In October 1971, the federal government adopted multiculturalism as official government policy. Derived from the recommendations of the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism (1963-1971), this policy was designed to encourage participation of ethnocultural minorities in public life and recognize their cultural contributions to Canada. On its initial appearance, francophone minority organizations had little sympathy for this new conceptual framework, which moved away from the vision of a binational Canada based on a pact between two founding peoples.

Even so, this did not prevent public opinion and certain provinces from supporting multiculturalism. Such was the case in Saskatchewan. The NDP government of Allan Blakeney (1971-1982) made multiculturalism a genuine identity project. Anxious to develop a strong regional consciousness, Blakeney felt that Saskatchewan could not be defined by biculturalism given its demographically diverse origins.

The Association culturelle franco-canadienne de la Saskatchewan (ACFC), for its part, initially refused to see the French-speaking community reduced simply to another ethnic group. In 1986, however, it changed its position. In a memorandum it co-signed with other French-speaking organizations, it acquiesced to the broad objectives of the province’s multiculturalist policy while making institutional bilingualism a condition of this recognition.

In the years that followed, other member associations of the Fédération des francophones hors Québec (FFHQ) became increasingly concerned with immigration, pluralism, and living together. Their leaders were increasingly finding common interests with groups representing particular ethno-cultural communities, especially when it came to issues like education and socio-cultural programming. At the same time, the term “French-Canadian” was increasingly being replaced by “francophone” to normalize relations between French-speaking minority communities and new immigrants. New organizations emerged, such as the Association multiculturelle francophone de l'Ontario (AMFO), while provincial associations were renamed in the hope of better embracing diversity. The ACFO, for example, became the Assemblée de la francophonie de l’Ontario (AFO) in 2006.