The Acadian Society of New Brunswick (french: Société de l'Acadie du Nouveau-Brunswick) (SANB) is a

French Canadian French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fren ...

advocacy organization representing Francophones and Acadians in the province of New Brunswick.

Description

The Société de l'Acadie du Nouveau-Brunswick (SANB), known in English as the Acadian Society of New Brunswick, is an organization representing Francophones and Acadians in New Brunswick, the only

bilingual Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all E ...

province in Canada and the largest Acadian population in the country. The organization, which has received federal funding, holds an annual general meeting. Presidency for SANB runs on democratic elections, and as of April 2024 there is a current election underway with three candidates.

History

In June 1973, the Société des Acadiens du Nouveau-Brunswick (SANB) was created in Shippagan, resulting from a meeting held the year prior. The following year, the organization became involved in efforts made to revive the French language in

Moncton Moncton (; ) is the most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of New Brunswick. Situated in the Petitcodiac River Valley, Moncton lies at the geographic centre of the The Maritimes, Maritime Provinces. The ...

. In 1979, the organization was involved in the holding of a conference to discuss the creation of an Acadian province separated from New Brunswick, with proposals being made as early as 1976. During the

1980 Quebec referendum The 1980 Quebec independence referendum was the first referendum in Quebec on the place of Quebec within Canada and whether Quebec should pursue a path toward sovereignty. The referendum was called by Quebec's Parti Québécois (PQ) government, whi ...

, SANB expressed support for voting 'yes', with president Jean-Claude Leblanc making an interpretation of the

status quo is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, political, religious or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the current state of social structure and/or values. W ...

being favored by those voting 'no', stating that it "leads directly, quickly and undeniably to the assimilation of francophones and their disappearance in the more-or-less long term." In 1986, SANB participated in discussions regarding compensations for the Expulsion of the Acadians. SANB was previously based in Moncton. In 1980, the organization relocated to Petit-Rocher following a meeting held in

Memramcook Memramcook, sometimes also spelled Memramcouke or Memramkouke, is a village in Westmorland County, New Brunswick, Canada. Located in south-eastern New Brunswick, the community is predominantly people of Acadian descent who speak the Chiac deri ...

. In 1988, the organization was renamed to the Société des Acadiens et des Acadiennes du Nouveau-Brunswick (SAANB) and renamed again in 2008 to the Société de l'Acadie du Nouveau-Brunswick.

Opposition to anti-bilingualism

The organization has expressed a strong opposition to anti-bilingualism, with then-president Michel Doucet labelling members of the Confederation of Regions Party, a now-defunct

right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...

, anti-bilingual political party, as " extremists" in 1989. In 1998, the organization sent a complaint to the New Brunswick Judicial Council regarding one of their francophone judges for remarks she made towards Acadians during a court session in Tracadie, resulting in the judge being fired the following year. In 2002, the Government of New Brunswick's proposition of ''Bill 17'', related to the healthcare system, led to CANB filing a civil suit against them, stating "nothing in the bill promises that all health services will be available in French." In 2022, SANB criticized the

Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick The Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick is a centre-right, conservative political party in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The party has its origins in the pre-Canadian confederation Conservative Party that opposed the granti ...

for adding two new MLAs from the People's Alliance. The added politicians, Kris Austin and

Michelle Conroy Michelle Conroy is a member of the Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick and an MLA in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick representing the riding of Miramichi. Conroy was re-elected in the 2020 provincial election, defeating ...

, have been described as expressing anti-bilingual opinions. Later that year, calls were made to Premier

Blaine Higgs Blaine Myron Higgs (born March 1, 1954) is a Canadian politician who is the 34th and current premier of New Brunswick since 2018 and leader of the New Brunswick Progressive Conservative Party (PC Party) since 2016. Higgs graduated from the U ...

for the removal of Austin from an '' Official Languages Act'' examination group by multiple organizations including SANB. The organization also made further calls for a review to be conducted regarding the leadership of Higgs.

References

External links

* {{Official website, url=www.sanb.ca Acadian culture in New Brunswick Organizations based in New Brunswick 1973 establishments in New Brunswick Ethnic organizations based in Canada Organizations established in 1973 Language advocacy organizations Acadian history