The first part of the present study places French immersion programs, from their emergence in Quebec to their arrival in Saskatchewan, within the context of Canadian bilingualism. The second section is focused more closely on the reception and development of French immersion in the province of Saskatchewan and, more particularly, in the city of Regina. An examination of the way the immersion program in Regina has had to adapt to the specific Saskatchewan linguistic, cultural and political environment in order to attain a degree of integration leads to the conclusion that the success of French immersion depends to a large extent on local history, the appreciation and understanding of the population, the parents and other educational systems, as well as on the support that the provincial government gives to immersion and bilingualism generally. Finally it is suggested that the challenges that both immersion and bilingualism encounter today are more related to federal policy and its acceptance by Saskatchewan people, to the relationships the program and the policy establish with the official language minority and the provincial government's willingness to embrace bilingualism. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)