A vibrant community

When Queen Victoria makes Ottawa the capital of Canada in 1857, she unwittingly gives a powerful boost to the development of its Francophone institutional space. The intense activity that ensues attracts not only politicians, but also numerous civil servants, journalists, intellectuals and educators, not to mention the professionals who join the increasingly dynamic Francophone community that, by 1852, has already created the Institut canadien-français. This elite lays the groundwork for cultural and patriotic associations – first at the local level, then at the provincial and even national levels – making Ottawa one of French Canada’s major regional metropolises. Many of the institutions are still active today.

When Ottawa is promoted to the rank of capital, religious communities have been at work there for over a decade, setting up a hospital, schools, a boarding school and caring for orphans. They had established parishes, with others founded over time to become hubs around which community life is organized. Francophones in Ottawa endow themselves with a school system in their image, and establish many other religious, cultural and social institutions under their auspices. When the social frameworks of the Church weaken in the 1960s, French Canadians turn to the State to ensure their development, particularly in areas of education and health. Ottawa’s influence, through these institutions, reaches well beyond its own borders.

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Bowling League of the Association de la jeunesse franco-ontarienne (AJFO), Ottawa, 1958. Photo: Champlain Marcil, Le Droit

Source : University of Ottawa, CRCCF, Fonds L'Association de la jeunesse franco-ontarienne (C9), Ph74-13b.

Black and white photograph of young adults playing bowling. They have fun.
Religious beginnings in Bytown
Black and white photograph of an elderly man wearing the liturgical garments of a bishop. He does not wear the cap. He sits on a chair, his right arm resting on a table, his hand resting on books. He wears a serious expression.
Guardians of faith and language: the Oblates of Mary Immaculate
Black and white photograph of fourteen seminarians paddling on a river. They are distributed between two canoes, whose names – St Joseph and St Patrice – are painted in white on the front of the boat. The canoes are pulling away from a small wooden bridge.
Audacity and modesty : Élisabeth Bruyère and the Sisters of Charity
Black and white photograph of a mature nun wearing a black veil and a cross. She is sitting on a chair with a table to her left. Her expression is serious.
The parish and its works
Cover page of a parish bulletin, printed in French in pink and beige. The title of the publication appears in large letters, on a background of stylized flowers. A drawing of a Church is printed in the middle of the page, framed by two colums. Over the drawing, thoughts on the link between God and man. At the top, the number and date of publication.
Separate schools
Black and white photograph of four male teens in front of a brick building. Their eyes are turned toward a baseball held by one of the boys, who is straddling a bicycle. They are dressed in suits and ties. Three of the boys hold books. The fourth holds a baseball bat and glove.
The secondary school tracks
Black and white drawing of a four-storey stone building. The building has a grand classical façade and a bell-caste roof topped by a lantern.
University of Ottawa, or the gamble of bilingualism
Black and white photograph of about fifty cars parked in front of an imposing, four-storey, neoclassical-style building, with six monumental ionic columns, and a portico with a pediment.
Religious feasts and celebrations
Black and white photograph of the interior of a church seen from above. The church is richly decorated. Attendance is strong.
Community networks: the social glue
Black and white photograph of a group of men around a table. Five men are seated. Five others, including one cleric, are standing, some holding billiard cues. Two of the seated men hold cards in their hands. The photograph is slightly damaged.
Social support and national solidarity
Black and white photograph of the interior of an open concept office. Seen from the front of the room, eight men and four women sit at desks, working. Large windows line one of the walls.
Women unite
Black and white photograph of a group of women of various ages, wearing hats and dresses and fur stoles, except for one. Two women are seated, and one holds a bouquet of flowers. A priest is seated to their right. Three other women are standing behind them.
A militant youth
Black and white photograph of a group of young people protesting in the street. Individual at the front carry a banner reading “Mon pays en français“ and a placard reading “Vive la francophonie“.
Sports and recreation
Black and white photograph, taken in winter, of a group of about fifteen young men, accompanied by some adults. They are arranged in three rows, in front of a wooden fence. The youngest wear the cassock and hold hockey sticks. Adults wear long winter coats and fur hats. One of them stands in front of the group, the other in the center of the photo, the other two on the sides.