Franco-Albertans (french: Franco-Albertains) are
francophone
French became an international language in the Middle Ages, when the power of the Kingdom of France made it the second international language, alongside Latin. This status continued to grow into the 18th century, by which time French was the l ...
residents of the Canadian province of
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest T ...
. Franco-Albertans may also refer to residents of Alberta with
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 Fre ...
ancestry, although publications from the government of Alberta use the term ''Franco-Albertan'' to refer to its francophone residents.
[ In the ]2016 Canadian Census
The 2016 Canadian census was an enumeration of Canadian residents, which counted a population of 35,151,728, a change from its 2011 population of 33,476,688. The census, conducted by Statistics Canada, was Canada's seventh quinquennial census ...
, there were 86,705 Albertans that stated their mother tongue
A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tong ...
was French. In the same census, there were 411,315 Albertans that claim partial or full French ancestry.
Francophones were the first Europeans to visit the province, with French Canadian voyageurs
The voyageurs (; ) were 18th and 19th century French Canadians who engaged in the transporting of furs via canoe during the peak of the North American fur trade. The emblematic meaning of the term applies to places (New France, including th ...
employed in the fur trade exploring the region in the late 18th century. French Canadians settled into a number of communities in the Northwest Territories
The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...
during the 19th century, including communities in present day Alberta. Several French toponyms exist in Alberta, exemplifying the Francophone presence in the region. In 1928, the Association canadienne-française de l'Alberta was formed to promote francophone rights, and to lobby the interests of Franco-Albertans to the province. Following the enactment of the ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
The ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' (french: Charte canadienne des droits et libertés), often simply referred to as the ''Charter'' in Canada, is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada, forming the first part ...
'' in 1982, Franco-Albertans pushed for further linguistic rights within the province, eventually resulting in the province establishing an independent public francophone school system in 1994.
Approximately 72 per cent of Franco-Albertans are situated within the province's two largest cities, Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city an ...
, and Calgary
Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, maki ...
. The province is home to more than 100 francophone non-profit organizations. Radio-Canada, the country's French-language public broadcaster, serves as the main French-language media broadcaster in Alberta.
Demographics
Alberta holds the fourth largest francophone population in Canada, following the provinces of Quebec, Ontario, and New Brunswick; as well as the largest francophone community in Western Canada
Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West or the Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a Canadian region that includes the four western provinces just north of the Canada� ...
. According to the 2016 Canadian Census
The 2016 Canadian census was an enumeration of Canadian residents, which counted a population of 35,151,728, a change from its 2011 population of 33,476,688. The census, conducted by Statistics Canada, was Canada's seventh quinquennial census ...
, the number of people that reported French as a mother tongue in Alberta was 86,705 (or 2.1 per cent of the population), making it the most common mother tongue in the province after English and Tagalog
Tagalog may refer to:
Language
* Tagalog language, a language spoken in the Philippines
** Old Tagalog, an archaic form of the language
** Batangas Tagalog, a dialect of the language
* Tagalog script, the writing system historically used for Taga ...
.[ The majority of Franco-Albertans are bilingual in English and French, with only 3,895 respondents (0.1 per cent of Albertans) in the 2016 census reporting they only had proficiency in the French language.][ There were 264,715 Albertans or 6.6 per cent of the population that reported to be bilingual in English and French, although the following figure includes Albertans that speak French as a ]second language
A person's second language, or L2, is a language that is not the native language ( first language or L1) of the speaker, but is learned later. A second language may be a neighbouring language, another language of the speaker's home country, or a ...
.[
The francophone community in Alberta is largely made up of migrants, with only 25 per cent of francophone residents of Alberta having been born in the province.][ Nearly 50 per cent of all Franco-Albertans migrated to Alberta from another Canadian province or territory, whereas 24 per cent of francophones in Alberta were born outside of Canada.][ Among the Franco-Albertans that were born outside Canada, approximately half originated from Africa, 23 per cent from Europe, 15 per cent from other countries in the Americas, and 13 per cent were from Asia.][
In the 2016 census, 411,315 Albertans, or 10.5 per cent of the provincial population, reported having partial or full French ancestry.] French is the sixth most commonly reported ethnic group in Alberta after Canadian, English, German, Scottish, and Irish.[
]
Communities
The majority of Franco-Albertans reside within the Alberta's two largest metropolitan areas, Greater Edmonton, and the Calgary Region
The Calgary Metropolitan Region (CMR), also commonly referred to as the Calgary Region, is a conglomeration of municipalities centred on Calgary, the largest city in Alberta.
With the Government of Alberta's establishment of the Calgary Metropol ...
.[ The former holds 39 per cent of all francophone residents in the province, whereas the latter holds 33 per cent of all francophone residents in the province.][ The remaining Franco-Albertans are spread throughout the other regions of Alberta.
There are four municipalities in Alberta are officially bilingual and offer municipal services in French, ]Beaumont
Beaumont may refer to:
Places Canada
* Beaumont, Alberta
* Beaumont, Quebec
England
* Beaumont, Cumbria
* Beaumont, Essex
** Beaumont Cut, a canal closed in the 1930s
* Beaumont Street, Oxford
France (communes)
* Beaumont, Ardèche
* ...
, Falher
Falher (, ) is a town in the Peace Country area of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the Municipal District of Smoky River No. 130, along Highway 49. Falher is one of the earliest agricultural communities in the Peace River Country and is notab ...
, Legal
Law is a set of rules that are created and are law enforcement, enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. ...
, and Plamondon. The four communities, in addition to Morinville
Morinville is a town in the Edmonton Metropolitan Region of Alberta, Canada. It is approximately north of Edmonton along Highway 2.
History
Morinville was settled by Jean-Baptiste Morin, a priest and missionary of the Missionary Oblates ...
, St. Albert, St. Paul
Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
, Bonnyville
Bonnyville is a town situated in east-central Alberta, Canada between Cold Lake and St. Paul. The surrounding Municipal District (MD) of Bonnyville No. 87's municipal office is located in Bonnyville.
The community derives its name from Fat ...
, and Smoky River
The Smoky River is a river in western Alberta, Canada. It is a major tributary of the Peace River. The descriptive name refers to the presence of "smouldering beds of coal in the riverbank" noted by the Cree Indians.
It drains an area of . Fr ...
also form a part of the Alberta Bilingual Municipalities Association (ABMA).[ Thirteen communities formed a part of the AMBA in 2018 ][
]
History
The first Europeans to visit Alberta were French Canadians during the late 18th century, working as fur traders and voyageurs
The voyageurs (; ) were 18th and 19th century French Canadians who engaged in the transporting of furs via canoe during the peak of the North American fur trade. The emblematic meaning of the term applies to places (New France, including th ...
for the Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business di ...
, or the North West Company
The North West Company was a fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in what is present-day Western Canada and Northwestern Ontario. With great weal ...
.[ French was the predominant language used in some early fur trading forts in the region, such as the first Fort Edmonton (in present day ]Fort Saskatchewan
Fort Saskatchewan is a city along the North Saskatchewan River in Alberta, Canada. It is northeast of Edmonton, the provincial capital. It is part of the Edmonton census metropolitan area and one of 24 municipalities that constitute the Edmo ...
).
The early 19th century saw the introduction of French language education in the region, when French missionaries of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate
The Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) is a missionary religious congregation in the Catholic Church. It was founded on January 25, 1816, by Eugène de Mazenod, a French priest born in Aix-en-Provence in the south of France on August 1, ...
were dispatched to evangelize the First Nations
First Nations or first peoples may refer to:
* Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area.
Indigenous groups
*First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including:
**First Natio ...
in the area.[ ]Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
* Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
* Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
French Canadian settlers were present in Calgary, Edmonton, Lac La Biche, Lac Saint-Anne, and St. Albert by the mid 1860s; with colonizing clerics actively recruiting farmers from Quebec in the late 19th century.[
In 1870, the Hudson's Bay Company ceded Rupert's Land and the ]North-Western Territory
The North-Western Territory was a region of British North America extant until 1870 and named for where it lay in relation to Rupert's Land.
Due to the lack of development, exploration, and cartographic limits of the time, the exact bounda ...
to the government of Canada, most of which was administered as the North-West Territories
The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...
.[ Although English and French were official languages in the North-West Territories, the latter was quickly relegated in status; as the influx of anglophone settlers made English the predominant language of the territory by the 1890s.][ In 1892, French was stricken as an official language of the territory's education system, and its legislature, with English made the only official language for deliberations in the legislature.][
]
20th century
The English-only policies of the 1890s were continued after the region was severed from the territory to form the province of Alberta; with no mention of linguistic rights in the province's establishing statute.[ Attempts to advance French language education rights were made by the French Canadian clergy, as they involved themselves in public ]separate school
In Canada, a separate school is a type of school that has constitutional status in three provinces (Ontario, Alberta and Saskatchewan) and statutory status in the three territories (Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut). In these Canadian ...
boards.[ In 1925, francophones in the provinces formed the ''Association canadienne-française de l’Alberta'' as a lobby to demand linguistic rights from the provincial government.][
The mid 20th century saw the early development of several Franco-Albertan institutions, such as agricultural cooperatives, ]credit unions
A credit union, a type of financial institution similar to a commercial bank, is a member-owned nonprofit financial cooperative. Credit unions generally provide services to members similar to retail banks, including deposit accounts, provision ...
, and new Roman Catholic parishes.[ The Edmonton-based ]CHFA-FM
CHFA-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts the programming of Radio-Canada's Ici Radio-Canada Première network in Edmonton, Alberta.
The station was launched in 1949 by a local non-profit consortium to bring French radio service to E ...
, predecessor of Radio-Canada's French-language regional radio station, made its first broadcast in November 1949.[
The enactment of the '']Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
The ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' (french: Charte canadienne des droits et libertés), often simply referred to as the ''Charter'' in Canada, is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada, forming the first part ...
'' in 1982 prompted Franco-Albertans to approach the public Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and secular
Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...
school boards of Edmonton to establish a fully francophone school, although both school boards rejected the proposal.[ The refusal to provide public funding for a francophone school led the ''Association de l’École Georges et Julia Bugnet'' to bring forward a case that the provincial ''School Act'' conflicted with Section 23 of the charter. The case was eventually accepted by the ]Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...
, who made a ruling in March 1990, stating that language minority groups, such as Franco-Albertans, were guaranteed a "degree of management and control," of their education system.[ Another decision made by the Supreme Court in 1993 on ]Franco-Manitoban
Franco-Manitobans (french: Franco-Manitobains) are French Canadians or Canadian francophones living in the province of Manitoba. According to the 2016 Canadian Census, 40,975 residents of the province stated that French was their mother tongue. In ...
schools also further French language rights in other anglophone provinces in Canada, when the court asserted the rights of linguistic minorities to control their own education.[ The following decision prompted the province to create five new regional francophone school boards in 1994.]
In 1997, the province signed the first Canada-Alberta Agreement on French Language Services, which is a joint federal-provincial fund aimed at funding French language services in the province. In 1999, the government of Alberta created the position of Francophone Secretariat to act as a liaison between the Franco-Albertan community and the government, and joined the Ministerial Conference on the Canadian Francophonie.
The push for linguistic rights by minority French Canadian populations in the 1980s and 1990s saw a reaction from anglophones in the province, prompting the provincial government to curtail the French language in other areas.[ Following the Supreme Court's ruling on ''R. v Mercure'', a case involving a Fransaskois in Saskatchewan, the ]Legislative Assembly of Alberta
The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is the deliberative assembly of the province of Alberta, Canada. It sits in the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton. The Legislative Assembly currently has 87 members, elected first past the post from si ...
passed the ''Languages Act'' in 1988, in which English was declared the province's official language, and replaced many of the French language rights permitted under the ''North-West Territories Act''; although the Act still permitted the use of French in its legislature, and for judicial cases concerning provincial offences as directed by the court. French language access to the latter was later expanded in 1995, when a francophone service system was created for criminal proceedings.[
]
21st century
In 2017, the government of Alberta established its first French language policy, and adopted the Franco-Albertan Flag as an official symbol of the community.[ In the following year, the provincial government declared March as Alberta Francophonie Month.][
]
Politics
After the Alberta ''Languages Act'' was passed in 1988, English was made the only official language in the province.[ However, the same legislation provides stipulations that permits the use of French for deliberations in the legislature of Alberta, as well as provincial judicial system as directed by the courts.][ Access to government services in the French language was promoted in the "French Policy", introduced by the provincial government in 2017.][ However, no legislation exists that mandates provincial services provide accessibility in French, outside the rights afforded in the ''Languages Act''; or the ''Education Act'', the latter act only establishing the province's francophone public school system.] There are four municipalities in Alberta that provide municipal services in both English and French,[ although the majority of communities in the province provide municipal services in only English.
Franco-Albertans interests are formally represented by the ''Association canadienne-française de l’Alberta'', an organization formed in 1928, and officially incorporated by the Legislative Assembly of Alberta in 1964 in order to ensure its independence.][ Conversely, the government of Alberta established the Francophone Secretariat in 1999 to serve as a government liaison to the Franco-Albertan community.][ The Francophone Secretariat forms a part of the provincial Ministry of Culture, Multiculturalism and Status of Women.
]
Education
Elementary and secondary
French language education rights for minority francophone populations in Canada is guaranteed under section 23 of the ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'', and is further reinforced under section 14 of the province's ''Education Act''. Prior to their enactment, francophone rights were limited in Alberta, with most public schools in the province being anglophone institutions.
French language education was permitted in Albertan public schools since 1896, although was limited and only conducted in anglophone elementary schools.[ Following the ]Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism
The Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism (french: Commission royale d’enquête sur le bilinguisme et le biculturalisme, also known as the Bi and Bi Commission and the Laurendeau-Dunton Commission) was a Canadian royal commissio ...
, the province of Alberta introduced bilingual schools, that saw teachers split between English and French for the instructional languages used in classes from Grades 3 to 12.[ Although open to Franco-Albertans, the bilingual programs was made primarily for anglophone, or bilingual students.][ Regulation 250/76 was introduced by the province in 1976, which permitted schools to use French as an instructional language for up to 80 per cent of the school day.][ The enactment of the charter eventually led the province to establish its first two publicly-funded francophone schools in 1984,][ and an independent francophone public elementary and secondary school system in 1994.][
The province's public francophone schools are administered through one of four public school boards, the East Central Francophone Education Region, the Northwest Francophone Education Region, the Southern Francophone Education Region, and the Greater North Central Francophone Education Region. All four public school boards are mixed secular/]separate school
In Canada, a separate school is a type of school that has constitutional status in three provinces (Ontario, Alberta and Saskatchewan) and statutory status in the three territories (Northwest Territories, Yukon and Nunavut). In these Canadian ...
boards, operating 42 elementary and secondary schools in 27 different communities.[ There were 7,814 students enrolled in Alberta's public francophone elementary and secondary schools during the 2017–18 academic year.][
]
Post-secondary
There is no independent francophone post-secondary institution in the province, although the University of Alberta
The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a Public university, public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexande ...
operates as a bilingual institution, offering several bachelor and master's degree programs in the French language at its Saint-Jean campus.[ The campus originated as the private francophone educational institution established in 1928, ''Juniorat Saint-Jean'', before being absorbed by the University of Alberta in 1977.][ The university also operates a ]college
A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...
on the same campus, offering two-year diploma programs in French since 2014. In 2018, there were 842 students registered at the Saint-Jean campus.[
]
Culture
There are more than 100 francophone non-profit organizations in the province that operate in a wide variety of fields.[ ''L’Unithéâtre'' in Edmonton and the ''Société de Théâtre'' serve a French-speaking audience, and a number of folk dancing troupes tour the province. The ''Centre d’arts visuels de l’Alberta'' provides a venue for francophone artists and craftsmen, and the annual Franco-Alberta Festival showcases French language and culture.
]
Media
Francophones in Alberta receive broadcast media service primarily from the television and radio services of the Société Radio-Canada
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...
, the French-language division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the governmen ...
, including Ici Radio-Canada Télé
Ici Radio-Canada Télé (formerly known as Télévision de Radio-Canada) is a Canadian French-language free-to-air television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (known in French as Société Radio-Canada), the national pu ...
's station CBXFT-DT
CBXFT-DT (channel 11) is an Ici Radio-Canada Télé station in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, serving the province's Franco-Albertan population. It is part of a twinstick with CBC Television station CBXT-DT (channel 5). Both stations share studios o ...
, Ici Radio-Canada Première
Ici Radio-Canada Première (formerly Première Chaîne) is a Canadian French-language radio network, the news and information service of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (known as Société Radio-Canada in French), the public broadcaster of ...
's CHFA-FM
CHFA-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts the programming of Radio-Canada's Ici Radio-Canada Première network in Edmonton, Alberta.
The station was launched in 1949 by a local non-profit consortium to bring French radio service to E ...
and Ici Musique
Ici Musique (stylized as ICI Musique) is the French-language music radio service of Canada's national public broadcaster, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (''Société Radio-Canada''). It is the French equivalent of the English CBC Music, al ...
's CBCX-FM
CBCX-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts Radio-Canada's Ici Musique network at 89.7 FM in Calgary, Alberta. CBCX's studios are located in the Cambrian Wellness Centre, northwest of downtown Calgary, while its transmitter is located ...
. Francophone community radio stations exist in Edmonton ( CFED-FM) and Plamondon ( CHPL-FM); a third community radio station, CKRP-FM in Falher
Falher (, ) is a town in the Peace Country area of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the Municipal District of Smoky River No. 130, along Highway 49. Falher is one of the earliest agricultural communities in the Peace River Country and is notab ...
, was shut down in 2017.
In print, the province is served by the French-language weekly newspaper ''Le Franco''.
Notable Franco-Albertans
The first notable Franco-Albertan, in many regards, was Father Albert Lacombe.
Politics
* Prosper-Edmond Lessard
Prosper-Edmond Lessard (February 3, 1873 – April 11, 1931) was a Canadian businessman, militia officer and politician. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta from 1909 to 1921 sitting with the Liberal caucus in government. ...
- Alberta’s first French-speaking cabinet minister. Liberal MLA for Pakan (1909-1913) and St. Paul
Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
(1913-1921), Senator
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
for Alberta (1925-1931).
* Wilfrid Gariépy
Wilfrid Gariepy (March 14, 1877 – January 13, 1960) was a Canadian politician, member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta and provincial cabinet minister, member of the House of Commons of Canada, and municipal councillor in Edmonton.
Early ...
- founding Franco-Albertan/Canadian politician, Liberal MLA for Beaver River (1913-1921), Alberta Minister of Municipal Affairs (1917-1918), Provincial Secretary (1918).
* Jean Léon Côté - Liberal MLA for Athabasca (1909-1913) and Grouard
Grouard, also known as Grouard Mission, is a hamlet in northern Alberta within Big Lakes County. It was previously an incorporated municipality between 1909 and 1944.
Grouard is located north of Highway 2, approximately northeast of Grande ...
(1913-1923)
* Ernest Côté -soldier, diplomat and civil servant.
* Joseph Miville Dechêne - Liberal MLA for Beaver River (1921-1926) and St. Paul (1930-1935), Liberal MP for Athabaska (1940-1958).
* Laudas Joly - United Farmers United Farmers may refer to:
*The United Farmers' MPs in the Canadian House of Commons who founded the Progressive Party of Canada in 1920
*United Farmers of Alberta, a political party which governed Alberta from 1921 to 1935 and also elected membe ...
MLA for St. Paul (1921-1930) and Social Credit
Social credit is a distributive philosophy of political economy developed by C. H. Douglas. Douglas attributed economic downturns to discrepancies between the cost of goods and the compensation of the workers who made them. To combat what he ...
MLA for Bonnyville
Bonnyville is a town situated in east-central Alberta, Canada between Cold Lake and St. Paul. The surrounding Municipal District (MD) of Bonnyville No. 87's municipal office is located in Bonnyville.
The community derives its name from Fat ...
(1952-1955).
* Joseph Beaudry
Joseph William Beaudry (March 27, 1885 – March 22, 1954) was a provincial politician from Alberta, Canada. He served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta
The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is the deliberative assembly of the p ...
- Social Credit MLA for St. Paul (1935-1952).
* Léo Piquette
Léo Piquette (born May 22, 1946) was elected to the Alberta Legislative Assembly in the 1986 Alberta election. He was a member of the Alberta New Democratic Party for the district of Athabasca-Lac La Biche from 1986 to 1989.
Piquette is larg ...
- NDP
NDP may stand for:
Computing
* Neighbor Discovery Protocol, an Internet protocol
* Nortel Discovery Protocol, a layer two Internet protocol, also called SONMP
* Nondeterministic programming, a type of computer language
Government
* National ...
MLA for Athabasca-Lac La Biche
Athabasca-Lac La Biche was a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada, mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first-past-the-post method of voting from 1986 to 1993.
History
The Athabasca-Lac ...
(1986-1989), francophone minority rights advocate.
* Paul André Joseph Langevin - Liberal, then PC MLA for Lac La Biche-St. Paul
Lac La Biche-St. Paul was a provinces and territories of Canada, provincial electoral district (Canada), electoral district in Alberta, Canada, mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using first-past-the-post ba ...
(1993-2001).
* Denis Ducharme - PC MLA for Bonnyville-Cold Lake
Bonnyville-Cold Lake was a provinces and territories of Canada, provincial electoral district (Canada), electoral district in Alberta, Canada, mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first past the post ...
(1997-2008).
* Hector Goudreau
Hector George Joseph Goudreau (born October 11, 1950) is a politician from Alberta, Canada. He is originally from the francophone area of Beaumont, Alberta, located just south of Edmonton's metro population.
Hector is a former member of the Leg ...
- PC MLA for Dunvegan-Central Peace-Notley
Dunvegan-Central Peace-Notley was a provincial electoral district in Alberta, Canada mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using the first-past-the-post method of voting from 2012 to 2019.
History
The elect ...
(2004-2015), Alberta Minister of Tourism, Parks, Recreation and Culture (2006–2008), Alberta Minister of Municipal Affairs (2008-2011).
* Claudette Tardif - Liberal, then independent Senator for Alberta (2005–2018). Francophone of Russian descent.
* Colin Piquette
Colin Leo Piquette (born 1969 or 1970) is a Canadian politician who was elected in the 2015 Alberta general election to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta representing the electoral district
An electoral district, also known as an election ...
- son of Léo Piquette, NDP MLA for Athabasca-Sturgeon-Redwater
Athabasca-Sturgeon-Redwater was a provincial electoral district in Alberta mandated to return a single member to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta using first-past-the-post balloting from 2012 to 2019.
History
The electoral district was cre ...
(2015–2019).
* Marie Renaud
Marie Renaud (born 1964 or 1965) is a Canadian politician who was first elected in the 2015 Alberta general election to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta representing the electoral district of St. Albert and was re-elected on April 16, 201 ...
- NDP MLA for St. Albert (2015–present).
* Randy Boissonnault
Randy Paul Andrew Boissonnault (born July 14, 1970) is a Canadian politician who has served as Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance since October 26, 2021. A member of the Liberal Party, he represents the riding of Edmonton C ...
- first Franco-Albertan federal minister representing an Alberta riding. Liberal MP for Edmonton Centre
Edmonton Centre (french: Edmonton-Centre) is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and since 2004.
Geography
The riding is anchored in the heart of Down ...
(2015–2019; 2021–present)
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage
(2015-2017)
Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance
(October 26, 2021 to present).
*Pierre Poilievre
Pierre Marcel Poilievre ( ; born June 3, 1979) is a Canadian politician who has served as the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada and the leader of the Official Opposition since 2022. Poilievre has served as a member of Parliament (MP ...
- first Franco-Albertan federal minister. Conservative MP for Nepean—Carleton
Nepean—Carleton was a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada that was represented in the House of Commons from 1979 to 1988, and again from 1997 to 2015.
It included the southern portion of the former city of Nepean and adjacent sub ...
(2004-present).
Sports
* Chris Benoît - Professional wrestler. Born to a French-Canadian family in Montréal, but raised in Edmonton, and wrestled out of Calgary.
* Arthur Boileau - Former professional runner of French-Canadian descent. Represented Canada in the 1984 and 1988 Olympics in the Marathon. Born in Edmonton.
Art
* Crystal Plamondon - singer and songwriter from Plamondon, Alberta
Plamondon is a hamlet in northern Alberta, Canada within Lac La Biche County. It is located on Highway 858, approximately north of Highway 55, and has an elevation of .
The hamlet is located in Census Division No. 12 and in the federal ridi ...
.
* Les Bûcherons, a duo which presents French-Canadian music and dance to audiences throughout the province.
* Robert Goulet
Robert Gérard Goulet (November 26, 1933 October 30, 2007) was an American and Canadian singer and actor of French-Canadian ancestry. Goulet was born and raised in Lawrence, Massachusetts until age 13, and then spent his formative years in Canad ...
- American entertainer of French-Canadian parentage and Franco-Albertan residency. Migrated with his French-Canadian family from Massachusetts to northern Alberta when he was three months old. Was rumoured to be seeking Canadian citizenship, but died in 2007 before any action could be taken.
See also
*French Canadians
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 ...
**Acadians
The Acadians (french: Acadiens , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Most Acadians live in the region of Acadia, as it is the region where the de ...
, French-speaking Quebecer, Franco-Columbian
Franco-Columbians (french: Franco-Colombiens) are French Canadians or Canadian francophones living in the province of British Columbia. According to the 2016 Canadian Census, 71,705 residents of the province stated that French is their mother ton ...
, Franco-Manitoban
Franco-Manitobans (french: Franco-Manitobains) are French Canadians or Canadian francophones living in the province of Manitoba. According to the 2016 Canadian Census, 40,975 residents of the province stated that French was their mother tongue. In ...
, Franco-Newfoundlander
Franco-Newfoundlanders, also known as Franco-Terreneuvians in English or ''Franco-Terreneuviens'' in French, are francophone and/or French Canadian residents of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador.[Franco-Ontarian
Franco-Ontarians (french: Franco-Ontariens or if female, sometimes known as ''Ontarois'' and ''Ontaroises'') are Francophone Canadians that reside in the province of Ontario. Most are French Canadians from Ontario. In 2016, the Government of O ...]
, Fransaskois, Franco-Ténois
Franco-Ténois, originating from the acronym ''TNO'', the French term for the Northwest Territories of Canada (), refers to the widespread community of francophones who reside in the Northwest Territories.
History
Francophones have a long hist ...
, Franco-Yukonnais
Franco-Yukonnais () are French Canadian or French speaking residents of Yukon, a territory of Canada. French has full official language status in the Yukon.
Demographics
The Canada 2016 Census identified 1,575 residents of the territory as franc ...
Notes
References
External links
''Association canadienne-française de l’Alberta''
French Secretariat of Alberta
{{French diaspora
Culture of Alberta
*
A
Ethnic groups in Alberta