Communities

Albertville	Bellegarde	Bellevue	Debden	Delmas
Duck Lake	Ferland	Gravelbourg	The Battlefords	Marcelin
Montmartre	Ponteix	Prince Albert	Regina	St-Brieux
Saskatoon	La Trinité	Val-Marie	Willow Bunch	Zénon Park

Albertville (Pop.: 110 - 39% Fr.) is home of Saskatchewan's first credit union which was founded by a group of local Francophone residents in 1916, twenty years before the adoption of The Credit Union Act in Saskatchewan.

Bellegarde (Pop.: 565 - 48% Fr.), founded in 1893, owes its existence to l'Abbé Jean Gaire and French settlers. It got its name from a stream flowing near l'Abbé Gaire's birthplace in France.

Bellevue (St.-Isidore-de-Bellevue)(Pop.: 450 - 99% Fr.) is situated a few kilometers away from Batoche, the site of the battle that marked the end of the Métis rebellion. Today, Bellevue is well known for the Gareau, a family of sculptors.

Debden (Pop.: 420 - 52% Fr.)
welcomed its first priest, l'Abbé Laurent Voisin, in 1912

Domrémy was developed by settlers recruited in France by Auguste Bodard who was an official immigration agent.

Duck Lake (Pop.: 630 - 30% Fr.) was originally named Lac-aux-Canards. This community has played an important role in Fransaskois history.

L'Association catholique franco-canadienne de la Saskatchewan (ACFC) was founded in this village in 1912. This association is still very active today in developing and promoting the Fransaskois community.

As well, Saskatchewan's first French newspaper was first published in Duck Lake in 1910. Many of the first settlers in Duck Lake were French Métis from the Rivière Rouge (Red River) area of Manitoba.

Gravelbourg (Pop.: 1,150 - 41% Fr.) is home of the renowned Collège Mathieu, which was founded in 1918. Collège Mathieu is the only private Francophone high school in Western Canada. Gravelbourg's cathedral was built in 1918 and is now classified as a heritage monument.

The walls of this cathedral are adorned with paintings done by l'Abbé Charles Maillard. It took him ten years to complete the paintings.

Marcelin (Pop.:195 - 19% Fr.) was named after Antoine Marcelin who came from North Dakota to settle in that area in 1889.

Montmartre (Pop.: 465 - 16% Fr.) was named after a pilgrimage district of France near Paris by its first colonists who came from that country in 1893.

Ponteix (Pop.: 605 - 54% Fr.) was founded by Father Albert Royer in 1906. Its original name was Notre-Dame-d'Auvergnes. It was later renamed to honour Father Royer's parish in Auvergne (France).

Prud'homme: (Pop.: 180 - 17% Fr.) was settled in 1897 and was originally named Marcotte Ranch.

Its name was later changed to honor Joseph H. Prud'homme (Bishop of Prince Albert and District). This community is the birthplace of Jeanne Sauvé who was Governor General of Canada from 1984 to 1990.

St-Brieux (Pop.: 430 - 33% Fr.) was settled by families from Brittany recruited by l'Abbé Paul Le Floc'h. The town was named after St-Brieuc in Brittany.

Val-Marie (Pop.: 220 - 32% Fr.) is the gateway to Grasslands National Park. It was founded in 1910 by Father Passaplan, Louis Denniel, François and Léon Pinel.

Willow Bunch (Pop.: 475 - 35% Fr.) was originally called Talle-de-Saules.

It was founded by French Métis from the Red River area. The folk rock group Hart Rouge, which is nationally and internationally renowned, is from Willow Bunch, as well as the legendary giant, Édouard Beaupré.

One of its most famous residents was Jean-Louis Légaré who acted as a mediator between Sitting Bull's Sioux and the Canadian government.

Zénon Park (Pop.: 250 - 64% Fr.) was named after its first postmaster, Zénon Chamberland. A small park, used on Sundays by local people for picnics and play, was located on his land.

Zénon Park was the home town of the well known writer Jean Ferron .

Urbanization

As is the case in many rural communities in Saskatchewan, a large part of the population of Francophone villages has moved to major urban centres. In cities like Regina, Saskatoon, North Battleford and Prince Albert, Francophones have developed organizations that help them promote cultural, social, political and economic activities.

Many Fransaskois living in urban settings are working toward implementing Francophone School and Community Centres. These centres would regroup Francophones around a community centre joined to a Fransaskois school.

Other communities:
Many other communities across the province owe their existence to the work of Francophone pioneers. Among them are Cochin, Delmas, Ferland, Laflèche, Léoville, Lisieux, Périgord, Saint-Denis, Saint-Front, Saint-Victor, Victoire, Vonda...

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