Little Red Schoolhouse

Ecole Victor-Brodeur, known as the "Little Red Schoolhouse," is an ornamental, one-storey brick structure - painted red - with a hipped roof, bay windows on the front elevation, prominent cornice and a verandah with decorative woodwork.

Constructed as part of the original Royal Naval Hospital complex, the building is located at the Naden Canadian Forces Base at Esquimalt in Victoria, B.C. The building, originally known as Building 20, was designated a Recognized Federal Heritage Building in 1990.

Ecole Victor-Brodeur has historical, cultural social and educational significance for B.C.'s Francophone community because of its original use as an early Francophone elementary school, its association with Admiral Victor-Gabriel Brodeur, for its association with the construction of a new purpose-built French school, and for the inclusion of the French- language radio station CILS-FM Victoria within the new school.

Originally situated in a former military building at the Naden Naval Base at Esquimalt and named in honour of the first French-speaking admiral of the Canadian Navy, Admiral Victor-Gabriel Brodeur, Victor Brodeur School is valued as the first location of a school for the French-speaking children of Canadian Forces Base employees and for the ongoing strong ties between the Naden naval facility and the city's Francophone education community.

Constructed in 1891 from designs by Victoria architect John Teague, the Victor Brodeur School - originally known as Building #20 - is valued as an original part of the Naden military naval complex at Esquimalt, a strategic support base and facility for the British navy in the Pacific and part of a network of bases contributing to the Royal Navy's defense of the British Empire worldwide.

The re-naming of the school in 1977 from Building #20 to Victor Brodeur School is significant because it honours the former Rear-Admiral who commanded the Pacific Fleet during World War II. Brodeur was the first and one of only six Quebec Francophones to rise to this rank, using the building as his residence between 1932 and 1933.

Originally constructed as the Admiral's residence, the ornamental one-storey red brick building is important for being re-purposed over time as a hospital ward for officers and as a military training facility, but most importantly for its incarnation as "la petite ecole rouge" to serve the area's Francophone community between 1973 and 1984.

Victor Brodeur School is significant because it represents the persistence of Francophone parents in Victoria advocating for the provision of French-language education for their children. It is important as the first school to recognize the rights of Francophones to an education in their own language, as embedded in section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms that guarantees minority language educational rights to French-speaking communities outside Quebec. Under this pressure to provide educational services in both of Canada's official languages, the Ministry of National Defense established Victor Brodeur School as a French-language school for the children of military personnel in 1973.

These efforts led to the new Victor Brodeur School, opened in 2007, welcoming French-speaking students from throughout the Victoria area, and providing the opportunity for an education fully in French. These events are valued as a reminder of the ongoing commitment to develop students' Francophone cultural identity, protect French language and culture, and ensure that the provision of quality education in French continues.

Notably, the new school is home to the Francophone community radio station, CILS FM, Victoria. Based in Victoria and on air since 2007, CILS FM is the only Francophone community radio in B.C. and represents the voice of the Francophone community in B.C., broadcasting in French throughout the province and beyond. Providing an essential service for Francophone citizens, including children and seniors, in a predominantly anglophone context, the station was originally located in the premises of the Societe francophone de Victoria on Yates Street and relocated to the new Victor Brodeur School in 2017.

Today, both the former Building #20/Ecole Victor-Brodeur is valued as the location of the archives and research centre for the naval and military museum, part of a complex of historic buildings of nationally recognized significance.