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The Gallup Brain: Bilingualism in Canada

The Gallup Brain: Bilingualism in Canada

by Josephine Mazzuca

More than 30 years after the Official Languages Act was passed, making Canada officially bilingual, 2001 data from Statistics Canada indicate that almost a fifth of Canadians speak both French and English. Quebec adopted the French Language Charter in 1977, making French the official language of that province.

Despite the charter and other efforts in Quebec to preserve French as the main language for that part of Canada, results released by Statistics Canada this month have led the Quebec government to re-energize its tactics to increase the use of French by immigrants in the workplace. Statistics Canada's report indicates that less than half (49%) of immigrants who settled in Quebec between 1996 and 2001 are using French in the workplace, down from 56% in the late 1970s.

Many of today's Canadian adults were exposed to English and French in the public school system during the mid-20th century. This article takes a look back at historical Canadian Gallup Poll data about this issue over that time period.

Support for French in Canadian Public Schools

In 1943, Gallup first asked the question, "Do you, or do you not, think French should be a compulsory subject like reading, writing and arithmetic in all grades of public schools in English-speaking Canada?" At that time, only about a third (36%) of English-speaking Canadians agreed that French should be compulsory in public schools, while a majority (59%) disagreed. Not surprisingly, French Canadians were more than twice as likely (79%) as English Canadians to feel that French should be compulsory in schools in English-speaking Canada.

Fewer than 20 years later, the opinions of non-French Canadians had shifted. In 1961, a majority (61%) believed that French should be compulsory in elementary schools in English-speaking Canada while only about a third (36%) disagreed.

In 1978, almost 10 years after the FLQ (Front de Liberation du Quebec) crisis, which resulted in the Canadian government imposing martial law in Quebec, a smaller majority of English Canadians (56%) agreed that French should be a compulsory language in schools, while 42% disagreed.

Desire of English Canadians to Learn French

In 1977, as French became more prevalent in schools, Gallup data indicated that 24% of Canadians had had the opportunity to learn both English and French in school. At this time, Gallup also asked Canadians, "Do you or do you not wish you had learned to speak both English and French when you went to school, or did you learn to speak both languages?" About half (51%) said that they did wish they had had the opportunity to learn both French and English, while 23% had no desire to learn both languages. A poll taken five years later indicated Canadian opinion on this issue had remained fairly stable.

Canadian Bilingualism: A Success or Failure?

Despite the general support for the idea of becoming bilingual, Canadians have been generally critical of the government program that established Canada as a two-language nation. In 1990, after more than two decades of bilingualism, Gallup asked Canadians, "In 1969, Pierre Trudeau's government passed the Official Languages Act, making Canada officially bilingual. Do you think bilingualism in Canada has been a success or a failure?" A majority of Canadians (59%) said they believed that bilingualism had been a failure; less than a third (31%) believed it had been a success.

Bottom Line

Over the years, Canadians have held varying opinions about bilingualism in their country. The FLQ violence of the 1960s and 1970s has not been repeated in the intervening years. Since that time, referendums have been held in Quebec regarding its possible separation from the rest of Canada, although these referendums have been unsuccessful.

Interestingly, in 1956 (before the violence of the 60s and 70s), a majority of Canadians (67%) believed that if public school pupils learned both English and French, it would encourage a better understanding between French- and English-speaking Canadians. But 47 years later, the jury remains out on whether the prevalence of bilingualism in public schools has had a positive effect.


Gallup https://news.gallup.com/poll/7870/Gallup-Brain-Bilingualism-Canada.aspx
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