Franco-Columbian

Franco-Columbians (French: Franco-Colombiens) are French Canadians or Canadian francophones living in the province of British Columbia. According to the 2016 Canadian Census, 71,705 residents of the province stated that French is their mother tongue. In the same census, 388,815 British Columbians claimed full or partial French ancestry.

The first francophones to enter the region were French Canadian voyageurs employed with the North West Company during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. French fur traders continued to visit the region in the early 19th century, with the French language serving as a lingua franca for the regional fur trade. Franco-Columbians formed the majority of Europeans in the region until the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush in 1858, which saw anglophone settlers become the predominant group in the area. Franco-Columbians began to lobby for French language rights within the province in the mid 20th century, which led to the public funding of francophone classes in 1978, and an independent public school board in 1995.

There are several Franco-Columbian communities throughout British Columbia; although most are based in the Lower Mainland, with the largest francophone community in that region being Maillardville, a community settled by forty French Canadian families in 1909. The province's francophone community has become diversified since the mid-20th century, with migrants from Africa, Asia, and Europe settling in the province. Radio-Canada, the country's French-language public broadcaster, serves as the main French-language media outlet in the province.