Beginning in the middle of the 19th century, the new Acadian elite in New Brunswick sought to better define the Acadian reality. Being lawyers, teachers or priests, these Acadians were better equipped to defend the rights of the Acadian people and work at improving their socioeconomic status.

In 1880, the Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Québec decided to celebrate the national holiday of French Canadians. This national celebration was held on June 24, the feast day of St. John the Baptist. All the Francophone groups in North America were invited. The Acadians received a particularly warm invitation. The great Acadian patriot Pascal Poirier wrote: "This is the first time that Acadians have reunited since the day when Lawrence, under orders from the British Crown, grouped Acadians together in a church in Grand-Pré for the ultimate dispersal." [Translation]

In 1881, following this meeting in Québec City, a group of Acadian leaders decided to organize an Acadian national convention in Memramcook. On July 20, 1881, some 5000 Acadian delegates from the three Maritime provinces and Quebec got together at the Collège Saint-Joseph to discuss the future of Acadian society.


The first convention was chaired by the first Acadian lawyer and provincial Cabinet minister for New Brunswick, Pierre Amand Landry. Among the other distinguished delegates were Father Marcel-François Richard, Pascal Poirier, Ferdinand Robidoux, Father Philias Bourgeois, politician Onésiphore Turgeon, and Father Stanislas Doucet.

The large number of Acadians who participated in the first convention made it the first major public event in Acadia. It was so successful that the organizers decided to hold a second convention in Miscouche, Prince Edward Island, in 1884.

The third convention was held in Pointe-de-l'Église, or Church Point, Nova Scotia, in 1890, and other conventions would follow. During these meetings, fundamental issues concerning the future of Acadians were discussed by commissions. Topics such as agriculture, colonization, emigration, education, the economy and the press were dealt with.

During the first two conventions, the national symbols of the Acadian people were chosen. In 1881, August 15 was chosen as the national holiday. In 1884, the Acadian national anthem and flag were chosen. These symbols still remain today.


Father Marcel François Richard played an important role in choosing the main Acadian symbols. During the first national convention in Memramcook back in 1881, Father Richard gave a speech in which he proposed August 15 as the date for National Acadian Day.

At the second national convention, which was held in Miscouche, Prince Edward Island, in 1884, the delegates decided on the Acadian flag. Father Richard was the one who proposed the blue, white and red flag with a yellow star in the blue field. In fact, he had one of his parishioners, Marie Babineau, create a model of the flag in advance. While showing the flag to the crowd, Father Richard started singing Ave Maris Stella. At that moment, the assembly decided to hold a vote to make this hymn the Acadian national anthem.

Other major Acadian gatherings have been held over the years. In 1955, events marking the bicentennial of the Deportation were held in many places, most notably in Memramcook, Moncton, Saint Basile and Caraquet.