Franco-Columbians () are French Canadians or Canadian francophones living in the province of British Columbia. According to the 2016 Canadian Census, 71,705 residents of the province stated that French is their mother tongue. In the same census, 388,815 British Columbians claimed full or partial French ancestry.
The first francophones to enter the region were French Canadian voyageurs employed with the North West Company during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. French fur traders continued to visit the region in the early 19th century, with the French language serving as a lingua franca for the regional fur trade. Franco-Columbians formed the majority of Europeans in the region until the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush in 1858, which saw anglophone settlers become the predominant group in the area. Franco-Columbians began to lobby for French language rights within the province in the mid 20th century, which led to the public funding of francophone classes in 1978, and an independent public school board in 1995.
There are several Franco-Columbian communities throughout British Columbia; although most are based in the Lower Mainland, with the largest francophone community in that region being Maillardville, a community settled by forty French Canadian families in 1909. The province's francophone community has become diversified since the mid-20th century, with migrants from Africa, Asia, and Europe settling in the province. Radio-Canada, the country's French-language public broadcaster, serves as the main French-language media outlet in the province.
Demographics
In the 2016 Canadian Census, the number of British Columbians with French as a mother tongue was at 71,705, or 1.6 percent of the province's population. French is the most common mother tongue in the province following English, Punjabi, Cantonese, Mandarin, and Tagalog. The majority of Franco-Columbians are bilingual in English and French, with only 1,805 respondents in the 2016 census reporting to have proficiency in only the French-language. In the same census, 314,925 British Columbians, or approximately 6.8 percent of the population, reported to be bilingual in both English and French. However, the following figure includes French second language speakers, in addition to Franco-Columbians.
Approximately 12 percent of Franco-Columbians were born in the province; with a large portion of the province's francophone population is made up of migrants that moved from other parts of Canada and the Francosphere. Approximately 59 percent of Franco-Columbians were born in another province or territory of Canada, while 28 percent of Franco-Columbians were born outside the country. Among the francophones that were born abroad, half originated from Europe, 22 percent from Asia, 18 percent from Africa, and the rest from the Americas. The number of francophones from outside Canada has led to a diversification of the Franco-Columbian community in recent decades.
There are 388,815 British Columbians that claimed partial or full French ancestry during the 2016 census. French is the seventh most commonly reported ethnic group in British Columbia after English, Canadian, Scottish, Irish, German, and Chinese.
Communities
As of 2016, approximately 58 percent of Franco-Columbians resided in communities within the southwest coast of British Columbia (including the Lower Mainland). Approximately 22 percent of Franco-Columbians resided in Vancouver Island and the central coast of British Columbia, 12 percent of Franco-Columbians resided in the Okanagan-Thompson region, and the remaining 10 percent of Franco-Columbians are spread throughout the other regions of British Columbia.
The largest community for Franco-Columbians within the Lower Mainland is Maillardville, a neighbourhood within the city of Coquitlam. The community originated from French Canadian lumber workers who were hired by the Canadian Western Lumber Company from Eastern Ontario, and Quebec in 1909. Today Maillardville describes itself as "a community with a francophone heart" and is home to a number of francophone community organizations, schools, churches, a retirement home, and an organization of francophone LEVII and guides. Community organizations place the francophone population of the Coquitlam area at 13,000. The community also hosts Festival du Bois, an annual event celebrating francophone culture. Additional francophone community centres and resources in the Lower Mainland are situated in Vancouver. In addition to the Lower Mainland, francophone community centres and resources can also be found in Kamloops, Nanaimo Nelson, Kelowna, Penticton, Powell River, Prince George, and Victoria.