Altas Canada Français

Manitoba

Drapeau MB
 The Franco-Manitoban flag (1980) features red and yellow stripes, representing the Red River and Manitoban wheat. The green stem represents the deep roots, which become living leaves in the shape of an "F", to symbolize Francophones.


Population
The French language
From the point of view of language, Manitoba’s population is fairly homogeneous. Of the 1,100,295 inhabitants, a bit more than 275,000 have a mother tongue other than English. Francophones make up about 4.5 percent of the total population and those with a non-official language as mother tongue are 20.8 percent of the total population.

A stable population...
The population of francophones fell from 50,775
in 1991 to 49,100 in 1996. In 1986 there were 51,620. The relative population stability follows a period of wide variation. For example, there was high growth in the 1950s, but a decline in the 1970s, due probably to a decline in birthrates.

... But a percentage decline
Since 1951, the percentage of francophones in Manitoba has fallen from 7 to 4.5 percent. The percentage has been declining since 1951. The largest decline was from 1971 to 1981.

Francophone Manitobans continue, nevertheless, to have high concentrations in some rural areas where French plays an important part in their daily lives. In Winnipeg, the French language retains its strength due to the large number of francophones in Saint-Boniface.

A female majority
In Manitoba, there are 26,080 francophone women and 24,485 men. Fifty three percent of francophones who speak both English and French are women.

A largely adult population
The francophone population in Manitoba is largely adult; under 15s are 12.3 percent of the francophone population. Under 15s are 22.2 percent of the total Manitoba population.

The birthrate of francophone Manitobans is lower than other linguistic groups in the province. A higher percentage, however, are old enough to work and to take an active part in the social and economic development of the province.

A people with strong roots: Born in Manitoba...
Eight franco-Manitobans in 10 were born in Manitoba. Sixteen percent were born elsewhere in Canada. Approximately 2.7 percent were born outside Canada. The franco-Manitoban community is solidly based as is evident from their sense of identity and belonging.

... That rarely moves
A majority of franco-Manitobans lived at the same address in 1996 as in 1991. Further evidence that they are a stable population is that only 2.2 percent of the rest of franco-Manitobans had moved outside of the province. Interprovincial movements have little or no effect on the franco-Manitoban population and the impact of the few francophone immigrants from abroad is minimal.

French Mother Tongue Population: 47 560
English Mother Tongue Population: 839 765
Population with a knowledge of both official languages: 102 845
Other Mother Tongue Population: 232 775
Total Population: 1 103 695

Representative Organizations
Major organizations
The Société franco-manitobaine (SFM) is the main spokesgroup for the francophone community. Its priorities are the implementation of the Canada-community agreement; the development of French services in government and other areas; the management of school boards; community development; and fostering concerted inter-departmental approaches in government and within francophone communities.



In 1998, having created an important network of community development institutions, franco-Manitobans proposed an overall development plan highlighting their goals and aspirations. The plan seeks to provide the community with the tools needed for the growth of French in Manitoba and to contribute to the strategic positioning of the province on francophone issues.

The Annuaire des services en français au Manitoba is edited by the Société franco-manitobaine (SFM), and kept up to date; it is free of charge and may be obtained by contacting the organization at sfm@franco-manitobain.org or by calling (800) 665-4443, toll free.

The following is the principal Internet site to find francophone services and associations in Manitoba:
    http://www.franco-manitobain.org.

Other Organizations
Provincial organizations
Association culturelle franco-manitobaine

    Telephone: (204) 233-8972
    Fax: (204) 233-3324

Association des juristes d’expression française
du Manitoba
    Telephone: (204) 235-4405
    Fax: (204) 233-0245
    E-mail: institut@ustboniface.mb.ca

Association des municipalités bilingues
    Telephone: (204) 233-4915
    Fax: (204) 233-1017

Centre culturel franco-manitobain

Centre de ressources communautaires

Centre du Patrimoine

Le Cercle Molière

Chambre de commerce francophone de Saint-Boniface

Collège universitaire de Saint-Boniface

Conseil de développement économique des municipalités bilingues du Manitoba

Conseil jeunesse provinciale

Division scolaire franco-manitobaine
    Telephone: (204) 878-9399 Toll free: (800) 699-3736 Fax: (204) 878-9407
    Internet: www.dsfm.mb.ca

Les Éditions du Blé

Éditions des Plaines

Fédération des aînés franco-manitobains

Fédération des caisses populaires du Manitoba inc.

Fédération provinciale des comités de parents

Festival des films francophones du Manitoba (Cinémental)
    Telephone: (204) 233-8972
    Fax: (204) 233-3324

Festival des vidéastes du Manitoba

Festival du Voyageur

Francofonds inc.

Pluri-elles (Manitoba) Inc.

Réseau de femmes

Société des communications du Manitoba
    Telephone: (204) 233-8972
    Fax: (204) 233-3324
    E-mail: scm@escape.ca
    Internet: http://www.franco-manitobain.org/scm/

Community Life

  • Establishment of a shelter for battered Francophone women and victims of family violence, the Entre-temps des Franco-Manitobaines.

    Arts and Culture
    Cultural and Community Life

    • There are approximately 15 bookstores, theatres, record-dealers, etc. providing Manitoba francophones with access to French language cultural products.


    • In Saint Boniface, there is a provincially-related cultural centre, the franco-Manitoban cultural centre. About twenty local committees in the province provide a catalyst for the cultural life of franco-Manitobans; the Centre culturel franco-manitobain, established in 1972 as a Crown Corporation, and the Association culturelle franco-manitobaine help to plan francophone activities; and they also educate, coordinate activities at the provincial level and organize a wide range of activities.

    • There are several artistic groups, among them a
      professional theatrical company, Le Cercle Molière. There are two publishing houses (the Éditions des Plaines and the Éditions du Blé), about 150 professional francophone artists, some of whom have already made their mark nationally and internationally.

    • The Ensemble folklorique de la Rivière Rouge is a school specializing in dance, singing and folk music.

    • The 100 Nons is an organization that educates the young in popular music.

    • The Festival du Voyageur, the most important winter festival in western Canada, was started in 1969 and is responsible for initiating various French Canadian heritage programs related to Fort Gibraltar.

    • The Collège universitaire de Saint-Boniface plays an important role in the cultural life of the community through its multimedia training program and its theatrical company, Le Théâtre Chiens de soleil.

    • Les productions Rivard is a film production company.

    • The Manitoba French language film festival is organized by Cinémental.

    • The Manitoba video festival is held in mid-May, along with a gala.

    Communications
    Newspapers and Periodicals

    • La Liberté, a weekly established in 1913, has been part of the Société franco-manitobaine since 1970. It covers both community and provincial matters.
    • Le Journal des jeunes is published in Saint Boniface (its circulation is 8,000) and distributed throughout Canada. An English edition, Youth News, began in 1995 (circulation 2,000). The paper’s objective is to give youth aged 10 to 14 current information on national and international issues.

    • They are several local publications: L’Écho de Notre-Dame (Notre Dame de Lourdes); La Gazette (Saint Claude); Le Montagnard (Saint Léon); Le Papier de Chez nous (La Broquerie).


    Radio
    • Radio-Canada station CKSB in Saint Boniface, broadcasting since 1946, offers programs in French produced either locally or in Montreal.

    • There is a community radio station, Envol 91 FM, broadcasting since October 1991.


    Television
    • Station CBWFT, the regional Radio-Canada station, produces a bulletin of local news entitled Manitoba ce soir. The Réseau de l’information (RDI) produces a news journal entitled Le Monde vu de l’Ouest.

    • TVA and TV5 are available on cable.

    Economy

    • The first ever Caisse Populaire (credit union) in Manitoba was created in 1937 at Saint Malo. Today, the 9 Caisses Populaires and their 22 subsidiaries have formed the Fédération des Caisses Populaires du Manitoba, which has 34,000 members and assets of 420 million dollars.

    • The Conseil de développement économique des municipalités bilingues du Manitoba (CDEM) was created by the Association des municipalités bilingues du Manitoba (AMBM) in 1996. In 1998, the Conseil organized the second Forum des gens d’affaires francophones which brought together more than 400 participants from Canada and the Deux-Sèvres region in France. One of the forum’s principal recommendations was to develop a pan-Canadian francophone tourist network.

    • The Corporation de développement économique Riel was founded in 1998. It coordinates activities for the neighborhoods of Saint Boniface, Saint Norbert and Saint Vital.

    • Since its creation in 1973 the francophone foundation of Manitoba, Francofonds, has provided more than $800,000 in the form of scholarships and grants to cultural groups, youth organizations and publications.


    An under educated francophone community
    Many franco-Manitobans have never completed high school. But the more than 8,200 of them who have been to university have made an important contribution to the development of Manitoba. Obviously, education is the key to the economic vitality of the franco-Manitoban community.

    The educational profile of franco-Manitobans varies from one region to another. They are many who have never completed high school in the franco-phone regions of rural Manitoba.

    Today Manitoba has 3745 francophones who own their own businesses. These entrepreneurs are 13.8 percent of the francophone workforce. Many independent business owners employ others, thus providing work for franco-Manitobans and other Manitobans.

    Franco-Manitoban employment by industry Franco-Manitobans are employed in many work environments, They are particularly active in the goods-producing sectors, including agriculture and manufacturing, which has 8.8 percent of the francophone labor force.

    They are also very active in the service-producing sector. Thirty three percent of them are involved in public administration, education, and health care and social assistance. Many work in retail and wholesale trades and they are actively involved in the financial services, real estate and business services sectors in the province. These sectors include leading edge activities, those associated with the new economy, and the several economic engines. Contrary to manufacturing and public service, such new sectors are expanding. Franco-Manitobans are also active in transportation, which is especially important to Manitoba because of its location.

    Occupations
    This overview of the economic vitality of franco-Manitobans would be incomplete without a review of their occupations.

    Three areas of occupation are dominant: sales and services, which employs one in four franco-Manitobans; trades, transportation and equipment operation, employing 16.2 percent; and finance, business and administration with 18.2 percent.

    Personal Income from employment...
    Franco-Manitobans receive 73.8 percent of their personal income from employment. Government transfers, such as employment insurance and old age benefits, and others, account for 16.3 percent.

    ... But unevenly divided
    Personal income is unevenly divided among franco-Manitobans.

    Seven franco-Manitobans out of 10 earn less than $30,000 per year; one out of four earns less than $10,000 annually. Only 16 percent earn $40,000 or more.

    The average personal income of franco-phones in Manitoba is $23,681. That is higher than the average provincial income of $22,667. Income varies widely from region to region within the province.

    Education
    Education and Training

    • Since 1974, all French programs, including French immersion and French as a second language, have been coordinated by the Bureau de l’éducation française of the Ministry of Education and Training.

    • Franco-Manitoban schools have been under the management of francophones since 1994 through the Ministry’s Division scolaire franco-manitobaine.

    • There are twenty-one primary and secondary schools offering programs in French.

    • There are twenty-one kindergartens.

    • The Collège universitaire de Saint-Boniface, an affiliate of the University of Manitoba, has a Centre d’études franco-canadiennes de l’Ouest and an École technique et professionnelle. It is active in French language continuing education.

    • There are three literacy centres.

    • In 1998, the Faculty of Education of the Collège universitaire de Saint-Boniface was given a provincial mandate to instruct teachers of French.

    • In 1999, the Collège universitaire de Saint-Boniface inaugurated a new bachelors’ program in business administration, a new multimedia communications program and a master’s degree program in Canadian studies available through the Internet.

    Health
    Health and Social Services

    • Until 1992, there was no policy concerning the use of French and French services were delivered haphazardly. Following the publication of the Gauthier Report on French services in health-related agencies, a health centre, Santé en français, was created with the objective of facilitating, planning, and delivering health and family services in French to various institutions, including designated regional bilingual health and social assistance offices. Santé en français provides support in such areas as training, translation and the recruitment of personnel to help approximately 40 organizations develop and implement French services.

    • The recruitment of qualified personnel, especially bilingual physicians and nurses, is the major hurdle faced by French health services in Manitoba. Efforts are being made to encourage young francophones to pursue studies in these areas and to recruit candidates for positions.

    • However, in September 1999, in Saint Boniface opened a bilingual health services centre where all personnel, physicians, nurses, social workers, mental health specialists and nutritionists are to be bilingual. The working language is French.

    • A refuge for battered women, L’Entre-temps des Franco-Manitobaines, was created in Winnipeg in 1992.

    • There are four day care centres offering services in French and francization programs. In 1999, 123 children participated in the regular French program and 44 were enrolled in francization.

    • There are two bilingual and one French immersion daycare centres accommodating 126 children.

    • There are about 30 daycare centres in family settings that offer services in French. They are accredited by the Réseau provincial de garderies familiales francophones (RPGFF);

    • There are 18 kindergartens with 188 French children and 98 in a francization program.

    • There are 14 activity centres for parents and children, the Mini-franco-funs, attended by a little more than 200 children.

    • The Centre des ressources éducatives à l’enfance (CREE) provides educational materials in French, such as books, audiovisual materials, etc., to franco-phone parents and day care centres. CREE also provides information for parents, especially for newcomers to the province, on French services for children and helps them find daycare providers.

    Statutes and Government Service
    Federal Government

    • In 1998, 566 positions, or 6.9 percent of positions in the federal public service in Manitoba were bilingual. In 1996, there were 271 francophone federal public servants in the province, 3.3 percent of the total federal public servants in Manitoba.

    Provincial Government
    • There is no provincial statute to enforce Manitoba’s obligations under article 23 of the Manitoba Act of 1870, despite the fact that the 1890 statute abolishing bilingualism was ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme court of Canada in 1979.

    • In 1989, the province of Manitoba adopted a policy aiming to provide, as much as possible, services in French in regions of the province with a high concentration of francophones. This policy applied especially to general correspondence, public forms, written information destined for the general public, posters and public notices. Although without any legal basis, this policy has had some impact on making French more visible, particularly where the francophone population is most concentrated.

    • In 1999, following publication of the Chartier Report on French services, the provincial government adopted a new policy, which aims to improve French language services. It calls for the establishment in 1999 and 2000 of 6 totally bilingual government service centres. These centres, located in regions of the province with the heaviest concentration of francophones, will provide a range of government services. Personnel will be fully bilingual and service in both official languages will be always available. Other levels of government as well as para-governmental organizations will be able to offer services through these centres.

    • Bilingual positions are approximately 2.25 percent of provincial public service positions. In 1999, three quarters of designated bilingual positions were filled by bilingual personnel.

    Municipalities
    There are 15 bilingual municipalities. Winnipeg, one of the largest bilingual cities in Canada, is legally obligated to offer services in French. The 14 others are:
    • The city of Saint Anne
    • The rural municipality of Alexander (Saint Georges)
    • The rural municipality of De Salaberry
    • The rural municipality of Elice
    • The rural municipality of La Broquerie
    • The rural municipality of Montcalm
    • The rural municipality of Ritchot
    • The rural municipality of Saint Laurent
    • The village of Notre Dame de Lourdes
    • The village of Saint Claude
    • The village of Saint Lazare
    • The village of Saint Léon
    • The village of Saint Pierre Jolys
    • The village of Somerset.
    • These municipalities have formed the Association des municipalités bilingues du Manitoba (AMBM), which provides technical assistance to its member municipalities. This includes bilingual forms and public documents and translation services in conjunction with the Institut Joseph-Dubuc. The association’s work has led to the development of a Fédération des bibliothèques municipales. Recently, the association has been working for the establishment of a Fédération des sports et des loisirs.

    Legal Services
  • Bilingualism was abolished in 1890. It was reestablished in 1979 because of the Forest case. The rules of procedures in the courts are now proclaimed and published simultaneously in both English and French. This also applies to posters in courthouses. However, bilingual and francophone personnel (magistrates, personnel responsible for hearings) are few. Even though all personnel take French courses, these courses do not include French legal terminology.

  • There is a tradition in Manitoba requiring bilingual or French speaking judges to preside at each of the tribunals in the province. At the Court of Queen’s Bench (general division), there are 2 francophone judges and 1 bilingual judge. There are no bilingual judges in the family division of the Court. This means that cases that must be heard in French must be heard by judges from the general division. There are 2 francophone judges at the Provincial Court. At the Appeal Court there is a judge who can hear cases in French without translation.

  • Since October 1996, the government of Manitoba has assumed responsibility for providing simultaneous interpretation services at preliminary hearings and cross-examinations that are conducted entirely or partially in French, regarding the submission of affidavits. There are no legal restrictions regarding this measure.

  • The two largest police forces in the province, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the Winnipeg Police, are subject to the Official Languages Act of Canada and must offer bilingual services. Despite this, the two forces have no policy guidelines outlining the principle of « active offer ». Moreover, there is no bilingual team in either force, even for those areas of the province with a high concentration of francophones.

    Linguistic vitality
    Decline of French spoken at Home...
    In 1996, 23,133 people stated that they often spoke French at home; there were 39,600 who said so in 1971. The decline in the use of French at home has been less obvious during the past 5 years.

    As the French language is in close contact with English in almost all franco-Manitoban environments, the decline in spoken French at home is not surprising. While there are franco-Manitobans who speak English at home some of them also speak Frenchnaway from home.

    ... But knowledge of French is Now more widespread
    In Manitoba, the number of people who say they know French (French only or French and English) has almost doubled in less than 50 years. More than 104,000 people, or 9.5 percent of the population, said they can speak French. This is evidence that French is seen as prestigious and the province benefits from the presence of francophiles.

    Language continuity: the challenge of maintaining French
    Because of competition with English, French is having difficulty surviving. The French continuity index, which was 0.65 in 1971 and 1981, declined to 0.47 by 1996. This is due to the tendency of franco-Manitobans to not use French at home. The current relative constancy of the index may reflect an increase in the use of French in families of intermarriage.

    In 1996, 50 percent of franco-Manitoban marriages were of intermarriage.

    History
    The first Europeans to settle out West were francophones. One hundred and fifty years before Manitoba became a province, the territory had many French place names: Fort Rouge, Fort LaReine, Fort Dauphin, Fort Bourbon. These were some of the trading posts visited annually by the voyageurs. Having migrated from their homes in New France, they intermarried with natives. The union of francophones and natives established the Metis community.

    The first francophone community arose at the point of mee-ting of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers. The Metis asserted themselves in mid-19th century by resisting the Hudson Bay Company’s monopoly and also the Government of Canada. After, they moved to western Canada. Since then, the Metis have existed on the fringes of other populations in the region, distant from their French origins. The Red River colony foun-ded by the Metis was established with the help of the Church and became one of the principal centres of francophone life in the West.

    Francophone Manitobans owe their existence principally to migrations towards the Prairies beginning in the second half of the 19th century. At the same time, francophones of diverse origins settled in Manitoba. The majority were French Canadians, originally from Quebec, and Acadians, a number of them having already lived in the United States. There were also French, Belgian and Swiss settlers, and even Germans from Alsace Lorraine. They quickly became submerged by several other groups who, like them, were looking for land and a better life. The French language quickly became a minority language. In 1890, the Manitoba Legislature made English the only official language of the province. During the same period, a Bill to abolish religious duality waspassed. After a protracted dispute, the teaching of languages other than English won limited acceptance. All further agreements ended, however, in 1916. The francophone community mobilized and founded the Association d’éducation des Canadiens Français du Manitoba. French was not reestablished until 1979 and francophones did not regain control of their schools until 1993.

    The Société franco-manitobaine which was established in 1968 is today the principal spokesgroup of the francophone community.

    Geography
    The franco-Manitoban community with 49,100 people with French as their mother tongue in 1996 accounted for 4.5 percent of the Manitoban population. Francophones live throughout Manitoba. The largest concentration is in metropolitan Winnipeg. They have centred around Saint Boniface. This is the only urban concentration of francophones in the province. Others live in the small towns and villages in the south east and south west of Saint Boniface like: Saint Lazare, Somerset, Notre Dame de Lourdes, Saint Claude, Saint Pierre Jolys, Sainte Anne des Chênes. They live along the Red and Assiniboine Rivers settled by their ancestors. In northern Manitoba, francophones live in Sainte Rose du Lac and Saint Laurent.

    Francophones are more than 25 percent of the population in about 15 locations; an illustration of how dynamic they have been. But they are fewer in the 23 census divisions. Their population exceeds 10 percent in 2 of the census divisions, and 5 percent in 4 others. Surrounded by a large anglophone majority in Winnipeg, francophones are 4.4 percent of the population.

    Sources
    The short community history notes were taken in large part from the Web site produced by the Comité national de développement des ressources humaines de la francophonie canadienne. A text by Philippe Falardeau, entitled Hier la francophonie, published by the FCFA in the context of Dessein 2000 was also a source of inspiration. Finally, several texts compiled by Joseph Yvon Thériault in Francophonies minoritaires au Canada - L’État des lieux, recently published by Éditions de l’Acadie, were used. All statistics used in producing the profiles come from Statistics Canada.

    Four sources were used:

    1. Data on mother tongue, French spoken in the home and knowledge of French, 1951 to 1996, were taken from Louise Marmen and Jean-Pierre Corbeil (1999), Languages in Canada. 1996 Census. Canadian Heritage and Statistics Canada. New Canadian Perspectives. Catalog number C99-980110-4F. (Marmen and Corbeil, 1999.)

    2. Data on linguistic continuity (ratio of the number of persons speaking French in the home and the number of persons with French as their mother tongue) and francophone intermarriage rates were taken from the work by Michael O'Keefe (1998), Francophone Minorities: Assimilation and Community Vitality. Canadian Heritage. New Canadian perspectives. Catalog number C98-980021-0F. (O’Keefe, 1998.)

    3. Data on non-official mother tongues come from E-Stat 1998, an optical compact disk published under catalogue number 10F017XCB (WIN).

    4. All other data were taken from Portrait des communautés de langues officielles au Canada published by Statistics Canada in the form of an optical compact disk with catalogue number C94F0010XCB. This disk provided data on ethnic origin and on the francophone population by sex, age, birthplace, mobi-lity, education, occupation and income (Statistics Canada, 1998).


    Depending on the source used, the population under consideration varies slightly. The method used to distribute the bilingual population is the main reason for these discrepancies. Both Marmen and Corbeil and O’Keefe distribute multiple responses among declared languages. For example, for persons declaring English and French as mother tongues, half of the responses are added to the « French » category and half to the “English” category. For those who declared French and a non-official language as their mother tongues, half of the responses are classed as « French » and the other half as « Non-official language ». The E-Stat diskette does not distribute multiple responses and presents all categories of responses in detail. In Portrait des communautés de langues officielles au Canada, only multiple responses relating to English-French bilingualism are broken out. Persons declaring French and a non-official language as mother tongues were all counted as having French as their mother tongue. Those declaring French, English and a third language as mother tongues were all classed as bilingual English-French. The populations considered here - whether French mother tongue or French and English mother tongues - are thus slightly larger.

    The figures on the francophone population will vary depending on whether or not they include francophones who also declared English as their mother tongue. Most of the tables and graphs presented in this profile concern only persons whose only mother tongue is French, who make up the great majority of francophones in all areas. The French mother tongue map, 1996, covers all francophones, including half of bilingual francophones. This map, produced by André Langlois, is based on data contained on the diskette Portrait des communautés de langues officielles au Canada. It is taken from the Atlas du développement des communautés francophones et acadiennes du Canada, which may be found on the Internet at: http://aix1.uottawa.ca/~andrelan/atlas/.

    Information on community life was supplied by the Société franco-manitobaine which was invited to supplement two existing portraits: one of the francophone community in Manitoba, produced by Heritage Canada and presently available on its Web site, and an older one prepared in 1990 by the Fédération des francophones hors Québec (as the FCFA was called at the time) and published in a document entitled État des communautés francophones et acadiennes du Canada.

    Modification: {ts '2005-05-27 00:00:00'}

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