Franco-Columbian

Ethnic group|
group=Franco-Columbians


caption= Flag of the francophones of British Columbia
poptime=54,400
popplace=British Columbia
langs=French, English
rels=predominantly Christian (Roman Catholicism, other denominations)
related=Franco-Manitoban, Franco-Ontarian, French Canadians, French-speaking Quebecer, Québécois, Acadians, Cajuns, French Americans, Metis, French

Franco-Columbians or "Franco-Colombiens" are French Canadians or French speaking Canadians (Francophones) living in the Pacific province of British Columbia.

British Columbia is, geographically, the farthest-removed province from Canada's historic francophone population, thus it is not surprising to find that francophone British Columbians are few in number. The 2001 census placed the number of British Columbians with French as a mother tongue at 54,400, a figure well below English (2,825,780), 'other Chinese' (130,330), Cantonese (127,120), Punjabi (121,740) and German (84,605). A good number of these listed francophones would be European and African immigrants or migrants from eastern Canada making the Franco-Columbian community a diverse one encompassing many places of origin and differing roots in the province. The popularity of French immersion education programmes have also meant that the French-speaking population outnumbers the francophone population.

Maillardville

However, francophones have a significant history in the province particularly in the area of Maillardville, a neighbourhood of Coquitlam in suburban Vancouver. In 1909 mill workers were brought from Quebec to Maillardville [http://www.maillardville.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=12&Itemid=31 Societe francophone de Maillardville - À propos de nous / About us ] ] and their descendants constitute a small and proud community [ [http://www.library.coquitlam.bc.ca/Online+Services/Historical+Photographs/default.htm Historical Photographs ] ] . Today Maillardville describes itself as "a community with a francophone heart" and is home to a number of francophone community organisations [ [http://www.maillardville.com/ Societe francophone de Maillardville - Bienvenue/Welcome ] ] , schools, churches [ [http://www.notredamedefatima.org/ Notre Dame de Fatima - Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church ] ] [ [http://www.olol-coq.com/ Our Lady of Lourdes Notre Dame de Lourdes ] ] , a retirement home [ [http://www.foyermaillard.com/index2.htm Foyer Maillard Welcomes You! ] ] , the annual "Festival du Bois" [ [http://www.festivaldubois.ca/ Festival du Bois - Société francophone de Maillardville ] ] , and an organization of francophone scouts and guides [http://www.scoutsfranco.com/#/historiquepage2/4521359167] . Community organizations place the francophone population of the Coquitlam area at 13,000.

Francophone service and community centres elsewhere in the province

Francophone community centres and resources also exist in Vancouver [http://www.lamaison.bc.ca/MaisonHistory.htm] ] [ [http://www.lbv.ca/fr/index.html Bienvenue ] ] , Prince George [ [http://www.studio2880.com/members/cultural_members.htm] ] , Kelowna [ [http://kelowna.cioc.ca/details.asp?RSN=651 Centre francophone de services à l'emploi de l'Okanagan, Okanagan French Cultural Centre / Employment Services ] ] , Victoria [ [http://www.francocentre.com/ La Société francophone de Victoria ] ] , Nanaimo [ [http://www.francophonenanaimo.org/ L'Association des francophones de Nanaimo ] ] and Kamloops [ [http://www.francokamloops.org/ Association francophone de Kamloops - Accueil ] ] .

Education

The province is served by a francophone school board (Le Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie-Britannique) which operates 40 schools offering education from kindergarten through grade 12 in the Lower Mainland, Sunshine Coast, Vancouver Island, Okanagan, Kootenays, Prince George, Fraser Valley, and other parts of the province [ [http://www.csf.bc.ca/doc_pdf/accueil/2007_CSF_liste_ecoles.pdf liste_ecoles_08.cdr ] ] . A large and vibrant French immersion programme, although intended for anglophones, also includes some francophone students. The province hosts an active chapter of Canadian Parents for French (BC-Yukon Branch) [http://www.cpf.bc.ca/bc_html/Other/FramePages/f_index.shtml Canadian Parents for French - British Columbia & Yukon Branch ] ] .

Although French courses, and training for French immersion teaching are offered at the province's universities, there is no bilingual or French-language university in the province. Simon Fraser University, however, offers five degree programmes that can be completed entirely in French [http://www.cpf.bc.ca/site/dox/cpfutures2007.pdf pdf tab.indd ] ] . "College Educacentre" is the province's only French-language college with campuses in Vancouver, Nanaimo, Victoria and Prince George as well as distance education options.

Media

Vancouver-based Radio-Canada television station CBUFT broadcasts throughout the province via relay transmitters, as do French-language radio stations CBUF-FM (Première Chaîne) and, to a lesser extent, CBUX-FM (Espace musique) [ [http://www.cbc.radio-canada.ca/installations/stations/cb.shtml CBC/Radio-Canada - Stations de bases et affiliées - Colombie-Britannique ] ] . Other French language media such as CBC's "Réseau de l'information", TV5 and "MusiquePlus" are also available but not locally-based. TVA's owned-and-operated station in Montreal (CFTM-TV) is also available on basic cable. The province previously had a newspaper called "Le Soleil de la Colombie-Britannique" but it ceased publication in 1998 [ [http://www.radio-canada.ca/nouvelles/07/7654.htm Le Soleil de la Colombie-Britannique ne paraît plus - Radio-Canada nouvelles ] ] . There is now a newspaper published out of Vancouver called "L'Express du Pacifique" [ [http://journaux.apf.ca/expresspacifique/ "L'Express du Pacifique"] ] .

Culture

In addition to Coquitlam's annual "Festival du Bois" [ [http://www.festivaldubois.ca/ Festival du Bois - Société Maillardville-Uni ] ] , Canadian Parents for French host an annual French Celebration Week, Francapalooza, a French film festival and French-language youth camps targeting both Francophone and French immersion students [ [http://www.cpf.bc.ca/site/modules/news/index.php?storytopic=82 Canadian Parents for French - CPF ] ] . "L'Association des Ecrivains de la Colombie Britannique" publishes a monthly youth magazine called "La Moustique". A French-language theatre group called "Theatre la Seizieme" is also active in the province [ [http://www.seizieme.ca/ Théâtre la Seizième ] ] as well as the dance troupe "Danseurs du Pacifique", and the annual BC Francophone Games. The "Conseil Culturel et Artistique de la Colombie Britannique" serves as a community organization in the area of arts and culture [ [http://www.ccafcb.com/ Conseil Culturel et Artistique de la Colombie-Britannique (CCAFCB) ] ] .

ee also

*Franco-Albertan
*Franco-Manitoban
*Franco-Ontarian
*Fransaskois
*Franco-Ténois

References

External links

* [http://www.lecentreculturel.com/ Le Centre culturel francophone, Vancouver]
* [http://www.ccafcb.com/ Conseil culturel et artistique francophone de la Colombie-Britannique]
* [http://www.lexpress.org/ L'Express du Pacifique]
* [http://www.lacolombiebritannique.ca/ Fédération des francophones de la Colombie-Britannique]
* [http://www.maillardville.com/ Société Maillardville-Uni]
* [http://lecanardreincarne.freesoul.ca Le Canard réincarné : un forum et un point de vue activiste de la francophonie Hors Québec]
* [http://www.radio-canada.ca/regions/colombie-britannique/index.shtml Radio-Canada Colombie-Britannique]
* [http://www.seizieme.ca/ Théatre La Seizième, Vancouver]
* [http://www.alliancefrancaise.ca/ Alliance Française, Vancouver]
* [http://francocb.com La liste Franco-CB Liste des franco* du Grand Vancouver, depuis 2001]
* [http://cpf.bc.ca/ Canadian Parents for French - British Columbia and Yukon Branch]