Fransaskois - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Fransaskois are francophone

Francophone

The adjective francophone means French-speaking, typically as primary language, whether referring to individuals, groups, or places. Often, the word is used as a noun to describe a natively French-speaking person....

s or French Canadians living in the Prairie

Canadian Prairies

The Canadian Prairies is a region of Canada, specifically in western Canada, which may correspond to several different definitions, natural or political. Notably, the Prairie provinces or simply the Prairies comprise the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, as they are largely covered...

province of Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....

. The term franco-saskatchewanian may also be used on occasion, although in practice it is rare due to its length and unwieldiness.

Population

French speakers represent about two per cent of the population of Saskatchewan, and like the province itself natural increase and net emigration nearly balance one another out. Fransaskois and Fransaskoises are chiefly found in large cities such as Regina

Regina, Saskatchewan

Regina is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province and a cultural and commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. It is governed by Regina City Council. Regina is the cathedral city of the Roman Catholic and Romanian Orthodox...

, Saskatoon

Saskatoon

Saskatoon is a city in central Saskatchewan, Canada, on the South Saskatchewan River. Residents of the city of Saskatoon are called Saskatonians. The city is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Corman Park No. 344....

, Prince Albert

Prince Albert, Saskatchewan

Prince Albert is the third-largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. It is situated in the centre of the province on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River. The city is known as the "Gateway to the North" because it is the last major centre along the route to the resources of northern Saskatchewan...

and Moose Jaw. However, they form a plurality or majority in small towns like Gravelbourg

Gravelbourg, Saskatchewan

-Education:The town has for the past four decades been noteworthy for College Mathieu, a francophone boarding school for boys and girls who wish to acquire or retain fluency in French...

, Albertville

Albertville, Saskatchewan

Albertville is a village in central Saskatchewan, Canada, approximately 25 km northeast of Prince Albert.-References:...

, Duck Lake, Ponteix

Ponteix, Saskatchewan

-External links:...

, Zenon Park

Zenon Park, Saskatchewan

-History:In 1910 French-American settlers arrived and later came immigrants from Quebec and Northern United States. In 1913 Zenon Park was named officially, after Zenon Chamberland, the postmaster. The economy then depended on agriculture and lumber...

and Bellegarde

Bellegarde, Saskatchewan

Bellegarde is a hamlet in the rural municipality of Storthoaks No. 31, in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. Bellegarde is located just south of Highway 13 or Red Coat Trail near the Manitoba border and in south eastern Saskatchewan. Cannington Manor Provincial Historic park as well as Moose...

.

As with other French Canadian minority groups in Canada outside of Quebec, not all Fransaskois are French speakers; due to the pressures toward assimilation

Assimilation

Assimilation may refer to:*Assimilation , a linguistic process by which a sound becomes similar to an adjacent sound...

that the community faces as a small minority group in a predominantly English-speaking province, a considerable number of people who are ethnically Fransaskois are in fact primarily or exclusively anglophone

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

Rights

The courts recently recognized French-language educational rights straight through to the end of high school. Though there were few all-French schools in 1969, a number of schools were given permission to teach in French. In 1995, the legal battles ended with Saskatchewan's Francophones winning the right to manage their own schools. The "Division Scolaire Francophone no. 310" operates 12 schools and offers full range of services in French. In 1918, in the southern Saskatchewan town of Gravelbourg, Monseigneur O. E. Mathieu founded a private-Catholic school named Collège Mathieu. Women were allowed to attend Collège Mathieu in 1970. It remained in operation as Western Canada's only residential French language institution until spring 2003. As a result of long political battle with the "Division Scolaire Francophone" and due the declining population of students, College Mathieu joined the D.S.F. and is now known as L'école Sécondaire Collège Mathieu.

Culture

Despite their numbers, Fransaskois celebrate their vibrant culture regularly. Folk arts, visual arts, fine arts and performance arts all feature prominently in their festivals.

The most famous Fransaskoise was Jeanne Sauvé

Jeanne Sauvé

Jeanne Mathilde Sauvé was a Canadian journalist, politician, and stateswoman who served as Governor General of Canada, the 23rd since Canadian Confederation....

, born in Prud'homme

Prud'homme, Saskatchewan

-Notable Prud'hommers:*Jeanne Sauvé- former Governor General of Canada*George Viczko - World War II vet- See also :* List of communities in Saskatchewan* Villages of Saskatchewan-External links:********...

. She was a Liberal

Liberal Party of Canada

The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...

MP, Cabinet minister, Speaker of the House of Commons

Speaker of the Canadian House of Commons

The Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada is the presiding officer of the lower house of the Parliament of Canada and is elected at the beginning of each new parliament by fellow Members of Parliament...

and ultimately Governor General of Canada

Governor General of Canada

The Governor General of Canada is the federal viceregal representative of the Canadian monarch, Queen Elizabeth II...

. In the arts, notable Fransaskois include the folk band Hart-Rouge

Hart-Rouge

Hart-Rouge are a Canadian folk music group, consisting of siblings Paul Campagne, Michelle Campagne and Suzanne Campagne.The three previously recorded and performed with several other family members as Folle Avoine, and formed Hart-Rouge with another sibling, Annette Campagne, when that band ended...

and children's entertainer Carmen Campagne

Carmen Campagne

Carmen Campagne is a very influent Canadian singer and children's entertainer. A Fransaskois from Willow Bunch, Saskatchewan, she was a member of the folk music band Folle Avoine in the 1970s. Her brother Paul and sisters Suzanne, Michelle and Annette, her bandmates in Folle Avoine, have also...

(both from the small town of Willow Bunch

Willow Bunch, Saskatchewan

Willow Bunch is a small community located in south central Saskatchewan, Canada southwest of the provincial capital of Regina. The population is 431, with 151 being declared as francophones....

) and the band Poly-Esther, who have been present on the Canadian stage.

In terms of theatre, there is a French language professional theatre company called La Troupe du Jour, based in Saskatoon and founded in 1987.

In sports, the most notable Fransaskois is New York Islanders

New York Islanders

The New York Islanders are a professional ice hockey team based in Uniondale, New York. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...

forward Blake Comeau

Blake Comeau

Blake Comeau is a Canadian ice hockey player who currently plays for the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League.-Playing career:...

of Meadow Lake

Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan

Meadow Lake is a city located in north west Saskatchewan, Canada about north east of Lloydminster and north of North Battleford. On November 9, 2009, it officially became Saskatchewan's 14th city....

. Comeau was a member of the 2004 Memorial Cup

2004 Memorial Cup

The 2004 Memorial Cup occurred May 15–23 at Prospera Place in Kelowna, British Columbia. It featured the host team, the Kelowna Rockets as well as the winners of the Ontario Hockey League, Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and the Western Hockey League which were the Guelph Storm, Gatineau...

champion Kelowna Rockets

Kelowna Rockets

The Kelowna Rockets are a major junior ice hockey team based in Kelowna, British Columbia. The Rockets play in the Western Hockey League , out of the Canadian Hockey League . They play their home games at Prospera Place....

and a member of two Gold medal winning World Junior Hockey championship teams.

Media

The Fransaskois community is served primarily by the radio and television services of Radio-Canada

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...

. Télévision de Radio-Canada

Télévision de Radio-Canada

Télévision de Radio-Canada is a Canadian French language television network. It is owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, known in French as Société Radio-Canada. Headquarters are at Maison Radio-Canada in Montreal, which is also home to the network's flagship station, CBFT-DT...

's CBKFT

CBKFT

CBKFT-DT is a Canadian French language television station in the province of Saskatchewan. It is owned and operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and is an affiliate of Radio-Canada...

and Première Chaîne's CBKF-FM

CBKF-FM

CBKF-FM is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts the programming of Radio-Canada's Première Chaîne network at 97.7 FM in Regina, Saskatchewan.-History:The station was launched on April 24, 1975...

are based in Regina and have rebroadcasters throughout the province, while Regina and Saskatoon receive Espace musique

Espace musique

Espace musique is the French-language music radio service of Canada's national public broadcaster, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation...

service from rebroadcasters of CKSB-FM

CKSB-FM

CKSB-FM is a Canadian radio station, broadcasting at 89.9 FM in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It is an affiliate of Radio-Canada's Espace musique network. The station launched in 2001....

in Winnipeg

Winnipeg

Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...

.

Two community radio

Community radio

Community radio is a type of radio service, that offers a third model of radio broadcasting beyond commercial broadcasting and public broadcasting. Community stations can serve geographic communities and communities of interest...

stations, CFNS

CFNS (AM)

CFNS was a Canadian radio station, which broadcast in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan from 1952 to 1973. A private affiliate of Radio-Canada, the station was owned by Radio-Prairies-Nord Ltée....

in Saskatoon and CFRG

CFRG (AM)

CFRG was a Canadian radio station, which broadcast in Gravelbourg, Saskatchewan from 1952 to 1973. A private affiliate of Radio-Canada, the station was owned by Radio-Gravelbourg Ltée.CFRG originally aired at 1230 AM...

in Gravelbourg, previously operated as locally-owned affiliates of Radio-Canada's radio network. Both were directly acquired by the network in 1973, becoming rebroadcasters of CBKF. In 2003, a new community station, CFRG-FM

CFRG-FM

CFRG-FM is a French language radio station that operates at 93.1 FM in Gravelbourg, Saskatchewan. It retains the call sign formerly used by CFRG, a now-defunct private affiliate of Radio-Canada which aired in Gravelbourg from 1952 to 1975....

, was launched in Gravelbourg by a new community group which has no ownership affiliation with the original CFRG. A bilingual community radio station, CKZP-FM

CKZP-FM

CKZP-FM is a community radio station that operates at 102.7 FM in Zenon Park, Saskatchewan, Canada.CKZP's programming features music, discussions, news, community announcements, local hockey games, special events and religious services...

, also operates in Zenon Park.

A weekly community newspaper, L'Eau vive, is published in Regina. Two community newspapers, Triangle News in Coronach

Coronach, Saskatchewan

Coronach is a community in southern Saskatchewan, Canada near the US border. It was founded in 1926 by the Canadian Pacific Railway and named after Coronach, the horse who had just won the Epsom Derby in England that year...

and the Gravelbourg Tribune in Gravelbourg, publish content in both English and French.