The dean of Concordia University's Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Andre Roy, has been appointed president of Ontario's proposed French-language university.

The Progressive Conservatives are now asking Ottawa to contribute the other half of the $126 million needed for the project, which they say will take eight years to complete.

"I'm very glad to see this event, for me it's a historical one," said Yves Saint-Denis.

London's francophone community and its supporters will meet in Victoria Park this weekend to protest the province's cuts to French-language programs.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his counterparts from the four other main federal parties left a supposedly non-partisan meeting on how to help Canadian francophones divided.

Amanda Simard, a rookie legislator who represents a largely Franco-Ontarian riding, backed what she called an "important" Opposition motion that aimed to revive the university project and the commissioner's office, saying the province's "partial backtracking" on the issue wasn't enough.

Amanda Simard, who represents the largely Franco-Ontarian riding of Glengarry-Prescott-Russell in eastern Ontario, said Tuesday that she continues to support the Progressive Conservative government's general direction but not its decisions on those two issues.

Premier Doug Ford says his government is creating the position of French-Language Services Commissioner within the provincial ombudsman's office, and seeking to turn the office of francophone affairs into a ministry.

The QCGN said the Ontario moves are "a step backwards" after years of gains.

Quebec Premier François Legault was forced to be lead defender of the French language in North America.