Francophone heritage in Alberta

History

Many of the first settlers to Alberta were French-Canadian. Brought by fur traders, French was in fact the first European language spoken in Alberta. These French origins are still evident today and, according to the 2021 Census data, more than 383,000 (or 9%) of Albertans are of French or French-Canadian heritage.

The Alberta's Francophone Heritage website samples these individual and community stories, from the era of the fur trade to contemporary Francophone communities confidently embracing the future.

From the Francophone Community Profile of Alberta:

Grande Cache, Miette, Lac La Biche: at the time of the voyageurs, the vast spaces west of the Great Lakes were for the most part given French place names. French also predominated at Fort Edmonton, constructed in 1795 by the Hudson’s Bay Company. A century later, a great wave of migration brought settlers of many origins to Alberta, seeking fertile land and prosperity in the West. French then became a secondary language. In 1892, when the Legislative Assembly made English the only language of debate and instruction, local priests undertook a vast recruitment campaign in Quebec and New England. This helped to swell the ranks of the original Francophone settlements in the province, and gave birth to new settlements in the northern regions.

A network of French schools developed with the Church’s help. Nevertheless, at the same time, the government required that all compulsory school subjects be taught in English. The Association canadienne-française de l’Alberta (ACFA), created in 1926 and supported by La Survivance (1928), took on the dual task of providing bilingual teachers for the French schools and ensuring the effective teaching of their mother tongue. The cooperative movement in Alberta owes its growth to these two institutions.

Protected by linguistic arrangements made when the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan were created in 1905, public Catholic education in French continued up until the 1930s. It was not until 1964 that an amendment to the Schools Act permitted teaching in French for an hour per day. Franco-Albertans gained control over their schools in 1993. The Government of Alberta established a Francophone Affairs secretariat in 1999.

Alberta's Francophone communities

Alberta has approximately 2,000 communities and natural sites with French-influenced names, such as:

• Beaumont
• Brosseau
• Grande Prairie
• Lacombe
• Lac des Arcs

Over the years, these names have transformed into English approximations. For example, Grande Prairie retains the French spelling but is anglicized as "Grand" Prairie in pronunciation.

Some early Francophone communities were ministered by the Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI), a prominent religious congregation at the time, who named these communities in honour of patron saints. Other communities were named after the wildlife or geography of a specific region, or after prominent local French-speaking individuals.

Four Alberta municipalities are officially bilingual:

• City of Beaumont
• Town of Legal
• Town of Falher
• Hamlet of Plamondon

These and 15 other municipalities listed below form the Alberta Bilingual Municipalities Association (ABMA).

• Birch Hills County
• Municipal district of Bonnyville
• Town of Bonnyville
• Village of Donnelly
• City of Grande Prairie
• Village of Girouxville
• Lac La Biche County
• Town of Morinville
• Town of McLennan
• Northern Sunrise County
• Town of Saint-Paul
• Saint-Paul County
• Smoky Lake County
• Town of Smoky Lake
• Smoky River County

French-language population growth

French is the mother tongue of 1 in 5 Canadians and approximately 88,010 Albertans (2% of the population).

Alberta’s French mother tongue (Francophone) population grew by approximately 28% between 2006 and 2021. Excluding Quebec, Alberta has the fourth largest minority Francophone population after Ontario, New Brunswick and British Columbia.

In areas where the Francophone population is concentrated – St. Paul, Bonnyville, Peace River, Calgary and Edmonton to name a few – French is spoken at home and a greater number of services in French are available.

Bilingual population growth

French is a common second language for Canadians because it is widely used and accessible through education, media and Canadian culture.

This is true also in Alberta, where French is the most common language spoken after English and the number of bilingual residents is rising steadily. According to the 2021 Census, Alberta ranked 5th in bilingual population size: 261,435 Albertans spoke French in 2021 compared to 225,085 in 2006, an increase of more than 16%.

Changing economic and social relations are creating a demand for enhanced skills, including competencies in languages other than English, in an ever-increasing number of entrepreneurial, professional and technical fields.

Education

One in 3 Alberta students are learning French, making it the most commonly learned language in Alberta schools. The overall number of Alberta students enrolled in French-language programs is rising steadily.

Nearly 200,000 Alberta students were enrolled in French-language programs in 2020-21. This included:

• 8,532 students enrolled in Francophone schools
• 43,587 French immersion students
• 122,961 students enrolled in a French as a Second Language course

Franco-Albertan flag

Alberta Francophonie Month

On March 1, 2018, the Alberta government proclaimed March as the annual Mois de la francophonie albertaine (Alberta Francophonie Month). The month of March provides an opportunity to highlight the vibrancy and energy the Francophonie brings to Alberta.

There is no better time to celebrate the diversity of Alberta’s Francophonie than during March, which already attracts many events and activities as part of the national initiative, Rendez-vous de la Francophonie. The Rendez-vous de la Francophonie Events calendar features several cultural and community events in French in Alberta and across the country.

Resources

• Infographics: The Francophonie in Alberta
• Map of Alberta Municipalities with Thriving Francophonie
• Timeline: Alberta and the Francophonie
• Saint-Joachim Roman Catholic Church
• La Société historique francophone de l’Alberta, History of the Franco-Albertan community – French only
• Peel's Prairie Provinces: La Survivance/Le Franco – French only