Canadian bilingualism is “a myth” outside of Quebec, which is the only province to adhere to it.
A Léger survey carried out for The Canadian Press vividly illustrates the divide between what has often been called the two solitudes when we compare the results obtained in Quebec to those in the rest of Canada, for each of the questions presented by the pollster.
“This question of linguistic duality is a relevant question in Quebec, but it is an issue that is either limited or even relatively absent in the rest of Canada,” notes Sébastien Poitras, vice-president of public affairs at Léger .
In fact, Quebec distorts all the results obtained. For example, when Canadians are asked if they think Canada’s official bilingualism is positive, the overall result shows that 43% of Canadians think yes and 18% think no. Except that this positive response comes from 70% of Quebecers, while only 35% of respondents from other provinces are of this opinion, a proportion which drops to 23% in Alberta. This province, as well as Manitoba and Saskatchewan, have the most negative perception of bilingualism whatever the question.
Indifference in the rest of Canada
In contrast, only 11% of Quebecers offered a negative response, compared to 20% of other Canadians. In fact, 39% of respondents from other provinces said they were indifferent to official bilingualism.
When asked if it is important for Canada to remain officially bilingual, Quebecers overwhelmingly support this proposal, at 83%, while a majority (51%) of Canadians from other provinces believe not.
“The two solitudes expressed in a survey, that’s it,” confirms Sébastien Poitras. This value put forward by the Government of Canada, that we are a country with two official languages, therefore the coast-to-coast bilingualism, it is a myth that has no support in the rest of Canada. Adherence to this kind of myth is in Quebec, it exists among Quebecers, but not in the rest of Canada. »
Quebecers in favor of a bilingual Quebec
A surprising response from Quebec comes when respondents are told that New Brunswick is the only officially bilingual province and asked if the other provinces should be as well: 60% of respondents from Quebec say that yes, compared to only 22% who believe the opposite. In the rest of Canada, half of respondents (49%) said no and only a quarter agreed.
To be certain of the response of Quebecers, the pollster specifically asked respondents if their province of residence should be bilingual and, even if the proportion decreases a little, 55% of Quebecers answer yes and only 37% answer in the negative. Unsurprisingly, in the other provinces excluding New Brunswick, the no vote wins hands down at 59% compared to only 22% who would agree with this idea.
Furthermore, after specifying that French is the only official language of Quebec, when Canadians from other provinces were asked whether Quebec should be officially bilingual, two-thirds of them (65%) answered yes.
Bilingualism “to satisfy a minority”
When it comes to bilingualism and Canadian identity, 60% of Quebecers believe that bilingualism is at the heart of Canadian identity. As for the rest of Canada, half (49%) respond on the contrary that “Canada’s official bilingualism exists only to satisfy a minority”.
“We have seen that, for the rest of Canada, people do not see Canada’s official bilingualism as something positive. It leaves them indifferent at best. Then when we ask the question about the importance of Canada’s official bilingualism, among English speakers, a little more than half tell us that it is not important. So what is it for? It serves to satisfy the minority, that is to say the French speakers,” explains Mr. Poitras.
As for the place of French in Canada and Quebec, two-thirds (65%) of Quebecers believe that the proportion of French-speakers in Canada has decreased, a perception that is only shared by a third (32%) of other Canadians. .
Survival of French: opposing perceptions
Only one in five Canadians outside Quebec (19%) believe that the survival of French is threatened in Canada, compared to 70% of Quebecers. As for the survival of English in the country, only 5% of Quebecers believe it is threatened, compared to 22% of other Canadians.
The same question, at the Quebec level, shows that 63% of Quebecers are of the opinion that the survival of French is threatened in Quebec, compared to only 11% of other Canadians. In contrast, nearly four in ten Canadians living outside Quebec (38%) believe that the survival of English is threatened in Quebec, while only 17% of Quebecers hold this opinion.
According to Sébastien Poitras, this idea of a threat to the survival of English in Quebec emanates from the English Canadian media’s treatment of linguistic laws in Quebec. “The laws to protect the French language, in fact, they see more as something that will harm English in Quebec. Hence their perception that English is threatened in Quebec. They don’t necessarily see it through the lens where these laws are there precisely to protect French. For them, these are more laws that will harm English expression. »
The Léger survey was conducted online with 1,536 respondents between June 14 and 17, 2024. The polling firm specifies that for comparison purposes, a probability sample of this size on a Canadian scale would have a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5%, 19 times out of 20.
The sum of the responses reported above is less than 100%, the difference being, in most cases, the proportion of those who responded “don’t know”.