Abstract
In the prairie province of Alberta, Canada, recent changes in demographics, Francophone school enrolments and social studies curriculum are challenging the already elusive concept of Francophone identity, thus making the notion increasingly difficult to define. It becomes critical for the Francophone educational milieu then, whose mandate is to develop a Francophone identity and a sense of belonging to the Francophone community, to reflect and value the diverse and diasporic nature of lived Francophone experiences. However, what is the meaning of Francophone heterogeneity in Alberta’s Francophone communities, and what is the relevance of identity formation on Francophone education in an era of increasing Francophone pluralism on the Canadian prairies? Exploring how living in-between is played out in three Alberta Francophone youth narratives can provide insight into the multiple ways in which being and becoming Francophone can be (re)imagined and (re)constructed. Conceptualizing multilayered “Francophone” cultures and belongings is important for finding peace, as is supporting young people and educators who encounter these new challenges of complicating matters of Francophone identity, community and belonging in an era of multiplicity.
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- 1.
Statistics Canada (2007) defines mother tongue as the “first language learned at home during childhood and still understood by the individual at the time of the census.” Based on Canada ’s most recent census in 2006, 1 out of 5 Canadians is Francophone .
- 2.
L’organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), with a capital F, refers to the international organization of 70 member states and governments on five continents, for whom French is an official or working language (OIF 2009).
- 3.
While the federal government’s solution to enhance the vitality of Francophone communities (and the French language) is Francophone immigration , demographic shifts can also be met with resistance in Francophone minority communities who have long struggled for recognition. In their policy paper on fostering Francophone immigration , Immigration and Citizenship Canada (2006) states that the fight for Francophone schools and school governance as well as the recognition of fundamental rights “has sapped the communities’ energy and has caused them to be somewhat closed off from others for several decades” (p. 2).
- 4.
Based on 2009 statistics provided by the Information Services Branch of the Government of Alberta’s Ministry of Education (2009), there are 5 Francophone school jurisdictions and 32 Francophone schools in Alberta. In 1999, there were 3 Francophone school authorities and 18 Francophone schools in Alberta.
- 5.
In the initial study, the ten student participants were invited to take part in interviews, which involved two one-on-one interviews as well as one focus group involving all participants. Participants were also invited to review the verbatim transcriptions of their two individual interviews. The series of three interviews lead to the writing of ten life history narratives.
- 6.
Canada is a young country (created in 1867) and the province of Alberta younger still (created in 1905). Léonie’s Franco-Albertan family would be considered a founding family of Alberta’s Francophone community .
- 7.
To be Franco-Albertan, I think that you need to come from Alberta, because that’s the way it is.
- 8.
I don’t know. Well, it depends for me because…well maybe no…but also they are some [Francophones] who have their own culture, but they are born in Alberta. Therefore, I think that, yes, they can say they are [Franco-Albertan] because they were born in Alberta and they are just like that. Then there are those who are from Lebanon and come here, but I don’t think they can say that [they are Franco-Albertan]. I think that they can say that “I am Franco-Lebanese” or Franco-whatever where they’re from. But to be Franco-Albertan, I think you have to be from Alberta because that’s the way it is. Just that you are born here. I don’t know, it’s weird.
- 9.
The expression de souche usually refers to old stock, as in White and Catholic Franco-Albertans who were born and bred in Alberta and who can trace their ancestry back to the original settlers of New France.
- 10.
Yes, I love going to Lebanon because all of my family is there. And the temperature, and the beaches and the oceans, well all of the… And the food, it’s so good. The fish there, it is very good.
- 11.
I am half and half. Half Canadian, half Lebanese. I don’t usually say that I am Francophone . Because it is just, like, just how I say it. Franco, it doesn’t really jive with me. Because I speak French only when I am at school or with someone else who speaks French .
- 12.
I prefer Franco-Canadian because I am not really Albertan right now. I am not really used to here. Yes [we can become Franco-Albertan], if we have lived here longer and we are used to here.
- 13.
Yes, [I say that I am Franco-Ontarian] a little, because now Franco-Ontarian, it’s my second…it’s like my second home . I was there [in Ontario] almost my whole life. I self-identify as Franco-Rwandese a little because that is where I spoke French [learned to speak French ]. It is where I am from. I was born there [in Rwanda]. I am Franco-Rwandese really, and a little Franco-Canadian.
- 14.
Yes, I want to see my aunts and cousins and all that. To see how it is, how it is to live there. For us, we are luckier than they are because they do not have a lot of things. And for us, do not take advantage of what you have. To learn that we have a lot and we should be content knowing that.
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Thompson, L.A. (2012). Reimagining Home in Alberta’s Francophone Communities. In: Bekerman, Z., Geisen, T. (eds) International Handbook of Migration, Minorities and Education. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1466-3_18
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