English-speaking Quebecer

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The Arcade Fire: Montreal Indie Band
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The Arcade Fire: Montreal Indie Band

English-speaking Quebecers (also Anglo-Quebeckers, English Quebecker, or Anglophone Quebecker) are English-speaking (anglophone) residents of the primarily French-speaking Canadian province of Quebec. The English-speaking community in Quebec constitutes an official linguistic minority population under Canadian law. [1] According to the 2001 Canadian census, there are 918,955 English-speaking people living in Quebec, constituting 12.9% of the population.

Contents

[edit] Communities

[edit] Montreal

The English-speaking community of Montreal is extremely diverse. A large proportion of Quebec's English-speaking population resides in or near Montreal. Most reside on the Island of Montreal, particularly in the West Island and in the western half of Montreal's urban core, where there is a well-established network of English-language educational, social, economic, cultural and medical institutions. Some suburbs north, south and west of the Island have significant English-speaking populations.

The earliest English-speaking Quebecers arrived in Montreal at the beginning of the British regime in the late 1700's. American merchants, United Empire Loyalists and Anglo-Scot Protestants founded Quebec's public and private English-language institutions and would represent Quebec's elite financial and merchant classes up until the 1950's. They were joined later by Irish Catholics, who established their working class schools, churches and hospitals in the mid-1800's. As a result, separate English-language confessional (Protestant and Catholic) school systems emerged that would be guaranteed in the British North America Act in 1867. These school boards have only recently been merged into English boards. The contribution of these founding communities is recognized along with that of the original French settlers on the flag of Montreal. An English-speaking African-Canadian community grew in the 1860's with the coming of the railway industry centered in Montreal, settling in Little Burgundy and Saint-Henri. Other communities were also present from the earliest years of English presence.

Schwartz's Hebrew Delicatessen on The Main
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Schwartz's Hebrew Delicatessen on The Main

The early 1900's brought waves of settlers from all over Europe. Jews from Poland and Russia established a large Jewish community, and integrated into the English-speaking "Protestant" schools and businesses. Italian immigrants would adopt the Catholic institutions of either the Irish or French-Canadian community. These and many other immigrant communities would initially settle along Saint Lawrence Boulevard (nicknamed "The Main"), before moving on to more prosperous suburbs.

In the 1950's, more immigration from Europe again changed the face of Montreal. Immigrants flocked to Montreal from all across Europe, bolstering the numbers of established cultural communitees, with a Greek community planting strong roots in the English-speaking community.

Immigrants of today are largely more secular than the original members of the established English-speaking communities of Montreal. Also, a larger proportion are French-speaking than before. However, immigrants from English-speaking countries such as Britain, the United States , and Jamaica or countries such as India or China usually come with a knowledge of English. Certain First nation peoples such as the Mohawk, Cree, and Inuit also use English in their day-to-day lives. These groups blend in easily in a community that defines itself increasingly as multicultural and bilingual. Its dwindling numbers, it's large diversity, its mobility and access to mainstream North American society means that most anglophones in Quebec will identify themselves as Canadian or by their cultural group, and identify as "anglophone" only in the context of Quebec's French-speaking community.

[edit] Elsewhere in Quebec

In many rural areas, English-speaking communities are alive and well, especially those close to Montreal, Ontario and the US. In the late 1700's and the early 1800's, the Eastern Townships, and the Chateauguay Valley were colonized by English-speaking settlers who moved north from the United States; the first were Loyalists (Tories in the U.S.) wishing to remain British subjects after The American Revolution; later, American homesteaders would look north to settle free land just across the border. Immigrants from England, Scotland, and Ireland would further settle these regions in the mid 1800's, as well as the Outaouais region (particularly in the Pontiac Regional County Muncipality), west and north of Ottawa, and in many Laurentian communities. In the nineteenth century these communities were vibrant and wealthy, many towns grew into thriving small cities: Lachute, St. John (now St-Jean), Granby, Victoriaville, Drummondville, Magog, Sherbrooke, Sawyerville. Since then, migration to Montreal and larger cities in Canada has decimated the English-speaking population in these regions.

Many American and Anglo-Scot merchants settled in Quebec City in the nineteenth century. The population gradually dwindled as Montreal replaced Quebec City as a center of commerce and industry. Few English-speakers remain today.

There has been English-speaking settlement or immigration to some degree in almost all areas of Quebec at one time or another. What remains today in many regions is only symbolic as Anglophones have moved or assimilated into the French-speaking community. English-speaking towns in the Gaspé Peninsula and isolated fishing communities the Lower North Shore remain. (See: Language demographics of Quebec.) (See also: List of communities in Quebec.)

[edit] Demographics

Statistics Canada uses census data to keep track of minority language communitees in Canada. It records mother tongue (the first language learned as a child and still spoken), language spoken at home, knowledge of English, first official language (English or French) learned, and Official Language Minority. The Official Language minority designation is used to determine the demand for minority language services in a region, and is based on first official language learned. This classifies members of immigrant groups who learn English before French as English-speaking. For reporting purposes, the census places half of the people equally proficient since childhood in both English and French into each linguistic community. Thus, the true number of people who speak English well is significantly higher.

Number of English-Speaking Quebecers Source: Statistics Canada (2001 Census) [2]
Category Mother tongue Language spoken at home most often Language spoken at home on a regular basis Knowledge of English First official language learned (English) First official language learned (English and French) Official language minority
Quebec 557,040 700,890 1,190,435 3,234,740 828,730 180,450 918,955 (12.9%)
Montreal 408,185 552,610 886,050 2,047,520 653,685 162,525 734,950 (21.7%)
Outside Montreal

[edit] Institutions

[edit] Education

[edit] Primary and Secondary schools

In 2001, Quebec had 340 primary and secondary English-language schools administered by nine English-language school boards (See List of English school boards in Quebec). As in French-language schools, elementary education goes from Kindergarten to Elementary 6 (K-6), while high school goes from Secondary 1 to 5 (grades 7-11). The curriculum is strictly controlled by the Ministère d'Education, Quebec's provincial education ministry, and is generally identical to that offered in the French-language public school system.

The exception is language education. French is taught as a second language in English schools from Grade 1 onwards, and English is taught as a second in French schools from grade 3 onwards. English schools in the Montreal area were pioneers in French immersion and bilingual education starting in the late 1960's. As a result, they offer a range of established bilingual and short- and long-immersion programs. Programs offering both French and English curricula as a first language have recently been approved by the Ministère d'Education and are increasingly popular. English immersion programs are less common in French-language public schools.

Many English-speaking Quebecers also opt to send their children to French-language schools. As a result, programs to integrate English-speaking chidren into a French-speaking milieu (particlarly in English-speaking areas on the West Island) are increasingly popular in French school boards.

In a addition to the public system, there are many private schools offering instruction in English. These include schools serving religious and cultural communities. Quebec subsidizes 50% of the tuition at many semi-private institutions on the condition that they offer the provinical curriculum.

Access to English-language public and semi-private education is restricted by provincial law to children who have at least one parent educated in English in Canada. Temporary residents of Quebec and English-speaking immigrants whose children have special learning needs may apply to the Ministère d'Education for permission to enter these schools. (see Charter of the French Language). Access to private schools is open to anyone who can afford the tuition.

[edit] Post-secondary Education

[edit] CEGEP
Dawson College CEGEP, Montreal
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Dawson College CEGEP, Montreal

Quebec has a system of tuition-free community colleges called CEGEPs. They offer 3-year career certification programs and 2-year pre-University programs. In addition to courses in their specialty, students must take core courses in English literature, humanities, and French.

There are eight English CEGEPs open to all Quebec residents:

[edit] University
McGill University, Montreal
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McGill University, Montreal

There are also three universities where the primary language of instruction is English.

They offer 3-year undergraduate programs for Quebec students graduating from CEGEP. They also offer standard 4-year programs to students from all over Canada, North America, and the world. Tution is 85% subsidized by the Quebec government for Queebc residents. Canadian students must pay differential tuition fees based on the Canadian average. Foreign students must pay the full cost of their tuition, although Quebec has signed reciprocal agreements with some jurisdictions such as France, Belgium, Bavaria, and Catalonia allowing students to pay local Quebec tuition rates. Concordia offers instruction in French, and assignments and exams and assignments may be done in French at all universities.

[edit] Health Care

Montreal has several English-language hospitals that offer multilingual services, including service in French:

Outside Montreal, some hospitals also provide services in English.

[edit] Culture

Culture in English-speaking Quebec tends to blend in seemlessly with the Canadian and North American mainstream. Unlike their French-speaking neighbours who identify culturally with Quebec, English-speaking Quebecers identify culturally as Canadian or North American. As a result, English-speaking Quebecers are mobile and look outward from Quebec to support their cultural identity. The result is only partial assimilation into mainstream Quebec cultural institutions.

[edit] Festivals

Cultural festivals in Montreal tend to be multi-lingual and multicultural and attract both English and French-speaking Quebecers. However, many festivals have a strong English-speaking flavor to them. The Montreal Irish community's organizes an immensely popular Saint Patrick's Day Parade attracts huge numbers of anglophones every March. The Just for Laughs international Comedey festival runs English language shows that feature top international stars parallel to French language shows. Fringe Theater festivals originated at English-language universities and also tend to cater to English-speaking audiences and tastes.

Outside Montreal, country festivals in areas originally settled by English-speakers such as the Brome and Ormstown Fairs are organized and run by rural anglophones.

[edit] Arts

Oscar Peterson: Jazz Musician
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Oscar Peterson: Jazz Musician

There are several amateur and professional theatre companies, notably the Centaur Theatre. Since 1989, the Quebec Drama Federation has represented the English-language milieu in Quebec.

Since 1998, the Quebec Writers' Federation has represented the interests of English-language writers in Quebec and distributes the QWF awards. The federation grew out of the Quebec Society for the Promotion of English Language Literature and the Federation of English Writers of Quebec. There are 16 publishing houses in Quebec.

English-speaking Montreal also supports a strong independent music industry that is somehat distinct from the local French scene.

In the Montreal area, Quebecers have access to a wide range of English-language cultural activities and "goods" such as record stores, bookstores, cinemas, museums, concerts etc. Outside Montreal, the resources are more scarce.

[edit] Media

Most English-language media come from outside the province. Most local English-language media are based in the Montreal area.

Television: The province's English television stations are CBMT (CBC), CFCF (CTV), CKMI (Global) and CJNT (CH). CKMI is officially licensed to Quebec City, with a rebroadcaster in Montreal; however, its actual operations are in Montreal. CJNT airs multilingual programming in addition to the CH prime time schedule. These stations are available on cable throughout the province. Anglophones in the Outaouais region are served by English stations from Ottawa. Southern Quebec is also served by American network affiliates from Vermont and New York's North Country who actually depend on the Montreal market for most of their revenue. The Burlington, VT stations are WCAX (CBS), WVNY (ABC), WFFF(Fox), and Vermont Public Television(PBS). The Plattsburgh, NY stations are WPTZ (NBC) and WCFE (PBS). These stations are carried on Montreal-area cable networks, along with other English and French language cable station. (See Multichannel television in Canada. Western Montreal carries more English language programming to better serve the large English-speaking market.

Offices of The Gazette on Saint Catherine Street in Montreal
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Offices of The Gazette on Saint Catherine Street in Montreal

Radio: English radio stations in Montreal include AM stations CKGM (sports), CJAD (news/talk) and CINW (940 Montreal), and FM outlets CBME (CBC Radio One), CKUT (campus radio from McGill University), CFQR (Q92, adult contemporary}, CJFM (Mix96, hot AC), CBM-FM (CBC Radio Two) and CHOM (rock). Listeners in Sherbrooke, Lennoxville and the Eastern Townships are served by CBC Radio One and CBC Radio Two, a CJAD rebroadcast transmitter, and the Bishop's University station CJMQ. CBC Radio One is also available in many other Quebec communities. Parts of the province also receive English-language signals from Ontario, New Brunswick, New York or New England. However, no community in the province besides Montreal has an English commercial station.

Newspapers and periodicals: Quebec has two English-language daily newspapers: the large Montreal Gazette, and the small Sherbrooke Record, a local newspaper for the Eastern Townships. Many smaller communities in Quebec also have English-language weekly papers, including The Equity in Shawville, the Stanstead Journal in Stanstead, The First Informer in the Magdalen Islands, The Gleaner in Huntingdon, the Quebec Chronicle-Telegraph in Quebec City, SPEC in the Gaspé region, the West Quebec Post in Buckingham, the Aylmer Bulletin in Aylmer and the Townships Sun in Lennoxville, the Suburban and the Chronicle in the West Island of Montreal. Montreal also has two English alternative weeklies, Hour and Mirror. Maisonneuve is a culturally literate bimonthly general-interest English-language magazine published in Montreal.

[edit] Recognised rights

Quebec's language regulations have at times been the centre of controversy. See Legal dispute over Quebec's language policy. Regardless of legally recognized rights, the practice in long-established institutions has often been to provide more service than what rights alone would dictate. On the other hand, a long-term trend toward providing even less service than what rights call for has been observed, especially in cases when the service-providing entity is newly created; the only recourse being to sue for redress.

[edit] Federal

  • Since 1867, Section 133 of the Constitutional Act, 1867, has made the use of French and English possible for any person in the debates of the houses of the Parliament of Canada and the Legislature of Quebec and has made it mandatory for the records and journals of those houses. It also gives any person the right to plead in either English or French in any of the Courts of Quebec. Finally, the acts of the Parliament of Canada and of the Legislature of Quebec must be printed and published in both English and French. (The same is not true for all other provinces.) N.B. New Brunswick was made officially bilingual by the Canada Act of 1982.
  • Since 1982, Section 23 of the Canadian constitution recognizes educational rights to members of the linguistic minority of each province. For example, citizens of Canada whose home language is English have the right to have their children receive primary and secondary school instruction in English in Quebec. (Francophones have corresponding rights in the other provinces.)

[edit] Provincial

  • Since 1993, Sections 73 and 76 of the Charter of the French Language has protected and expanded the constitutional rights of the English-speaking minority of Quebec. The original 1977 charter recognized the rights of Quebec children who had at least one parent educated in English in Quebec to be educated in the publicly funded education system or the subsidized private system. English-speaking Canadian parents from outside Quebec had to send their children to French schools like all other Quebecers.

The introduction of educational rights for linguistic minorities in the 1982 Canadian constitution invalidated Chapter VIII of the charter. In 1993, the charter was amended to comply with the various rulings of the Supreme Court of Canada.

In addition to the rights guaranteed by the constitution of Canada, the various regulations passed under the charter recognize other linguistic rights of Quebec anglophones. Quebecers have the right to receive services in English from all public health care and social service institutions in Quebec, although there is considerable controversy as to whether this is in fact the case. The charter also permits bilingual status to cities, but only those with a majority of English mother-tongue residents; other cities are not required to provide services in English but usually do if a significant minority of the population is English-speaking. Ninety-three municipalities offer bilingual services in Quebec.

In 2002, Quebec's French Language Charter was amended with Bill 104, which aims to prevent education received in fully-private English schools or through temporary certificates from producing constitutional education rights. Several court cases are still pending.

[edit] Other political aspects

Following the 1995 Quebec referendum, some Quebec anglophones proposed that the province be partitioned in the event of a successful sovereignty referendum, with predominantly anglophone areas seceding from Quebec to rejoin Canada. This idea was intensely controversial, with passionate arguments existing on both sides as to the legal and cultural validity of pursuing such an option. Some communities (mostly on the island of Montreal) have already voted to secede if Quebec were to declare independence.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Department of justice Canada. Constitutuion Acts 1867 to 1982. Department of Justice Canada. Retrieved on 2006-11-16.
  2. ^ Statistics Canada. Language Composition of Canada. Statistics Canada. Retrieved on 2006-11-10.



[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] English-speaking organizations in Quebec

[edit] Demographic studies

From the federal government:

From the Missisquoi Institute:

From the Quebec government:

Not really studies, but good leads for further research:

[edit] Other links

Images from the McCord Museum's collections

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