Thinking along the lines of increased autonomy for the Francophone communities living in a minority context in Canada brings an original contribution to the debate about the meaning to be given to the federal government’s commitment set forth in Part VII of the Official Languages Act. What light does the concept of autonomy shed on the implementation of Part VII and the requirement that federal institutions take positive measures? The answer is based upon a definition of autonomy, the teachings from international law and the notion of institutional completeness.