The First Congress on the French Language in Canada (French: Premier Congrès de la langue française au Canada) was held in Quebec City from June 24 to June 30, 1912. Its stated objective was to "examine the questions raised by the defence, the culture and the development of the French language and literature in Canada.[1] "
On February 14, 1911, the executive office of the Société du parler français au Canada (SPFC) resolved to organize and convoke a Congress on the French Language in Canada to be held in the course of 1912, in Quebec City, under the patronage of Université Laval.[2] The SPFC set up an organizing committee composed of ten of its members,[3] under the presidency of Mgr Paul-Eugène Roy, in order to set the date of the congress and see to the preparation of the event.[4]
Some two months later, on April 10, while the organizing was in progress, the committee sent a message "to all the French Canadians and to all the Acadians who have at heart the conservation of their language and their nationality[5] " to invite them to take part to this first congress from Monday June 24 to Sunday June 30. While the Congress's name mentions the French language "in Canada", the organizers explicitly addressed their invitation to all the French speakers of America. Regional committees were formed by the general organizing committee to recruit members as much in Quebec as in Ontario, Western Canada, in the Atlantic provinces or the United States.
The organizing committee, wanting to make the congress a milestone event, sought the participation of civil society and the representatives of political and religious powers. The Quebec government, headed by Liberal premier Lomer Gouin was very favourable to holding the Congress in the historical capital of Quebec. In addition to the rooms of the Université Laval, the congress members were granted access to the rooms of the provincial Parliament Building.
The opening of the Congress on June 24 was intended to associate the event with a great day of patriotism and confer to it a solemn, popular and festive character. On June 23 and 24, just before the official opening of the Congress, its members were invited to participate to the "National Day of the French Canadians" which was organized by the Saint-Sauveur de Québec chapter of the Association Saint-Jean-Baptiste (ASJB) and other affiliated branches. As part of the programme were the traditional mass, procession, banquet, speeches, entertainment, etc.
At 8:00 PM on June 24, the opening session of the Congress held in the Salle des exercices militaires on Grande Allée street was the occasion of great pomp with music and speeches from the principal officers of the Congress, the Lieutenant Governor François Langelier, members of the Catholic clergy, the former prime minister of Canada Wilfrid Laurier, the premier of Quebec Lomer Gouin, Charles-Eudes Bonin, of the general consulate of France in Quebec City, Étienne Lamy, delegate of the Académie française, the mayor of Quebec Napoléon Drouin, ministers from the provinces of Ontario and the Maritimes, etc.[6]
The room was decorated with the flags of Great Britain, Canada, Quebec,[7] France, the United States, and also the Carillon Sacré-Cœur. The musicians played God Save the Queen, the national anthem of both Great Britain and the Dominion of Canada, Ô Canada, then the national anthem of French Canadians, as well as other patriotic or traditional airs such as Vive la Canadienne, À la claire fontaine, Ô Canada! mon pays, mes amours, etc.
The Congress was made of four study sections: scientific, pedagogical, literary and propaganda. It held eight general sessions in addition to the various sessions of each section which occurred independently under the direction of their own executive office. In the sessions held by the study sections, participants presented memoirs, gave speeches, deliberated and formulated "vows" and propositions related to their study field. In the general sessions, participants gave patriotic speeches on the French language and rapporteurs gave an account of the work done by the sections before all congress members. The assembly of all congress members ratified the reports and voted for or against the vows and propositions coming from the sections.
| Scientific Section | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| President : Pascal Poirier | |||
| Sub-section on history | Sub-section on law | Sub-section on philology | |
| President : Joseph-Edmond Roy Secretary : Thomas Nadeau Rapporteur : Antonio Huot | President : M. A. Constantineau Secretary : Oscar Hamel Rapporteur : Joseph-Évariste Prince | President : Alcée Fortier Secretary : J.-E. Plamondon Rapporteur : Émile Chartier | |
| Pedagogical Section | |||
| President: Pierre Boucher de la Bruère Secretary: Charles-Joseph Magnan Rapporteurs: Philippe Perrier (primary school) and Narcisse Degagné (high school) | |||
| Literary Section | |||
| President: Ferdinand Roy[8] Secretary: Jean-Baptiste Lagacé Rapporteur: Camille Roy | |||
| Propaganda Section | |||
| President: Thomas Chapais | |||
| Sub-section A: Associations | Sub-section B: Family, social relations, the press, etc. | Sub-section C: Commerce and industry, the arts and sciences | |
| President: Thomas Chapais[9] Secretary: Pierre-Georges Roy Rapporteur: Élie Auclair | President: Eugène Rouillard Secretary: Amédée Denault Rapporteur: Théophile Hudon | President: Armand Bédard Secretary: Cyrille Gagnon Rapporteur: Hector Bernier | |
Individuals who became member of the congress received a 96-page Guide du congressiste, and a medal badge crafted by Alexandre Morlon[10] on which were carved the words of French poet Gustave Zidler: C'est notre doux parler qui nous conserve frères. ("It is our gentle speech that keeps us brothers.")
In addition to the serious work of the different study sections, the programme of the Congress included activities of a more symbolic character such as the inauguration, Tuesday June 25 at 3:00PM, of the monument to Honoré Mercier on the Quebec parliamentary hill, the awarding of honorific diplomas from the Université Laval, as well as other activities that today would be judged "touristic", such as the Wednesday June 26 morning expedition to the Petit-Cap, the summer residence of the Messieurs of the Séminaire de Québec, located in Saint-Joachim de Montmorency.[11] Abbott Charles Thellier de Poncheville and poet Gustave Zidler, who arrived on the morning of June 26, took part to this excursion where congress members feasted, sang songs, read poems, and gave more speeches.
Friday June 28 was reserved to the delegates of New England, Armand Bédard, president of the Boston Franco-American Historical Society and Mr. Henri-T. Ledoux, president of the Union Saint-Jean-Baptiste d'Amérique, who came to Quebec to give the right hour on the situation of the francophone communities in the United States.
On the morning of Saturday June 29, the plenary assembly of the congress unanimously adopted the proposition of MM. Jean-Baptiste Lagacé and Adjutor Rivard to set up a Permanent Committee of the Congresses on the French language in America whose purpose was "to defend, to cultivate, extend, and develop the French language and literature in Canada and in general among the Acadians and French Canadians of North America". In addition to this general mandate, the permanent committee was given the specific mandate to "ensure the publication of the acts, the realization of the vows, and the continuation of the work of the Congress on the French language in Canada[12] ". At 9:00PM, at diner was held in the celebration room of the Château Frontenac, which in 1912 was only 20 years old.
On Sunday June 30, at 9:00AM, a mass was given at the Notre-Dame de Québec Cathedral and in the afternoon, a procession organized by the Association catholique de la jeunesse canadienne-française (ACJC) circulated in Quebec City.[13] A closing general session was held at the Salle des exercices militaires, and afterwards all members were invited to attend a fireworks show before the Parliament.[14]
The four sections of the Congress received a total of 65 memoirs.
Of the 19 memoirs pertaining to scientific subjects, seven were concerned with the history of the French language in Canada, seven other pertained to the legal situation of French throughout the Canadian federation and in the United States, and the remaining five discussed the philological questions.
The 21 memoirs of the education section gave Congress members a statistical overview of the teaching of French in Canada and the United States.
The 10 memoirs presented to the literary section discussed the state and future of Canadian literature, its development and propagation, its place in schools, etc.
The 15 memoirs of the section on propaganda were concerned with the quality of French in the press, in the associations, at home, in industry, trade, sciences and public service.
The first congress led to the adoption of a long series of declarations and vows by the congress members who took part to the different study sections.[15]
The sub-section on history formulated four vows:
The sub-section on law:
The sub-section on philology:
Concerning primary education, the pedagogical section formulated the vows:
Concerning secondary education, its vows were:
The literary section's vows were:
The three sub-sections of the propaganda section formulated numerous vows.
Sub-section A (associations) wanted:
Sub-section B (family, social relations, the press, etc.):
Sub-section C (commerce, industry, the arts and sciences):