The Contributions Of Yukon Francophone Women: With Angélique Bernard
Christine Marchand
Christine Marchand was born in 1962 in Jonquière, Quebec.
Christine always liked being outdoors. Her family had a cabin in Saint-Gédéon, on the shore of Lake Saint-Jean. She liked to swim and was a swimming instructor and lifeguard. She completed a bachelor’s degree in education at the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, with a last placement in Montréal. She worked in the field of childhood education for 10 years.
Christine came to the Yukon in 1998 to visit a friend. She planned to stay for one year to learn English, experience the outdoors and learn how to use computers (she did not yet have an email address).
When she arrived, she found work at the École Émilie-Tremblay (EET) as a physical education teacher and educator. In 2000, she had the opportunity to go to Old Crow to teach the Territorial Experimental Ski Training (TEST) program with Father Jean-Marie Mouchet. She then returned to EET as a substitute teacher and worked in the francization program.
Christine likes to go on 10-day ski trips and 21-day kayak expeditions. She is also an avid reader.
From 2012 to 2014, Christine was the secretary of the Board of Directors of Les Essentielles and, at the end of the 1990s, took part in the first meetings of the Education Community Partnership (PCÉ), as a representative of the teaching staff.
In the Yukon, Christine has had opportunities to try new experiences and take on challenges. This has allowed her to discover her strengths and fine-tune her skills.
Suzanne Labelle
Suzanne Labelle was born in Saint-Rémi-de-Tingwick, in Quebec, in 1948.
She went to elementary school in Saint-Rémi and high school in Victoriaville and Asbestos.
She is curious, likes geography and the idea of travelling across Canada.
At 16, she moved to Montréal to take the nursing assistant course.
In 1971, Suzanne, her husband Benoît, and their two children took a three-month trip during the summer to the Northwest Territories, the Yukon and Alaska. The family fell in love with the Yukon and came back to live in the territory in May 1972.
Suzanne learned English when she arrived in the Yukon. When the children started school in 1975, she found a job as a school bus driver. She loved her job, as she was fond of children, and had the same Christmas, spring break and summer holidays as her children. The family went on camping, hunting and fishing trips.
At that time, there was no francophone school, so the children went to English elementary and high school, but everything at home was in French. It was important for the Labelle family to go back to Quebec during the summer and Christmas holidays when the children were young.
The family took part in the 1984 Arctic Winter Games in snowshoe racing and snowshoe biathlon.
Suzanne retired in 2001, after a 26-year career as a school bus driver.
Having lived in Yukon for the last 53 years, Suzanne cannot imagine herself anywhere else and finds the Yukon as beautiful as when she first arrived.
Juliette Belisle Greetham
Juliette Belisle Greetham was born in Whitehorse, Yukon, in 2005, in a bilingual family (French-speaking mother, English-speaking father).
She grew up in Marsh Lake, attended schools in French and English and graduated from the Aurora Virtual School. She took part in events organized by the Association franco-yukonnaise (AFY) and the Yukon Francophone Youth Committee (JeFY). In 2025, she became a councillor on the JeFY Committee.
Juliette also participated in the 2023 Arctic Winter Games in Fort McMurray, Alberta, where she won silver and bronze ulus in archery.
She took part in programs offered by Girls* On Ice Canada and got involved with various organizations, such as Vote16 Yukon and To Swim and Speak with Salmon.
In October 2024, Juliette joined the Board of Directors of the Yukon Chamber of Commerce, becoming its youngest member at 19 years of age.
This experience allows her to actively contribute to the promotion of local entrepreneurship and the inclusion of francophones in the Yukon economy. She hopes that more young people will actively get involved in the economic and political future of the territory.Juliette loves spending time outdoors, exploring her creativity by creating pieces of art that she shares on her Facebook page Juliette Botanicals, and conducting environmental, cultural and political research. She often works as a substitute teacher in francophone, English and immersion schools. She likes working with children. In 2025, she would like to explore social media communication and their impact while producing videos.
Edith Babin
Edith Babin was born in Caplan, a small village in Gaspésie, Quebec, in 1960.
She arrived in the Yukon in 1980. After seeing the name of the territory on a map of Canada at 12 years of age, she told herself that she would one day visit.
Upon her arrival, Edith witnessed the first steps of the francophone community. She took part in the debates surrounding a new francophone school and school board.
Edith worked as a contractor for Les Essentielles and sat on various boards of directors, including as the first president of Les Essentielles (1995-1996), the president of the Association of Yukon francophone parents, a member of the Yukon francophone business community and, more recently, as an administrator of the Yukon francophone Historical Society.
Edith worked in various fields, including coordination, residential construction, plaster finishing and painting. For the last 23 years, she has worked as a teaching assistant at the École Émilie-Tremblay. She had the chance to work in her mother tongue during her career.
She acted in the play Des livres et Zoé, chou bidou woua! in 1995 and then collaborated on several plays at the École Émilie-Tremblay, helping with the sets.
In the Yukon, Edith found a thriving francophone community. She was able to raise her children in French and her granddaughter studies in French. Her family includes three generations who have settled in the Yukon. Edith built a life for herself in the Yukon, and she intends to continue living in the territory.
