Question Period Note: French Language in Canada

A statement made by the Member from Saint-Laurent during a meeting of the Standing Committee on Official Languages insinuating doubt around the decline of French in Quebec has caused media to react.

• The Government of Canada recognizes the importance of French throughout the country, and in Quebec, which is the core of the Canadian francophonie.
• French is a language that needs more attention. The Federal government, in the Speech from the Throne, committed to protecting French, not only outside Quebec, but also in Quebec, recognizing its particular situation.
• Canadians are proud of our two official languages, which are at the heart of our identity. Our Government will continue to defend and promote them as they are an important symbol of our diverse and inclusive society.

• On September 23, 2020, the Speech from the Throne was delivered. The Government committed to strengthening and modernizing the Official Languages Act. It also committed to protecting French outside Quebec, but also within Quebec, recognizing the special situation of French.
• On November 13, 2020, the Liberal MP for Saint-Laurent said in English "We hear, I don't want to call it a myth, I will give the benefit of the doubt, but we hear that the French language is in decline in Quebec. I need to see it to believe it" at a meeting of the Standing Committee on Official Languages. The opposition and the Minister of Official Languages contradicted her. She recanted and announced that she would like to step down from the Standing Committee on Official Languages.
• According to data from the Observatoire de la culture et des communications, Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF), the demographic weight of francophones in Québec continues to decrease. Between 2011 and 2016, the proportion of people with French as their only mother tongue has increased from 78% to 77%.
• Since 2010, in businesses on the island of Montreal, the use of French as the sole welcoming language has decreased from 84 to 75 %.
• In 2016, in the public space, the proportion of people using French, alone or in conjunction with English, is 76% on the island of Montreal, as opposed to 93% outside the Montreal CMA and 91% in the Montreal suburbs.
• On August 11, 2020, the OQLF published the results of its Survey on language requirements among businesses, municipalities and boroughs of Montreal. According to the report:
o 39.8 percent of Quebec companies required or wanted the person hired for the last position filled in 2018 to have English language skills. On the island of Montreal, this percentage increases to 62.9 percent.
o 23.5 percent of municipalities in Quebec and the boroughs of Montreal required or sought skills in French and English or only English when hiring. On the island of Montreal, 50 %of municipalities and boroughs looked for people with skills in French and English or English only.
o More than a quarter (27.8 %) of businesses in Quebec required or wanted English language skills to ensure oral communications outside the organization. This proportion is 21 percent for municipalities and boroughs.
• For the Quebec press, these data indicate that “to get a job in Quebec, it is better to speak English” [Free translation] (Le Devoir, August 12, 2020).
• Quebec Premier, François Legault, considers it "totally unacceptable" to not be able to obtain service in French in Montreal businesses. At a press conference, on August 11, 2020, Premier Legault expressed concern about the results of the OQLF's study and recalled having already announced future measures to improve Bill 101, under the leadership of the Quebec Minister responsible for the French Language.
• According to the 2016 census there are 26.2 million anglophones (75.4%) and 7.9% francophones (22.8%) in Canada. Specifically:
o 6 890 300 francophones reside in Quebec, while 1 024 195 francophones reside outside of Quebec.
o 29.8% of Canadians declared being able to conduct a conversation in French, a decline with respect to 2011 (30.1%). However, we noticed an increase of 400, 000 people being able to conduct a conversation in French during this period, which corresponds to approximately 10.4 million people.
o In Quebec, 94.5% of the population declared being able to conduct a conversation in French, a little over 7.6 million people, a proportion similar to that of 2011 (94.4%).
o Outside of Quebec, the proportion of Canadians having declared being able to conduct a conversation in French has remained more or less stable between 2011 and 2016, while their number of people has increased by 157 035.
• In 1971, francophones in minority communities outside Quebec made up 6.1% of the population. In 2016, that number decreased to 3.8%. Statistics Canada projections anticipate a decline in the proportion of francophones outside Quebec for 4 to 3% between 2011 and 2036.
• A survey conducted by VoxPop Labs in 2018 demonstrates that 82.1% of francophone Quebecers believe that French is threatened in Canada; 68.8% of respondents believe that learning both official languages contributes to a better comprehension among Canadians and, 82.6% believe that having an understanding of both French and English improves chances of finding a job.
• A survey of 5000 Canadians lead by the Institut Environics confirms that a majority of anglophones do not believe that the French language is threatened contrary to francophones.
o The survey shows that 71% of anglophones do not believe that French is threatened in Quebec or elsewhere in the country.
o Whereas 77% of francophones in Quebec and 71% of francophones outside of Quebec are concerned.
• For some time now, there has been a setback in the promotion and protection of French across Canada. Several provinces, notably Alberta, Ontario and New Brunswick, have begun budget cuts following changes in government. These cuts have had an effect on the francophonie, particularly in education.

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