Living in Francophone communities

Immigrants talk about the vitality and dynamism of their Francophone communities and the ties that bind their members.

Thanks to Hugo Sabourin (YUGZ) for use of his paintings in the video.

Living in Francophone communities

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Transcript: “Living in Francophone communities”

Video length: 2:32 minutes

Red, white and black ribbon background is displayed then fades into a shot of the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa, some athletes running on an outdoor track followed by a performer in front of an audience. Red, white and black ribbon background returns then fades to a group of people in an office setting and back. A Canadian flag emerges from the background with the text: “Live the Francophone Life in Canada. Living in Francophone Communities.”

Narrator is shown standing in front of an athletics track with the text: “Province: Saskatchewan. Country of origin: Cameroon. Guy Gérard Ngako Chabe (Teacher).”

Narrator (speaking French): When it comes to being Francophone, my advice would always be, “Never forget it.” It doesn’t matter if you find yourself in the minority. We must never forget that we’re Francophone because, our young people, we must pass it on to our young people.

A young man plays basketball on an outside court and scores.

Narrator is shown standing at the outside basketball court along with the text: “Territory: Northwest Territories. Country of origin: Rwanda. Rod Bryan Tuyishime Muvunyi (Student).”

Narrator (speaking French): I love living in Yellowknife. It’s a very nice community. Francophones have a bond with the Territories that can’t be broken. I don’t know, we all have a feeling of pride there, it brings us all together, and I really love it.

Narrator is shown sitting in a room decorated with art on the walls along with the text: “Province: New Brunswick. Country of origin: Congo. Jonathan Mpunge (Student).”

Narrator (speaking French): The Francophone community in New Brunswick, it’s… there’s, like, lots of joy. It’s an Acadian community. They’ve been through a lot, but it doesn’t show. All you see is joy and a zest for life. So that aspect of their … of New Brunswick’s Francophone community is really enjoyable because, even if they’ve been through a lot in the past, they celebrate the fact that they’re still where they were.

Narrator is shown in the foyer of a building along with the text: “Province: Manitoba. Country of origin: France. Erwan Bouchaud (Project Manager, Manitoba Cooperative Association).”

Narrator (speaking French): The Franco-Manitoban community is solidly welded together by various bonds. There are what they call big families. So my family name is Bouchaud, which is like Bouchard. There’s a big, big family of people named Bouchard here. So people keep trying to find out who my cousins, aunts and uncles are, but I have absolutely none since I came to Canada alone. But it’s quite funny, so I play along a bit.

Scene changes to people playing badminton in a gym then to the narrator standing in front of a colourful mural with the text: “Province: Saskatchewan. Country of origin: Canada (parents from Salvador). Gabriela Quintanilla (Badminton Coach.)”

Narrator (speaking French): I’d describe the Fransaskois community as being really proud. I’ve never met such welcoming young people, well … people. I only knew Spanish when I went to school, but it was so easy to learn French because my teachers helped me so much. The community welcomed us when nobody else would.

The Citizenship and Immigration Canada corporate signature and the copyright message “Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, represented by Citizenship and Immigration Canada, 2014” are displayed followed by the Canada wordmark.

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