Francophone Discoveries Communities

Alberta

Characteristics

After Ontario and New Brunswick, Alberta has the largest number of people living in an official language minority community in Canada with French as their first official language spoken. According to Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census data, approximately 79,965 people (1.88%) indicated French as their first official language spoken; 88,005 (2.06%) indicated French as their mother tongue; and 261,435 (6.13%) stated that they knew French.

Four municipalities are officially bilingual: Beaumont, Legal, Falher and Plamondon.

In 2017, Alberta adopted its French Policy to increase access to French‑language services in the province and thus have the opportunity to get more federal funding for this purpose. In addition, on March 1, 2018, the province declared March to be Alberta Francophonie Month.

Organization representing the Francophone population

The Association canadienne-française de l’Alberta (ACFA) was founded on July 15, 1926, to foster a sense of community among Alberta’s Francophones. The ACFA is nearing its 100th anniversary! Fun fact: On April 15, 1964, the Government of Alberta passed the Act of Incorporation, officially recognizing the ACFA as the organization representing Alberta’s Francophone community. This act gave the ACFA the power to incorporate other organizations. The ACFA marshals the key forces within society to protect acquired rights, to advance rights and to enhance the vitality of the Francophone community in Alberta. Supported by the solid mandate and strong trust vested in it by the entire Francophone community in Alberta, the ACFA

  • actively promotes the overall vision of Alberta’s Francophone community;
  • brings together, coordinates, mobilizes, supports and inspires the driving forces within the community;
  • ensures the protection of acquired rights and the advancement of all Franco-Albertans’ linguistic rights;
  • and acts as the political spokes organization concerning the issues impacting Alberta’s Francophone community.

Immigration

The Franco-Albertan community has put welcoming processes in place to guide and orient newcomers in their efforts to settle and integrate. In addition, Alberta’s Francophone immigration network, the Réseau en immigration francophone de l’Alberta (RIFA), supports the community in implementing community action plans for the successful reception, settlement and integration of newcomers. RIFA is responsible for soliciting and encouraging the engagement of all key provincial stakeholders in order to maximize their contribution to the success of Francophone immigration.

Tourism

Alberta is much more than the Rockies. True, the Rocky Mountains are a major tourist attraction (and a fabulous one, at that!). But Banff National Park is not the only attraction in the province.Alberta boasts a wide array of Francophone cultural activities, including the Fête franco-albertaine, the Flying Canoe festival, the Calgary Maple Festival and the Carnaval de St-Isidore. A thousand and one hidden treasures and a host of Francophone activities are yours to discover!

For more details, visit Salut Canada.

 

Education

The province has 42 Francophone schools, 1 Francophone distance education centre, 4 Francophone school boards, nearly 40 daycares and preschools, 1 French-language post-secondary institution and 215 schools that offer programs for people learning French (e.g., French immersion).