The birth of ACFÉO

In the years following Confederation, Ontario does not fail to openly proclaim both its English and Protestant nature, and its attachment to the British Empire. And its elites become increasingly less tolerant of the Francophones who continue to flock to the province from Quebec. The Francophone minority, however – scattered, with limited resources, its only means of affirmation being a few institutions – is far from representing a real danger.

It is the school issue that really stirs up trouble. The Ministry of Education, established in 1876, seeks to create a unique model in Ontario, one which excludes separate schools and French schools. While the former are protected by the Canadian Constitution, it is more difficult to advocate for the latter. The idea of ​​a large provincial association that brings together the driving forces of Ontario’s French community is set in motion.

The Association canadienne-française d’éducation d’Ontario (ACFÉO) is created at the Grand Congrès des Canadiens français held from January 18 to 20, 1910, at the Monument national in Ottawa. This is a landmark event in the history of the Franco-Ontarian community, the first time it exercises its political voice.

The new organization adopts a structure in keeping with its ambitions: an impressive 25-member board of directors chosen among the religious and political elites of the day, most of them from Ottawa. The Executive consists of a president and two vice-presidents. The Liberal senator Napoléon-Antoine Belcourt, a prominent figure in the capital, is the first to accede to the presidency. The Conservative senator, Philippe Landry, takes the reins of the organization in 1915. In a dramatic gesture that makes him a true national hero, he leaves his position as Speaker of the Senate the following year, thereby breaking his ties with the Conservative Party to maintain full independence in defending the educational rights of French Canadians in Ontario.

From Ottawa, where it establishes its headquarters, ACFÉO quickly becomes the centre of “resistance” to Regulation 17, which bans “bilingual” schools in Ontario. It is ACFÉO that works hard to lobby the government; that supports, sometimes directly, sometimes indirectly, endless court appeals (Ontarian, Canadian, British); that mobilizes nationalist opinion in Quebec and elsewhere in French Canada; that supports the establishment of “free” schools at the local level; that even attempts to rally Rome around the Franco-Ontarian cause! The struggle is long and difficult.

On November 1, 1927, ACFÉO’s efforts are finally rewarded. Following the recommendations of the Merchant-Scott-Côté report and pressures exerted by ACFÉO and Quebec, Regulation 17 is finally abandoned by the Government of Ontario. “Bilingual” schools are restored. But the issue of French-language education in Ontario is far from settled. ACFÉO continues its battle for French-language education in Ontario on several fronts, until 1968 when bilingual schools become completely French, and the private Catholic secondary school system is integrated into the public sphere. But even then, the fight was far from over.

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The Monument national, Ottawa, located at 113 George Street, at the corner of Dalhousie, Ottawa, 1910. One of the rallying hotspots for French Canadians in the capital. Copy of a print: Congrès d’éducation des Canadiens-français d’Ontario, ACFÉO, 1910, p. 340.

University of Ottawa, CRCCF, Collection générale du Centre de recherche en civilisation canadienne-française (C38), Ph123ph1-XOFDH-33.

Black and white photograph of a four-storey brick building. The entrance door is topped by a tower, and two turrets are positioned at the front corners of the building. Flags float at the top of the turrets. A few men stand in front of the building; others stand on the first-floor balconies.

“L'idée du Congrès national”

Open letter inviting Juge A. Constantineau and former Sainte-Anne's parish priest, A. Beausoleil, to an assembly in preparation for the Congrès national. Ottawa, January 1909. 
 

University of Ottawa, CRCCF, Fonds ACFO (C2), C2/384/3

Typewritten French text. To the top left, a dotted line to include the name of the recipient. Three short paragraphs, followed by the complimentary close, “Bien respectueusement” (Respecfully). The two signatories’ names are typewritten at the bottom of the document. A handwritten number has been added.

Statutes of ACFÉO

Statutes of the Association canadienne-française d’éducation d’Ontario (ACFÉO), Ottawa, 1910, 3 pages. From the time of its establishment in 1910 under the name of the Association canadienne-française d’éducation d’Ontario (ACFÉO), the organization seeks to bring together all French Canadians in Ontario and defend their rights. This intention is inscribed in its statutes which stipulate that the purpose of the association is “la juste revendication de tous les droits des Canadiens-français de l’Ontario, et l’infatigable surveillance de tous leurs intérêts” (the just advocacy for all rights of French Canadians in Ontario, and the indefatigable monitoring of all their interests). 

University of Ottawa, CRCCF, Fonds Association canadienne-française de l’Ontario C2), C2/1/6.

Text typewritten in purple ink, with handwritten corrections in black ink. The document is written in French, in the following format: “Article” and number appearing in capital letters, followed by the article title on a separate line, then the article text.
Text typewritten in purple ink, with handwritten corrections in black ink. The document is written in French, in the following format: “Article” and number appearing in capital letters, followed by the article title on a separate line, then the article text.Text typewritten in purple ink, with handwritten corrections in black ink. The document is written in French, in the following format: “Article” and number appearing in capital letters, followed by the article title on a separate line, then the article text.

Philippe Landry

Senator Philippe Landry, Ottawa [ca. 1912]. Landry takes the reins of the Association canadienne-française d’éducation d’Ontario in 1915. In a dramatic gesture that makes him a true national hero, he leaves his position as Speaker of the Senate the following year, thereby breaking his ties with the Conservative Party to maintain full independence in defending the educational rights of French Canadians in Ontario.

University of Ottawa, CRCCF, Fonds Association canadienne-française de l’Ontario C2), Ph2-58.

Black and white photograph of an elderly man standing in an office with rich furniture. The man wears the parliamentary attire of Speaker of the Senate, as well as military medals.

Letter from the ACFÉO secretary

Copy of a letter from the Secretary of the Association canadienne-française d’éducation d’Ontario (ACFÉO) to the Apostolic Delegate in Canada, Bishop Pellegrino F. Stagni, o.s.m., Ottawa, April 1, 1915, pp. 1-3. From its Ottawa headquarters, ACFÉO works hard to lobby the government to abolish Regulation 17, which bans “bilingual” schools in Ontario. ACFÉO even tries to rally Rome to the Franco-Ontarian cause!

University of Ottawa, CRCCF, Fonds Association canadienne-française de l’Ontario (C2), C2/151/16L.

Copy of a letter typewritten in French, on yellowing paper. The text is presented as a list of six grievances, followed by a reminder of the “filial submission” of its author to the Church of the Holy Mother. It includes the name of the recipient and the function of the signatory.
Copy of a letter typewritten in French, on yellowing paper. The text is presented as a list of six grievances, followed by a reminder of the “filial submission” of its author to the Church of the Holy Mother. It includes the name of the recipient and the function of the signatory.Copy of a letter typewritten in French, on yellowing paper. The text is presented as a list of six grievances, followed by a reminder of the “filial submission” of its author to the Church of the Holy Mother. It includes the name of the recipient and the function of the signatory.

Resolution of the ACFÉO conference

Resolution adopted by the 1928 Conference of the Association canadienne-française d’éducation d’Ontario (ACFÉO), calling on bilingual school boards to hire graduates of the École normale de l’Université d’Ottawa, and on ACFÉO to encourage the recruitment of candidates for this institution. The resolution is moved by W. Aubry and seconded by Théodore Legault, Member of Parliament for Sturgeon Falls, Ottawa, 1928. One of the many fronts on which ACFÉO will continue to wage its battle for French-language education in Ontario.

University of Ottawa, CRCCF, Fonds Association canadienne-française de l’Ontario (C2), C2/7/3.

Resolution typewritten in French, on École normale de l’Université d’Ottawa letterhead. The signatures of the proponents and supporters of the resolution are added in the spaces reserved for this purpose. The word “adopté” is handwritten at the end of the document.

“C’était la francophonie de survivants”

At barely 26 years of age, Pierre de Blois is elected president of the conseil régional d'Ottawa-Carleton of ACFO in 1975. He is at the heart of the struggle between youth eager for change and an old guard unwilling to transform the institution. Photo: Caroline Ramirez.

“C'était la francophonie de survivants” (“It was a Francophonie of survivors”). Excerpt from the “major witness” interview granted by Pierre de Blois to the Chantier Ottawa (“Construction dʼune mémoire française à Ottawa : savoirs communautaires et réseaux sociaux” project), 2012. 

University of Ottawa, CRCCF, Projet Chantier Ottawa, Pierre Deblois-C'était la francophonie de survivants

Colour photograph of a bearded, middle-aged man sitting at a table in front of a bookshelf. He is dressed in a chequered shirt and smiles at the camera.
Transcription

P. de Blois: “It was a Francophonie of survivors”

In the citizens' committees, there was everything ... There were a lot of young people, it was dynamic, it was people who really wanted to reinvent not only the city, the neighborhoods, but also the way decisions were be made, how citizens would participate in the decision-making process, etc. It was a pot where ideas were boiling to rethink the balance of power.

Just to put you into the situation, at the first ACFO board meeting I chaired, I was – that was in 1975 – 26 years old. I think after me, the youngest person around the table was maybe 55, maybe 60 years old. There was a nun, there was ... Really, it was the opposite of the citizens’ committee. It was a Francophonie of survivors. It was a Francophonie of ‘we’re not changing much’.

I’m told that the first thing to do before starting the meeting is to say a prayer.

-‘It’s out of the question!’

-‘We’ve always said a prayer.’

-‘Well yes, but that’s going to stop.’  

You couldn’t have been further poles apart than those two organizations I was involved with at the time. It was the old struggles. It was: ‘we have to preserve things’. That's what distorted the discussion, in my opinion. We were not there to preserve things. We were there to get things done  (Translated from the original).

“Le 25ᵉ Congrès annuel de l’Association canadienne-française de l'Ontario”

Text of a presentation at the 25th annual meeting of the Association canadienne-française de l’Ontario (ACFO), held on September 27, 28, 29, 1974, at the École secondaire De La Salle, Ottawa, pp. 1-2. The document substantiates the broadened scope of the organization after 1969.

University of Ottawa, CRCCF, Fonds Association canadienne-française de l’Ontario (C2), C2/387/6.

Document typewritten in French. Traces of correction fluid are visible in some places. Text presented as several short paragraphs in a single column.
Document typewritten in French. Traces of correction fluid are visible in some places. Text presented as several short paragraphs in a single column.
The first parliamantarians
Fighting Regulation 17