Québec has long generated controversy in Canada with efforts in trying to preserve the French language within the province. Many English-speakers have responded critically, sometimes with mockery, and sometimes by claiming that the language laws there are draconian.
The most famous such law was Bill 101, which was introduced by Camille Laurin in 1977. The bill made French the official language throughout Québec, in an effort to preserve the presence of the French language in the province. Critics claimed that it went too far, with some even suggesting that it was abusive of human rights for those who spoke other languages. Still, those who advocated the bill pointed to some historical facts, suggesting that, in fact, it was the growing dominance of English across Canada (reinforced by the dominance of English in the huge country south of the Canadian border) that threatened to potentially extinguish, or at least compromise, the French language. After all, French speakers once had accounted for half the population of Canada. But that number has consistently diminished over the decades. When I was growing up as a kid, I learned that French speakers accounted for approximately a third of the total Canadian population. Today, the number stands at 22 percent, which is a significant decline. According to the Canadian government's own statistics:
Canadians with French mother tongue declined from 29% to 24% of the population between 1951 and 1991. In Quebec, their proportion remained fairly stable at just over 80% of the population, while outside Quebec they declined from 7% to 5%.
It is difficult to get a precise gauge of the overall statistics of French speakers today in Québec. Wikipedia states that 71.2 percent are native francophones. That number may feel small, although it should be remembered that there are a significant number of people known as Allophones, or people who's native language is neither French nor English. Also, there are a significant number of people who speak English as their primary language in the province, particularly in parts of Montréal and the Eastern Townships, as well as some pockets in other regions of the province. Indeed, there are more French speakers in the province today than there ever was before. That might sound impressive, but remember, the overall population of the province, of the country, and indeed of the world has continued to grow. In fact, statistically speaking, native francophones are diminishing in the province. According to statistics by the CBC:
In 2021, 85.5 per cent of Quebecers reported speaking French at home at least regularly, according to census data published by the government agency Wednesday.
That compares to 87.1 per cent in 2016 — through the agency has also revised the format of its questions regarding languages most commonly spoken at home since then.
Many French-speakers in Québec have been alarmed that, statistically speaking, French appears to be diminished from it's once unquestionably dominant status in the province. So many within Québec are alarmed, and feel that more needs to be done. Bill 101 may have generated controversy, but it seems to have enjoyed some success in preserving the French language in the province. More recently, Bill 96 was passed with more or less the same design.
Of course, it also is not without controversy. It has many critics, especially within the English-speaking world. Yet, the statistics do seem to bear out that French is, proportionally speaking, on the decline against English in Québec, as well as in Canada more generally. And remember, the presence of other languages than English has largely been quickly extinguished in other parts of North America. After all, French itself was largely extinguished in Louisiana, even though it had an actual presence until fairly recently in history. New York City used to have many Dutch speakers, but the presence of Dutch is mostly seen there only in the names of certain places (like Manhattan itself). In fact, outside of Québec province, the existence of languages other than English is quite limited. Native American communities may have some native languages, but many of these same communities have largely lost the common use of their languages. German, which once was quite common in much of North America, is now spoken mostly in small, rural Amish communities. Spanish is, of course, present and spoken by millions in the United States. But again, they generally do not have the most prominent positions in the business world, nor strong representation in government. In fact, the only existence of a major political entity and landmass where English is not the dominant language in North America (north of Mexico) is Québec. That's it. There aren't two provinces or states where English comes in second, officially or realistically. And the question is whether or not this needs to be preserved. After all, statistics do bear out that French is slipping to English in Québec these days, as well.
But is it possible that advocates of the French language in Québec may abuse their powers and infringe on the rights of non-French speakers? If so, is that really what they are doing? What is the proper balance? And what about outside of Québec province, are the rights of francophones and those who speak other languages being preserved? I can tell you this much with absolute certainty: an English-speaker can generally get along just fine in some of the province's major urban areas - particularly Montréal, Québec City, and Gatineau and the other suburbs of Ottawa, across the river from Gatineau - much better than a French-speaker can get along in, say, Toronto or Vancouver or other predominately English-speaking cities. Are advocates of a French-speaking Québec too conveniently blind to the rights of English-speakers and Allophones with laws like these? Are they truly draconian laws? Are English-critics of such laws, and of advocates of a French-speaking Québec, too conveniently blind and/or indifferent to the dangers of not preserving French in the province?
It is a fascinating and obviously controversial topic. So it seemed worth sharing links to some sites that explore and discuss this topic a bit further. Please click on the links below, some of which I used in obtaining the statistics used in the above:
Some facts on the Canadian Francophonie
https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/official-languages-bilingualism/publications/facts-canadian-francophonie.html
Bill 101 (Charter of the French Language) Article by Michael D. Behiels, R. Hudon Updated by Dominique Millette; Clayton Ma Published Online, published on July 31, 2013, Last Edited on June 1, 2023:
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/bill-101
French, Quebec’s official language:
https://societies.learnquebec.ca/societies/quebec-around-1980/french-quebecs-official-language/
Wikipedia: French language in Canada
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_language_in_Canada
Smaller share of Quebec households speaking French regularly, census data shows Social Sharing Facebook Twitter Email Reddit LinkedIn More than half of English speakers live in multilingual households CBC News · Posted: Aug 17, 2022:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/statistics-canada-language-census-2021-1.6553939
Here's how 23 bilingual Quebec cities and towns plan to challenge Bill 96 "The only way to provide municipal service in a community like ours is through respect and tolerance of differences," said Côte-St-Luc Mayor Mitchell Brownstein. Author of the article:Andy Riga Published Jun 07, 2023
https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/heres-how-23-bilingual-quebec-cities-and-towns-plan-to-challenge-bill-96
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