My name is Edmond. I’m 42 years old. I was born in Québec but now I live in Beaumont, Alberta. Have you heard of it? It’s a few kilometres south of Edmonton. It’s a small francophone colonyColonizationColonization occurs when one country takes control of another country, territory, or people. It happens when... that’s barely 10 years old in 1905.
How can anyone live on such a large territoryA territory is an area of land, or sometimes of sea, that we can say "belongs"...? Well, you can’t settle just anywhere in the Prairies. The territoryA territory is an area of land, or sometimes of sea, that we can say "belongs"... has been divided like a grid. First it’s divided into large squares, called townships; these townships are different from those in Québec, which are more rectangular. Then, each township is divided into 36 sections and each section is further divided into four parts of 160 acres. The land a colonist receives is equivalent to this smallest part; this is called a homestead.
In general, colonists settle on homesteads in groups, often according to their origin or language, either around a church or the general store for example. In Beaumont, the St. Vital church is the heart of our little community. There are several French-Canadian families living there. We recently got a new priest. He’s energetic and seems very determined to bring other families to the region. Once you’re settled here, you start to forget these vast plains you saw during the trip.
What brought us here? The fertileadjectif pour dire qu’un sol est bon pour l’agriculture. land. But don’t be fooled; life isn’t always easy. The culture here is different from Québec because of the land and the climateClimate is the average and normal weather in a specific place or region. . When we first arrived here I had to build a cabin for my family. Now that my land is starting to become very productive and I can think about selling my surplus at the market, I’ll be able to build a larger and stronger house.
AuthorAuthor - A person who writes something Auteur - Une personne qui écrit quelque chose: Service national du Récit de l’univers social
