The Protocol for Agreements for Minority-Language Education and Second-Language Instruction is a multi-year, multilateral agreement between the Government of Canada and the provinces and territories. The protocol sets the key parameters for collaboration between the two orders of government on official languages in education, and provides a mechanism through which the federal government contributes to the costs incurred by the provinces and territories in the delivery of minority-language education and second-language instruction. Under the parameters of the protocol, each province and territory negotiates a bilateral cost-sharing agreement that is tailored to its unique priorities.
The protocol was first implemented in 1983. It was the first major multilateral agreement with the federal government to be signed through CMEC and the first political document to establish pan-Canadian guidelines for federal-provincial cooperation in an area of provincial/territorial jurisdiction. Since then, the protocol has been renegotiated every three to five years to reflect changing circumstances.