PLAMONDON - March is Alberta Francophonie Month. To officially recognize the designation, a group of local residents recently joined students from École Beausejour in Plamondon and representatives of the local L’Association Canadien Francophone Alberta office to mark the celebration of French heritage, culture, and history.
Plamondon is one of just a few Alberta communities officially designated as bilingual communities in the province, while several others make up the Alberta Bilingual Municipalities Association.
Each year, francophone heritage is celebrated in Plamondon, and this year’s event took place at the Philip Menard Cultural Centre. According to Natasha Plamondon, the regional manager for L’ACFA, the kickoff to Alberta Francophonie Month is an important day for French-speaking communities as it brings francophones and ‘franco-curious’ people together in celebration of the franco-Albertan language, culture, and history.
Plamondon explained that the community of Plamondon was founded with French roots and that many of those families still reside here today, going back several generations. She added that Lac La Biche, due to its role in the fur trade, also has many associated French connections.
“As a minority language in western Canada, it is important to celebrate and come together to keep our language, traditions, culture and history alive and to pass it on to the new generations so that they too can be proud and live their francophonie,” she said.
The official ceremony in Plamondon began with the singing ‘Oh Canada’ in French. Afterward, there were presentations from Ecole Beausejour Principal Etienne Vaillancourt, Grade 12 student Seth Plamondon who is president of the students’ union and other local representatives. Local Francophone singer and songwriter Crystal Plamondon read a speech on behalf of L’ACFA president Anita St-Georges.
Once the speeches had concluded, TiBert et Douzie, Winnipeg-based French-Canadian entertainers hit the stage for a lively, and comical performance. The duo consists of Rob Malo (TiBert) and Alexandre Tétrault.
As explained in the Government of Alberta website about Francophonie heritage in the province, French was the first European language spoken in Alberta. Census data from 2021 states that more than 383,000 Albertans have French or French-Canadian heritage, making up nine per cent of the population.
According to provincial government information, French is the mother tongue two per cent of the population of Alberta (approximately 88,010 residents).
Alberta’s French mother tongue (Francophone) population grew by approximately 28% between 2006 and 2021. Excluding Quebec, Alberta has the third largest minority Francophone population after Ontario and New Brunswick.
The Franco-Albertan flag was created in 1982 by French-speaking Alberta youth and features a blue, white, and rose. The province of Alberta adopted it as the first “Symbol of Distinction” under the Emblems of Alberta Act.
Alberta Francophonie Month was officially declared by the provincial government in 2018.