Language Politics in Canada

1
Language Politics in Canada

• Douglas Brown
• St Francis Xavier University
• March 2007

2
Language Politics in Canada

• Canada pre and post 1960
• Demographics of Language Inequality
• Dealing with Linguistic Insecurity
• Language as Driver of Nationalism and of
  Constitutional Turmoil
• Current Demographics

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

4
Keeping the Lid On 1867-1960

• Federal union is manageable
• Elite accommodation works
• Social and institutional segregation of French
  and English
• Conservative, anti-statist French Canadian
  society
• Church is key institution in French Canada
• Demographic balance maintained (French are nearly
  constant 30 percent share)

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

6
Those B and B Commission numbers

• Average annual incomes, 1961 census
• British origin 5918
• Eng only 6049
• Bilingual (44) 5929
• French origin 3880
• French only 3107
• Bilingual (52) 4523

7
The Transformation to Civic Nationalism ?

• Declining emphasis on Québécois de souche
  original ethnic population
• Language as key remaining focus of identity
• 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

• Special Status
• Deux-Nations (equal to equal)
• Sovereignty-association (partial independence?)
• Distinct society
• Secession from the federation (independence)

9
Legislating language, 1972 onwards

• Trying to achieve
• Linguistic security
• Economic and social equality
• Bill 101 Charter of the French Language --
  first passed 1977, amended since
• Language of work, and an end to Francophone
  exploitation in Quebec
• Reinforcing the French face of Quebec
• Dealing with the immigrant challenge in schools

10
The Federation Responds

• Defacto special status
• More tax room
• 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

11
Limits to Accommodation

• Resistance and backlash to federal bilingualism
  outside Quebec
• Resistance to special status ultimate
  expression in rejection of Meech Lake Accord
• French-English tensions
• Concern for English rights in Quebec
• Perceived federal favouritism to Quebec
• Contested sign laws
• Battles for provincial or municipal services in
  French outside Quebec

12
Stéphan Dion argument, 1992

• Linguistic insecurity explains a lot of Quebec
  nationalism and Quebecs demands within the
  federation
• Episodes of rejection of French status causes
  upward spikes in support for sovereignty
• Key flash points
• Gens de lair controversy, 1976
• Supreme Court judgement on Bill 101, 1988
• Rejection of Meech Lake Accord, 1990

13
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
• Federalists in power in Quebec -- Liberals under
  Charest
• Bloc québécois still a force in Ottawa
• Parti québécois still Official Opposition in
  Quebec

14
Current Demographics

• French-English income levels in Quebec basically
  the same
• French proportion of population in Quebec slowly
  rising (now 84)
• Bilingualism and trilingualism in Quebec at high
  levels (Fr 36, Eng 66, other 52 other
  trilingual 49)
• French proportion of population in Canada slowly
  declining (now 23)