During the first half of the twentieth century in British Columbia, French language was considered a school subject to be taught as any other using formal classical approaches. Generally, no specific provincial or local policies existed to guide how French was taught and learned. By 1981, however, British Columbia had developed explicit language policies for implementing various programs, such as "core French," "French immersion," and "programme-cadre." It did so despite the fact that fewer than two per cent of British Columbians spoke French as their mother tongue, and only about one-half of one per cent used French to communicate at home. The discussion in this article reconstructs the historical context and events that led British Columbia to embrace French language as a subject of study as well as French as a vehicle for learning and instruction. Why, from the end of World War II to the 1980s, did the province embrace core French, cadre and immersion programmes? (Contains 20 endnotes.)