Does Edmonton really have a French Quarter? Actually it has had
two. The first French Quarter was located on the North side of
the City near the Saint-Joachim French Catholic Parish. For
Edmonton’s francophone community this area marks the birthplace
of many of the community’s associations, and institutions.
Situated at the very heart of the first French Quarter, the
Saint-Joachim Catholic Parish was first established in 1838 in
Fort Edmonton. Four different buildings will carry the name
Saint-Joachim Church the last of which was built in 1899 and
still exists today. A great many of the French community’s
associations were established by parishioners of Saint-Joachim:
la Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste (1894) la Société du parler
français (1912) and l’Association canadienne-française de
l’Alberta (1926).
Over the years, however the French Quarter migrated to the South
side of the Saskatchewan River in the Bonnie Doon district. The
many associations and institutions that are situated on either
side of la Rue Marie-Anne-Gaboury constitute the heart of this
second French Quarter.
In 1988, 91st Street was renamed in honor of Marie-Anne Gaboury,
the wife of Jean-Baptiste Lagimodière and Louis Riel’s
grandmother. The project was sponsored by a francophone youth
group, Les Jeunes entrepreneurs francophones.
La Cité francophone which is situated on the East side of la Rue
Marie-Anne-Gaboury houses a large number of francophone
associations. The idea of a French cultural center was first
discussed in 1944 but the project was only realized 50 years
later, in 1996. The offices of L’Unithéâtre and of the French
newspaper Le Franco were the first to move into the new Cité in
1996. Presently the City houses La Librairie le Carrefour
Bookstore, the offices of both the provincial and the regional
ACFA, the Centre de développement musical (CDM) the Conseil
scolaire Centre-Nord, L’Alliance française d’Edmonton, la
Fédération des ainés francophones de l’Alberta (FAFA),
Francophonie jeunesse de l’Alberta (FJA), l’Institut Guy-Lacombe
de la famille, le Centre d’expérience préscolaire (CEP), a
medical clinic…
Campus Saint-Jean is situated on the West side of la Rue
Marie-Anne-Gaboury. Founded in Pincher Creek in 1908, Saint-Jean
moved to its present location in 1911. Elsewhere in the French
Quarter are the residences of the Soeurs de la Charité de
Notre-Dame d’Évron, the Sisters of Assumption, the Filles de
Jésus, the Sisters of the Holy Cross, the Saint-Thomas-d’Aquin
Catholic Parish, the Manoir Saint-Thomas and the soon to be
establish Centre de Santé Saint-Thomas. Le Centre culturel
Marie-Anne-Gaboury, le Centre ‘82 situated on Whyte Avenue and
the many francophone schools that are scattered all over the
city are also considered to be part of the French Quarter.
In fact when one tries to explain what constitutes The French
Quarter it is best to remember that it is not only a
geographical location. The French community is not really
composed of buildings but rather of groups and associations. It
might even be more accurate to describe the French Quarter as
being an idea, a language and a way of life shared by a group of
people. |