Regulation 17 (French: Règlement 17) was a regulation of the Ontario Conservative government designed to shut down French-language schools at a time when Francophones from Quebec were moving into eastern Ontario. It was a regulation written by the Ministry of Education, issued in July 1912 by the Conservative government of premier Sir James P. Whitney. It restricted the use of French as a language of instruction to the first two years of schooling. It was amended in 1913, and it is that version that was applied throughout Ontario. French Canada reacted vehemently, and lost, dooming its French-language Catholic schools. This was a reason why French Canada distanced itself from the subsequent World War I effort, as its young men refused to enlist.