St. Joseph's Friary, Franciscans of Canada

The former home of the original Club Canadien-francais de la Colombie-Britannique, 'Au Vieux Quebec,' now known as Maison des Franciscains, is a two-storey, wood-framed house with a shallow hipped roof located in the Rockland neighbourhood of Victoria, B.C.

The 'Au Vieux Quebec' House of the Franciscans has historic, cultural and social significance for B.C.'s Francophone community because of its association with Yvonne Fortin-Terrien, a leader in the development of Francophone cultural organizations in Victoria, and with the early years of the Club Canadien-francais de la Colombie-Britannique, later La Societe francophone de Victoria.

The house at 1076 Joan Crescent is significant for its association with Yvonne Fortin-Terrien, considered to be one of the outstanding figures in Francophone cultural society in Victoria. Active in religious and social work, she became Dean of the Dominican Institute of Philosophy in Ottawa and later accompanied her husband, federal public servant Georges Terrien, in his retirement to Victoria in 1940.

The house is significant as the physical representation of Ms. Fortin-Terrien and her husband's involvement in the foundation of the Club des Canadiens-Francais de la Colombie-Britannique - since 1982 La Societe Francophone de Victoria. The original goal of the club was to provide a service society for French-Canadians across the province, encouraging Francophone cultural activities, sustaining the use of the French language, and providing social and cultural support to its members.

In recognition of its importance to the Francophone community in Victoria, the Joan Crescent house was named 'Au Vieux Quebec' ('In old Quebec'), and became the centre for Francophone cultural and academic meetings, social gatherings, theatre and choir, craft and cooking classes, and other French-language activities including the production of a regular newsletter.

Adding further significance to the house are Ms. Fortin-Terrien's other activities on behalf of the Francophone community in Victoria. These included the creation of a French-language library; the establishment of a French parish, Saint-Jean-Baptiste, in 1957 including the purchase of Saint-Mathias Anglican Church; and the founding of the Canadian- French Cultural Aid Foundation of B.C. which offered scholarships to students in the French parish.

The Societe Francophone de Victoria created a prize known as Prix Fortin-Terrien, awarded every year to a member of the Francophone community for exceptional volunteerism.

Notably, in 1961, Ms. Fortin-Terrien donated the Joan Crescent house to the Franciscans of Victoria, the largest religious order in the Roman Catholic church, to ensure that the Saint-Jean-Baptiste parish would continue to be served by Francophone Franciscan priests and brothers. Known today as St. Joseph's Friary, the house has a plaque placed at the entrance by the Francophone Historical Association of Victoria that acknowledges Ms. Fortin-Terrien's dedication to Victoria's Francophone community.