Maillardville: Coquitlam’s Francophone community

by Robert Rothon, Vancouver, British Columbia

You can’t find Maillardville on any map of British Columbia no matter how hard you look. However, this community does exist, both physically and in the imagination of British Columbians, for whom it symbolizes the French fact west of the Rockies.

Credits: Société francophone de Maillardville

French roots
The village of Maillardville was born when the owners of the Hastings Mills sawmill began to worry about an undisciplined workforce. In 1909, they sent a delegation to eastern Canada to recruit French Canadians, who had a reputation for being good workers with sound morals. An initial contingent of 110 people answered the call and took the train westward.

Once they arrived at their destination, the pioneers settled on the shores of the Fraser River, on a site that they had to clear, and built a Francophone workers’ village like those they left behind in the east. Shortly after they arrived, they started building a school and a church, Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes, which became the heart of the first French-language parish in British Columbia. In 1912, the village was named Maillardville in honour of the founding parish priest, Reverend Father Edmond Maillard, OMI. Over the years, the children of the pioneers grew up and continued to clear land in the area, so nearly 100 years later, the French language and traditions have survived.

New beginnings
Time passed and the village, previously isolated on a hill, has become part of the city of Coquitlam, a suburb of Vancouver. The Francophone core has fragmented with each wave of new allophone and Anglophone arrivals, who eventually formed the majority. However, the Francophone flame has continued to burn brightly, because Maillardville is reborn every year through the Festival du Bois. This cultural event mobilizes all the resources of the old founding community, giving it its status as a Francophone area.

Credits: Société francophone de Maillardville

Hard times
Over the years, economic conditions have created turmoil in Maillardville, whose location makes it a gateway to Coquitlam. The situation has become worrisome, as in all small communities that see their economies decline.

Coalition for the future
But a corner was turned in 2006 when Johanne Dumas, executive director of the Société francophone de Maillardville, began approaching merchants and business people to ask them to support the cultural activities that she wanted to organize. One thing led to another, and she also began contacting elected officials of the City of Coquitlam and provincial and federal government public servants. Finally, Maillardville’s status as a Francophone community helped it attract influential political and economic allies who met to discuss the future of the community.

Credits: Société francophone de Maillardville

Since then, a coordinated effort has helped develop a sociocultural revitalization plan for the community, funded by Western Economic Diversification Canada. In the short term, the plan sets out beautification projects such as installing wrought iron decorations and changing the colour of the street furniture from the usual green to a more distinctive black; these projects have been completed. In the long term, it aims to retain the unique character of the community through sustainable development: rebuilding the Francophone village, attracting Francophone businesses, especially Quebec companies, and creating a Latin quarter. Through this plan, the stakeholders want to develop the tourist potential of Maillardville to distinguish Coquitlam from the neighbouring municipalities.

A long-term endeavour
Everyone realizes the revitalization plan will take 10 or 20 years to complete and will require considerable investment. Nevertheless, confidence is high. Residents are also participating in their community’s revitalization process. In the summer of 2007, they took part in a workshop to design public spaces and urban structures, and some are members of a working group that meets every month and is chaired by municipal councillor Richard Stewart. No other community in Coquitlam has its own working group to promote its development.

The City built partnerships with the Francophone community in order to take concrete measures, which have multiplied since 2006. The municipal council funded a project to brand Maillardville in 2007. Currently, City representatives are working on developing the Francophone Village project, an Olympic edition of the Festival du Bois, which will highlight Canada’s Francophone community through cultural events in 2010. This kind of partnership between an official language minority community and a municipality is rare in British Columbia. It deserves to be celebrated because the entire region can benefit from it. Johanne Dumas is convinced of this. “If the City keeps this community in mind, we can do something. The projects will move forward. I am certain of it.”

Favorable circumstances
The convergence of three catalysts led to a partnership between the City and the Francophone community of Coquitlam. “The $400,000 from Western Economic Diversification Canada helped. It was a catalyst,” said Jennifer Wilkie, manager of corporate planning for the City of Coquitlam. “Then there are the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games being held in Vancouver, which pushed us to see how Coquitlam could benefit.” The third catalyst came from the political milieu. “Council gave the community a voice,” said Ms. Wilkie, who added that the City did not wait for these first two catalysts to consider Maillardville a unique neighbourhood that helped define Coquitlam. Her colleague, Therese Mickelson, manager of corporate communications, agrees. “Maillardville is at the core of our history. We’ve become a multicultural city over time, but our roots started in Maillardville and in First Nations communities.” According to Jennifer Wilkie, the City’s effort to brand Maillardville is part of this. “Most people would recognize that preserving Francophone culture is worthwhile.”

One heritage
A descendant of one of the first families to move to Maillardville, municipal councillor Richard Stewart has lived in Coquitlam all his life. He believes that the tide is turning in favour of the Francophone community. “Coquitlam has come a long way in what Coquitlam’s first Francophone pioneers meant to this community. Our heritage was disappearing, but only the Francophones were lamenting that. And now we are catching up.” According to Mr. Stewart, municipal councillors are paying close attention to the measures taken by the federal government, and this new attitude is surprising to many.

As a son of Maillardville, Richard Stewart is touched by this recent solidarity. “There are days when it brings tears to my eyes. When I think we’re going to make it. There have been attempts before. Now we finally have Council on board. Take last night for example. A delegation from Maillardville came before Council to sing “Gens de Maillardville” on Gens du pays. That wouldn’t have flown 10 years ago!”

Links

City of Coquitlam

Revitalization of Maillardville by the City of Coquitlam

Demographic profile of Coquitlam

Festival du Bois

Société francophone de Maillardville

Maillardville as seen by others

History of Maillardville (in French only)

History of the Francophone presence in British Columbia (in French only)

Olympic Games - Vancouver 2010