ensure the French language continues to thrive on the Island.