Marie-Soleil was a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 children's television show in the 1980s. The show, starring children's entertainer Suzanne Pinel

Suzanne Pinel

Suzanne Pinel, CM is a Canadian children's entertainer and citizenship judge.Using the stage name Marie-Soleil, Pinel performed for twenty years, using stories and songs to teach the French language to kids. She recorded albums, releasing her first disc in 1976, and starred in the television series...

, used stories and songs to teach French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

 to anglophone

English Canadian

An English Canadian is a Canadian of English ancestry; it is used primarily in contrast with French Canadian. Canada is an officially bilingual state, with English and French official language communities. Immigrant cultural groups ostensibly integrate into one or both of these communities, but...

 kids.

The series (145 episodes) was produced by CJOH-TV

CJOH-TV

CJOH-DT is a television station serving Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and the surrounding region. Owned by Bell Media, it is part of the CTV Television Network....

 in Ottawa

Ottawa

Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...

, and aired on many stations associated with the CTV Television Network

CTV television network

CTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...

. The puppet-character, an English-speaking dog named Fergus, was played by Jon Park-Wheeler. There was also a clown named Samuel, played by Ann Paradis, who spoke with sign-language for the hearing impaired.