Visit the monuments to la francophonie
Caisse populaire Trillium
Monument location:
Desjardins Caisse populaire Trillium
1173 Cyrville Road
Ottawa, Ontario K1J 7S6
Unveiled: October 15, 2007
Bernard Grandmaître, Honorary President of Monuments de la francophonie d’Ottawa
Stéphane Trottier, President of Caisse populaire Trillium
This project was carried out by District 1 of Richelieu International.
The Richelieu Society was founded in Ottawa in 1944. It was renamed the Richelieu International in 1955 and incorporated 275 service clubs in seven districts and in a dozen francophone countries. The Society promotes la Francophonie and francophone culture through sociocultural and humanitarian efforts and youth involvement. District 1 has 20 clubs that cover Ottawa, Outaouais and eastern Ontario.
The Caisse populaire Trillium (formerly the Caisse populaire Cyrville) was founded in 1944 as a cooperative financial institution affiliated with the Mouvement Desjardins, the biggest financial cooperative in Canada. It offers its members a range of high-quality services. The Caisse populaire Trillium actively contributes to the economic, social, and cultural development of its members and community.
The franco-ontarian flag
The Franco-Ontarian flag was created in 1975. It consists of two sections; the left section features a white fleur-de-lys (representing la Francophonie) on a green background, and the right section features a green trillium flower (representing Ontario) on a white background. The flag was recognized as an official symbol of Ontario by the Ontario Government in 2001.
Franco-Ontarian entrepreneurship in Ottawa
Franco-Ontarian entrepreneurship dates back to the early days of Bytown, which was founded in 1826 and was renamed Ottawa in 1855. Starting in the mid-nineteenth century, Franco-Ontarians became involved in sectors such as commerce, hospitality and catering. Franco-Ontarian entrepreneurs have owned footwear companies, hardware shops, grocery stores, libraries, pharmacies, opticians clinics, lawyers offices, accounting firms, etc. The caisses populaires in Ontario were created in the early 20th century, and they still exist today. One of the biggest caisses populaires is the RGA (Regroupement des gens d’affaires de la Capitale nationale), which was created in 1983 and has over 500 members. The RGA contributes significantly to Franco-Ontarian economic development, and its members have a combined purchasing power of several billion dollars in the region. There are also many organizations that facilitate local economic development.
Francophone institutions
Franco-Ontarians play a role in all areas of economic development. This is possible thanks to francophone institutions such as mutual life insurance companies, caisses populaires, the Syndicat d’oeuvres sociales (1912-1983), the Chambre de commerce française d’Ottawa (1937-1980), the Fédération des caisses populaires de l’Ontario (1946), the Conseil de la coopération de l’Ontario (CCO) (1964), the Regroupement des gens d’affaires de la Capitale nationale (RGA) (1983), the Chambre économique de l’Ontario (CÉO) (1990-2007), the Réseau de développement économique et d’employabilité (RDÉE) (1998), the University of Ottawa (1848), Montfort Hospital (1953), La Cité collégiale (1990) the Service de santé SCO (1993), and francophone school boards.