Regulation 17 (French: Règlement 17) was a regulation of the Government of Ontario, Canada, designed to limit instruction in French-language Catholic separate schools. The regulation was written by the Ministry of Education and was issued in July 1912 by the Conservative government of premier Sir James P. Whitney.[1] It forbade teaching French beyond grade two in all separate schools.[2]
In 1913, the Jesuits opened Collège Sacré-Coeur in Sudbury. It was bilingual up until 1914, at which time the Government of Ontario granted it a Charter and made no mention of language or religion. The College did not come under authority of the Department of Education for its programs or any subsidies. In 1916, the College became a free institution that was exclusively French.[3]
Regulation 17 was amended in 1913, and it is that version that was applied throughout Ontario.[4] As a result, French Canadians distanced themselves from the subsequent World War I effort, as its young men refused to enlist.[5] The regulation was later repealed in 1927.