On June 1604, Pierre Dugua de Mons, Samuel de Champlain and their fellow explorers were the first Europeans to settle permanently in North America. Their settlement on Île Sainte-Croix (across from New Brunswick) is for many historians the beginning of modern Canadian history.
400 years after this first French settlement, Canadians – from the Pacific to the Atlantic, from circumpolar regions to the Great Lakes, and also in France — are about to celebrate four hundred years of dialogue and discovery.
Entitled Canada 2004-2008: 400 years of dialogue and discovery, the initiative aims to commemorate the cycle of 2004 and 2008 historic anniversaries. The projects in Canada and in France will provide extraordinary opportunities to celebrate, on both sides of the Atlantic, Canada’s emergence as a vibrant, modern nation and to consider how its land, environment, people, linguistic duality and cultural diversity have influenced its growth from a social, cultural, political and economic perspective.
These projects will also highlight the importance of the relations between both countries. France is the second largest foreign investor in Canada, Canada’s third most important scientific partner and a major trade partner within the European Union.
Canada-France 2004 Initiative
For the international dimension of Canada 2004-2008, the Government of Canada has planned numerous activities in France over a three year period. The objective is to tell the story of Canada through its history and to invite the people of France to discover a country proud of its linguistic duality and its cultural diversity as a modern nation. Canada-France 2004 is built around the following projects and programmes:
Canada Vraiment Exhibition
From December 2003 to August 2004, the Cite des
Sciences et de l’Industrie in Paris will host the Canada Vraiment
(Truly Canada) exhibition. Through technology that will allow French
and Canadian citizens to connect in real time, this exhibition will
also showcase Canada as a modern nation, based upon social and technological
innovation and upon Canadian achievements in meeting the challenges
of geographical and cultural diversity.
As an invitation to discovery, this exhibition will be first and foremost a place to meet and exchange. Thanks to the “Cybermodule,” visitors will be connected to meet, interact, work, do research, play and establish a dialogue with Canadians. In the coming months, a network of these cybermodules will connect Canadian universities and academic and commercial centres to mirror-sites in France, to allow a larger audience to enjoy virtual reality experiences and telediscovery.
Maison de l’émigration française en Canada
Chosen to host the Maison de l’émigration française en Canada, Tourouvre (located in Perche, Normandy) is also the birthplace of a number of Quebec families, such as the Pelletiers, Gagnons, Tremblays, Rivards, Fortins, Bouchards and Drouins. The Maison de l’émigration française en Canada will be an interpretation centre, an exhibition centre and especially a memorial and gathering site for all Canadians (and other North-Americans) who have French roots. The centre will also offer lodging and genealogical information.
Genealogical Research
Developed in co-operation with the Maison de l'émigration
française en Canada, the third part of the Canada-France 2004
initiative focuses on a large genealogical research program. Led by
the Université de Caen in partnership with French and Canadian universities,
this program will make it possible to trace and identify a large number
of public and notarial acts destined for a large data bank. These
important resources will be accessible to everyone via the Internet.
Maison Champlain
The venerable, 450-year-old town of Brouage is one of the most visited historical sites in the Charente-Maritime region, welcoming half a million visitors each year. As Brouage is also Samuel de Champlain’s birthplace, it is a places of great historical significance for Canada in France. This is one the reasons why Canada and France have decided to build the Maison Champlain together on a piece of land that was owned by the explorer’s family.
The Maison will house digital archives devoted to the interpretation of the common history between France and Canada. Built in partnership with the Conseil général de la Charente-Maritime, the construction project will enable the general public to familiarize themselves with the history of New France and French politics of the time with access through a computer gallery to all historic documentation: letters, documents, maps — all the documents either drawn or written about New France. The Maison Champlain will also house a research centre on the history of New France.
Cyber@rchives
Under the direction of the National Archives of Canada and the Direction des Archives de France, the project to digitize the historical archives of Canada and France is under way. This project aims to build a common portal offering approximately 600,000 documentary images (manuscripts) and approximately 1,000 cartographic records to researchers and the general public in both countries.
This vast digital library will contain Canada’s entire French history: the last will and testament of Champlain or Jeanne Mance, Lescarbot’s maps, the letters written by the District Administrator and Governor of New France to the Minister of the Marine, treaties and agreements, shipbuilding contracts, fortification designs, civic designs, village cadastres, and business or family correspondence.
Through this project, Canada and France will be the
first two countries in the world to have a fundamental part of their
history — which to date has been inaccessible — completely and instantaneously
available to the general public. Ultimately, it is estimated that
this project will include approximately 2,000,000 documented images
by 2005.
Culture, Language and Books
Last of the six major projects, Culture, Language and Books is a series of cultural events and promotional activities for Canadian cultural industries, from cinema to performing arts, including music and books. These events will also include new technologies and interactivity. Thanks to the renowned excellence of Canadian artists and creators in multimedia, this project will bring to life to numerous innovative and leading-edge artistic productions.
The first major event in the Culture Language and Books series will be a forum on Canadian and French cultural industries, which will take place at the Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie in Paris in January 2004. Gathering business people, artists and interpreters, this forum will be a vehicle for cultural diversity and excellence.
Besides these projects, the Government of Canada has developed several initiatives to support and promote projects from Canadians and French people aimed at increasing interest and participation in the 400th anniversary of Canada’s modern history.
Among these initiatives, there will also be the youth exchange, which encourages participation from young people (between 18 and 35 years old) in all the projects and initiatives taking place in France for Canada-France 2004, such as job training sessions, complementary projects and Imagination, an initiative that uses colloquia, dialogues and exchanges to present Canadian scientific, technological and cultural creativity and raise awareness of Canada in France.
Finally, public events will celebrate the historical
links between Canada and France (e.g. 60th anniversary of the landing
of the allied forces in France) and references to modern Canada.
