Facts in Brief
The Official Languages Act 1969 makes French and English the official languages of Canada. All federal government departments are bilingual. All institutions depending upon the federal government deliver service in both languages. Federal government documents are published in both languages.
The Francophone heritage in Alberta dates back to the earliest days of the fur trade when the Montreal peddlers came to the area to become the Northwest Territories in search of adventure and business opportunities.
An immersion program in languages can begin at many times during schooling. Early immersion is most common. Students begin learning the language that is not their first language as they enter school in kindergarten. Almost all instruction in the early years is in the language to be learned; in most cases this is French immersion. Other immersion languages are offered but not supported by government funding.
Scrip is a term used to describe how land was allocated to the Métis settlers. There were two forms of scrip, one was a voucher for a certain amount of land, and another was a voucher for a certain value of land. Scrip was a kind of certificate. Scrip was often sold under its value, or mishandled in ways that brought loss to its rightful owners.