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 people out of in Yukon, in NWT, and in Nunavut Living mostly north of the 6o th 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 in the NWT (2 %) There are approximately 400 in Nunavut (1 %) In all three territories: 3 % of the population The 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: individuals from the provinces have settled in the territories …And 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 Francophones NWT: 40 immigrants out of 440 Francophones Nunavut: 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!