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Language Politics in Canada

Language Politics in Canada. Douglas Brown St Francis Xavier University February 2013. Language Politics in Canada: Outline. Canada pre and post 1960 Demographics of Language Inequality Dealing with Linguistic Insecurity Language as Driver of Nationalism and of Constitutional Turmoil

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Language Politics in Canada

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  1. Language Politics in Canada Douglas Brown St Francis Xavier University February 2013

  2. Language Politics in Canada: Outline • Canada pre and post 1960 • Demographics of Language Inequality • Dealing with Linguistic Insecurity • Language as Driver of Nationalism and of Constitutional Turmoil • Current Demographics and Tensions

  3. Key Dates….pre 1960 • 1763 France cedes North American territories to Britain • 1774 Quebec Act guarantees French language and RC religion • 1840 United Province of Canada – power-sharing between French and English • 1867 Confederation – Quebec as home to French majority (minority French populations outside Quebec)

  4. Keeping the Lid On: 1867-1960 • Federal union is manageable • Elite accommodation works • Social and institutional segregation of French and English • French Canadian society is Conservative and anti-statist • Church is a key institution in French Canada • Demographic balance maintained (French share of population is nearly constant at 30 percent )

  5. Boiling Over: The Quiet Revolution in Quebec • Rejection of old values and identity (rural, Catholic, ethnic purity) • “Post-colonial” ideology plays a role • Rise of new Francophone middle class • Significant worry over future of French language • Slow transformation to civic nationalism • The special role of the Quebec state in “épannouisement” of French society

  6. Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism Report, 1965 • Average annual incomes, 1961 census: • British origin $ 5918 • English only 6049 • Bilingual (44%) 5929 • French origin 3880 • French only 3107 • Bilingual (52%) 4523

  7. The Transformation to a Civic Nationalism in Quebec • Declining emphasis on “Québécois de souche” (the original ethnic population) • Language as key remaining focus of identity (if ethnicity and religion no longer) • Embracing a multi-ethnic identity, but “in French” • French-speaking integration as counterpart to English-speaking integration outside Quebec

  8. Versions of the “Nationalist Project” in Quebec, 1960-1995 • Special Status • Deux-Nations (“equal to equal”) • Sovereignty-association (partial independence?) • Distinct society • Secession from the federation (also decribed as “sovereignty” or independence)

  9. Quebec legislation on language, 1972 onwards • Objectives: 1) Linguistic security; 2) Economic and social equality • “Bill 101”– Charter of the French Language -- first passed 1977, amended since • French as the language of work, and an end to exploitation of francophones in Quebec • Reinforcing the French “face” of Quebec • Dealing with the immigrant challenge in schools

  10. Key Provisions of Quebec’s 1977 Charter of the French Language • Establishes French as the only official language in Quebec (applies to all provincial institutions, not federal) • Requires all larger employers to demonstrate that French is the language of the workplace • Requires that all public signage in Quebec be in French only (later amended to allow some English in some circumstances) • Restricts access to English-language schools (if you are an immigrant your kids must go to a French school)

  11. Federal legislation and policy • Defacto special status: • More tax room for Quebec alone • Opting out of national programs • Bilateral deals on immigration, culture, etc. • Reform of the federal public service • Federal Official Languages Act, also New Brunswick • “French power” in Ottawa • Closer Ties to Francophone World • “Québécois nation” declaration in Parliament, 2006

  12. The limits to accommodation • Resistance and backlash to federal bilingualism outside Quebec • Resistance to special status – finds expression in the rejection of Meech Lake Accord • French-English tensions: • Concern for English rights in Quebec • Perceived federal favouritism to Quebec • Legal challenge to Quebec sign laws and other aspects of Bill 101 • Battles for provincial or municipal services in French outside Quebec

  13. Stéphan Dion argument, 1992 • Linguistic insecurity explains a lot about Quebec nationalism and Quebec’s demands within the federation • Episodes of rejection of French status causes upward spikes in support for sovereignty • Key flash points: • Gens de l’air controversy, 1976 • Supreme Court judgment on Bill 101, 1988 • Rejection of Meech Lake Accord, 1990 • ….Vancouver Olympics, 2010

  14. Current State of Affairs • Relative stability in federal-provincial relations • Relative linguistic peace in Quebec and elsewhere • Slow effect of immersion movement in English-speaking community • Parti québécois once again the governing party in Quebec, but Bloc québécois no longer a major force.

  15. Current Demographics • French-English income levels in Quebec now are basically the same • French proportion of population in Quebec slowly rising (now 84%) • Bilingualism and tri-lingualism in Quebec at high levels (Fr =36%, Eng =66%, other = 52%; other trilingual = 49%) • French proportion of population in Canada as a whole is slowly declining (now 23%)

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