ST. PAUL - With a light snowfall and flags waving, students and staff at École du Sommet in St. Paul, along with representatives from ACFA Régionale de Saint-Paul, lifted the franco-albertain flag in honour of Francophonie month.
Conseil scolaire Centre-Est superintendent Dolorese Nolette spoke briefly outside École du Sommet on Tuesday, just before the flag was raised. She noted the franco-albertain flag will fly as a sign of pride for those who belong to the francophone community.
She noted that locals are encourage all month - and all year - to demonstrate what it means to be a proud francophone.
Also speaking was president ACFA Régionale de Saint-Paul Ernest Piquette. He noted that the event was the 13th annual lifting of the franco-albertain flag. The flag itself was created in 1982.
Piquette noted that the month of March offers an opportunity to recgonize the francophone community, and show how dynamic the community is. He noted he was very proud of the francophone community in Alberta.
The flag raising was just one of many events that will take place in honour of Alberta Francophonie month.
Events throughout the month include an evening with local artist Roger Dallaire on March 11, a display of history that runs from March 18 to 22 at the Centre Communautaire de l'ACFA, a performance from Les Chiclettes, a French singing group from Ontario, on March 24, along with a handful of virtual events also taking place.
French associations across the Lakeland and province are also hosting events throughout March.
According to the 2016 Census data, more than 418,000, or 10.5 per cent, of Albertans are of French or French-Canadian descendants, according to information from the Government of Alberta.
Alberta also has about 2,000 communities and natural sites with French-influenced names.
The francophone population grew by approximately 27 per cent between 2006 and 2016, according to the Government of Alberta.
