The Fediverse is a confusing concept. I’m a giant nerd and even I don’t really understand how this is supposed to work. Centralized platforms provide a more straightforward user experience. And as others have said, that’s where the content is right now.

It’s become increasingly difficult to find French teachers.

Not Canadian, but German: posteo.de for email. One euro a month, very focused on privacy, and you can get a posteo.ca address (as well as many others). Been using them for years and very happy with them.