CHRISTOPHE TRAISNEL

UNIVERSITÉ DE MONCTON

Coast, to Coast… to Coast The Role of ‘Northern Bound’

Francophone Communities in Nunavut, North West Territories and Yukon

Figure 1 : Carte des territoires

(Source : L’Atlas du Canada)

Approaching Northern Bound Francophones

Research conducted by the ICRML team

Questions regarding factors of language vitality

The main question surrounding the concept of community: who ‘us’?

The issue of small numbers

Beyond statistics: secondary data, storytelling, and ethnographic approach

Francophones in Context

The territorial context: opportunities and political constraints

Unity for Francophone prosperity : community involvement and organization

Francophone communities: Between recognition and representation

Main Lessons Drawn From this Research

The particular challenge of the context of the far North

The challenge related to the size of the communities

The challenge related to the status of French in the territories

The challenge of mobility: three communities…of migrants

The Territories: An Unusual Host Society

33 % of the total surface of Canada

0,3 % of Canadians

101 311 people out of 31 612 897

30 000 in Yukon, 41 000 in NWT, and 29 000 in Nunavut

Living mostly north of the 6oth parallel

Cultural Landscape: Aboriginal Presence

In Nunavut, approximately 70% of the population reported Inuktitut as their mother tongue

In the Northwest Territories, about 3% of the population reported an Aboriginal language as their mother tongue

In the Yukon, about 15% of the population reported an Aboriginal language as their mother tongue

Nearly half of the inhabitants of the territories reported having an Aboriginal identity

Institutional Distinctions

The territories... are not provinces

The devolution process

The issue of government obligations concerning Francophone minorities

Local language of legislation

A cross-cultural political status for Francophones

Francophones in the Territories

Around 1200 people are native speakers of French in the Yukon (4% of the population),

There are approximately 1 000 in the NWT (2 %) There are approximately 400 in Nunavut (1 %) In all three territories: 3 % of the populationThe Francophone minority represent about 4% of

Canadians outside of Quebec Visibility: more than 7 out of 10 French-speaking

residents live in the city or close to major centers 1000 more Francophones in the territories since

1971

Migration Dynamics in the Territories

The First Nations presence

A random and fluctuating migration history

A migration taking into account the economic and development needs

Approximately 7000 individuals born outside of Canada and living in the territories in 2006

Immigration in Yukon

3005 Yukon residents are foreign born

1950 immigrated before 1991, 385 between 2001 and 2006

Concentration in major centres: 2295 Yukon residents of immigrant origin live in Whitehorse

Immigration in the NWT

2815 NWT residents are foreign born

1470 immigrated before 1991, 600 between 2001 and 2006

Concentration in major centres: 2140 NWT residents of immigrant origin live in Yellowknife

Immigration in Nunavut

455 Nunavut residents are foreign born

300 immigrated before 1991, 55 between 2001 and 2006

No figures on immigrants in Iqaluit.

Interprovincial Migrants

Between 2001 and 2006: 12 456 individuals from the provinces have settled in the territories

…And 13 824 individuals have left the territories during the same period

A particular aspect of the territories: they receive many migrants, but they seldom stay.

Francophone Immigration

Language most often spoken at home and immigration: an overview of the presence of Francophone immigrants

Yukon: 80 immigrants out of 540 FrancophonesNWT: 40 immigrants out of 440 FrancophonesNunavut: 10 out of 200 Francophones

Francophone communities where the number of immigrants exceeds the number of Francophones born in the territory

Francophone Migration: Some Figures

85% of Francophones were born outside the territories (in Canada or abroad)

By comparaison:The Canadian mobility is 32%The average mobility in the territories is 48%Francophones are mostly from Quebec: 45% in

the NWT, 54% in Yukon and 58% in Nunavut

Impact of Migration on Language Vitality

Northern bound Francophones: communities where everyone faces the challenges of welcoming, installation and integration

The unique experience of living up North: come, settle… and then leave

Diverse linguistic practices: a small French-speaking Canada, between carefree living and linguistic insecurity

The challenges of welcoming and retention, at the heart of the linguistic vitality of Francophone communities

The Know-How in Welcoming

Support from the Department of Citizenship and Immigration Canada in the 2000s

Association franco-yukonnaise and Carrefour Immigration Crossword

The CDTNO and its employability service The Fédération franco-ténoise and its center for

immigrants

A culture of the host community: the advantage of small communities

Community Portrait

A northern bound Francophone community which is becoming institutionalized, that lasts a certain amount of time, that is mobilizing, which defines its issues, which builds on its identity references…

…but whose members are often only ‘passing through’, indicating the importance of elsewehere in the community, but placing a number of challenges to the sustainability of the Francophone culture in the area

The Relevance of Migration

Migration management which is at the heart of the vitality of northern bound Francophone communities

A case of a society of migrants, both singular and emblematic, of new migration patterns

Passing through, rather than settling in

Questionning of the barriers existing between the host community and the newcomers

Thank you!