The Government of Alberta acknowledges the long-standing and continuing contribution of Alberta's Francophone citizens to the social, cultural and economic development of this province. The Government of Alberta, through the Francophone Secretariat and relevant departments, remains committed to providing Alberta's Francophone community with culturally and linguistically appropriate services in a number of priority areas such as education, justice, health and early childhood. Alberta also supports many community-led initiatives aimed at providing services to the province's Francophones.

For resources and services provided by:

• The Government of Alberta
• Non-Government organizations

Resources and Services in French Provided by the Government of Alberta

Alberta Education/Advanced Education

• French Language Programs
• Information for Parents
• Preschool (Les années préscolaires)
• K-12 (Maternelle à la 12e année)
• Post secondary - University of Alberta, Campus Saint-Jean
• Teacher Certification - forms and application booklet available in French
• LearnAlberta.ca (some resources available in French)

For more information on French language education in Alberta, please contact the French Language Services Branch or consult their staff directory.

Additional opportunities to learn or practice French

• Explore - Summer Language Bursary Program 5-week Immersion Program
• Accent/Odyssey - Official Languages Assistant Programs (FT/PT work placements)
• Specifically for Educators
  • Language Teacher Bursary Program
  • Individual French Teacher Bursary
• Complete List of language related student scholarships, bursaries, exchanges, etc.

Alberta Health and Wellness

Availability of services in French depends on initiative of institutions and can range from basic interpretation services to specific federal/provincial agreement on health services in French such as in the Peace Health Region. The Francophone community's Réseau santé albertain (Health Network) is working with the Government of Alberta to better identify French service providers/care givers and hopes to increase availability of services in French throughout the province.

For more information, contact the Réseau santé albertain.

Alberta Justice

French may be used in Alberta in criminal proceedings and services such as interpreters, bilingual lawyers, French-speaking judges are available. The Government of Alberta supports the participation of its courts personnel in specialized French language training programs offered through the Institut Dubuc and others.

Alberta Employment and Immigration

The department offers only a few publications in French, including:

• Welcome to Alberta: A guide for newcomers to Alberta.  
• Financial Support for Training:  Employment and training programs help adult Albertans get the skills they need to get a job, get a better job, or increase their skills to keep their job. Tuition, books and supplies, and living allowance may be available if you qualify as an eligible learner. Information is available in French for Albertans who are clients or apprentices under the Alberta Works Income Support Program.
• Becoming a Parent in Alberta: A guide and poster on maternity and parental leave and benefits is available in French.

Provincial Archives of Alberta

French language services can be obtained on demand by contacting Ms. Claude Roberto, Private Records Archivist. Note the Provincial Archives hope to increase their Francophone holdings and are soliciting donations of records from Francophone communities.

Legislative Assembly of Alberta

Legislature Tours

French language tours of the provincial legislature are available upon request. To schedule a tour, please contact Visitor Services at (780) 427-7362 or by email. You can also tour the Legislature online (in French and in English).

Members of Alberta's Legislative Assembly who speak French: Honourable Ken Kowalski, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Honourable Ted Morton, Minister of Sustainable Resource Development Honourable Hector Goudreau, Minister of Employment and Immigration, and Minister Responsible for the Francophone Secretariat Denis Herard, MLA Calgary-Egmont Gene Zwozdesky, MLA Edmonton-Mill Creek Wayne Cao, MLA Calgary-Fort Harry Chase, MLA Calgary-Varsity George Rogers, MLA Leduc-Beaumont-Devon Complete list of all elected Members of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.

Interesting fact While Alberta's Language Act (1988) reaffirmed the unilingual English nature of the province, it also recognized the right of MLAs to use French in the Legislature (providing they advise the Speaker beforehand and provide all members with a translation).