Ottawa’s French public school board says it has taken a big step forward in providing French language education in the heart of the nation’s capital. The Conseil des écoles publiques de l’Est de l’Ontario (CEPEO) said in a news release on Thursday that Grade 7 and 8 students will be able to attend school at 440 Albert St. in the 2027-28 school year. The board says this will be a temporary home for a future school. “The school will be temporarily located at 440 Albert Street, under an agreement with the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board (OCDSB), which owns the building. This arrangement will allow the CEPEO to address the immediate needs of families in this underserved area, while continuing efforts to establish a permanent secondary school in the downtown core,” the CEPEO said in a news release, translated from French. The OCDSB’s continuing education office is located at 440 Albert St. The site is the home of the former Ottawa Technical High School. The CEPEO says a future permanent home for a French language high school in downtown Ottawa is still being sought. “Over the coming months, CEPEO will undertake the necessary work to prepare the Albert Street premises to welcome students by the 2027–2028 school year. At the same time, the school board is continuing its efforts to acquire a site for a permanent secondary school,” the board said. In 2025, the Ontario government gave the school board nearly $41 million toward building a downtown francophone high school. The future school will have 731 student spaces and 49 licenced childcare spaces. “We are proud to reach this significant milestone for families in downtown Ottawa. This new school will provide students with an environment where they can learn, grow, and thrive in French,” said CEPEO Director of Education Christan-Charle Bouchard. “Opening this school will allow us to better meet the needs of students starting in 2027–2028, while we continue our work toward a long-term project that will offer our community a French-language school environment that truly reflects its aspirations.” The CEPEO has seven high schools in Ottawa, including De La Salle high school on Old St. Patrick Street in Lowertown.
