Tuesday August 17, 2021 | VICTORIA, BC
by Molly Pearce | Island Social Trends
Vancouver Island’s francophone culture is often overlooked among the more prominent minority French communities in British Colombia, but the community’s history and active population makes it a vibrant part of life on the island.
Due to its relatively small size and diaspora among the communities on the island, the Vancouver Island’s francophonie works twice as hard to bring its members together and forge its identity as a community.
A strong foundation of the francophone community is Vancouver Island’s French school system. The French Immersion Stream exists most island school districts, ranging from K-12 immersion to 6-12 late immersion, in addition to French classes taught in the standard BC curriculum. French immersion students graduate with a Double Dogwood Diploma in English and French.
There is also the francophone school district which provides an entirely French education for BC students coming from francophone families. These students are taught the French BC curriculum and graduate with a Dogwood Diploma in French.
There are, however, a limited number of schools on the island which are part of the French School District 93. Some major K-12 schools include École Victor Brodeur in Esquimalt, École Océane in Nanaimo, École Au-coeur-de-l’île in Comox, and École Mer-et-montagne in Campbell River.
There is a shortage of French Immersion teachers across both bilingual and francophone school districts on Vancouver Island. Due to this shortage, francophone educators are sometimes permitted to teach in School District 93 without a formal teaching qualification.
The francophone community on the island is supported by several key organizations that promote French culture and community. These organizations aim to bring together Vancouver Island’s francophones and francophiles in the western extremity of Canada.
In Victoria, the Société francophone de Victoria, the Alliance française de Victoria, and the Association francophone historique de Victoria provide cultural events, language lessons, and support to members and newcomers to the francophone community in the province’s capital.
The Association des francophones de Nanaimo and the Association francophone de Campbell River are hubs for francophone community further north on the island.
Minister Dix is fully bilingual:
The British Columbia Ministry for Francophone Affairs helps to promote the Francophonie on Vancouver Island. Led by Adrian Dix, Minister for both Health and Francophone Affairs, the Ministry has been tasked with supporting the francophone communities across the province through programs and funding for projects which promote the use of the French in minority language regions.
It may come as a surprise that Adrian Dix is the former director of the BC/Yukon chapter of Canadian Parents for French and is fluently bilingual. Dix even lived in France for several years in his youth.
Canadian Francophone Games in 2022:
French-speaking youth will take the limelight this summer with the arrival of the Jeux de la Francophonie Canadienne, or the Canadian Francophone Games, to Victoria, BC, its host city for summer 2022. The games are highly anticipated for young francophones who make up the provincial and territorial teams, as the games have been postponed due to the pandemic from summer of 2020.
The strong presence of the French-speaking community on Vancouver Island is evident from persistent efforts of its members. As a vibrant and integral part of life on the island, the island’s Francophonie continues to shift with new generations of young people who are passionate about their language and culture.
