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Alberta's Francophone Heritage
Background, People, Culture, Heritage Community Foundation, Albertasource and Alberta Lottery Fund

 

Francophone Edukit

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Association canadienne-française de l'Alberta from 1955 to the year 2000
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L’Association canadienne-française
de l’Alberta
from 1955 to the
year 2000

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Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3

Internal development

From 1955 to the year 2000, the ACFA was responsible for a great number of projets dealing with the internal development of the community.

The importance of French Education doubled when, in 1968, the Alberta School Act was amended to permit the use of French as a lang uage of instruction for 50% of the school day. This number grew to 80 % with the introduction, in 1976, of Regulation 250. In 1977, the ACFA established the Bureau de l’éducation which became an important tool in the development of Alberta’s immersion programs. During this period, the ACFA also participated in the development of Collège Saint-Jean’s Éc ole de Pédagogie.

The adoption in 1982 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms proved to be a major development in the field of francophone minority education. L’ACFA was responsible for a large share of the work that needed to be done with the courts, with school board authorities, with government and with the parents. For example, the ACFA completed two major studies in the field of homogenous francophone schooling. These studies not only helped consolidate the expectations of the francophone community in matters relating to francophone schooling they also helped the community present a more united front when faced with the need to negociate the question of management and control of francophone schools with the Alberta Government after the Supreme Court decision in the Mahé/Bugnet case.

When the privately-owned CHFA started broadcasting in 1949 it did so because of the efforts of the community under the leadership of the ACFA. During its first twenty-five years of existence, CHFA was managed by a group of directors elected by the Conseil général of the ACFA. These directors who formed Radio-Edmonton Ltd and represented the community were in fact the real owners of the radio station. CHFA was sold to CBC-Radio-Canada in 1974.

The ACFA was also very active in the establishment of French language television in Alberta. The French television CBXFT started broadcasting on March 1st 1970 after an agreement had been established between the Metropolitan Edmonton Education Television Association (MEETA), the Secretary of State, the Alberta Department of Education and the ACFA.

The ACFA’s Service de librairie française established in 1946 closed its doors when Montreal-based Fides opened a branch store in Edmonton in 1969. Three years later Fides decided to leave and thus provoked the creation, by the ACFA, of La Librairie Schola and later of the Centre culturel mobile. In 1977, the ACFA gave the name Carrefour to its Edmonton bookstore and the many regional outlets who were then selling a variety of cultural material.

Created in 1928, the newspaper La Survivance was renamed le Franco-Albertain in 1967. In 1975, the ACFA became the sole owner of l’Imprimerie La Survivance and of the newspaper le Franco-Albertain.

In 1955, the ACFA was still financed solely by the community. In an effort to find new ways of financing its activities, the ACFA established Le Service de Sécurité familiale in collaboration with the Assurance-vie Desjardins of Montreal. Finally in 1969, the Secretary of State developed programs who offered a measure of financial support to minority francophone associations including l’ACFA.

Following the completion in 1960 of a report on its internal organization, the ACFA decided to replace its numerous little cercles paroissiaux by five large regional groups which are still in existence today.

Over the years, the ACFA also helped establish many new organizations. For example, the Association multiculturelle francophone de l’Alberta was established after a series of consultation in every region of the province. These discussions also led to the adoption of an official policy on multiculturalism which was also adopted by the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadiennes du Canada in 1989.

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