Inside François Legault’s epic battle with Quebec’s anglophones

OTTAWA — Anglophones in Quebec say Premier François Legault’s fight to protect French is leaving them “increasingly worried” that they are being “targeted” by their government and feeling “almost like pariahs” in their home province.

Even one of Legault’s former candidates has turned on him.

“I would tell Legault how disappointed I am and how small he is,” said Karen Hilchey, in an interview with the National Post.

Originally from Nova Scotia, Hilchey lived in Quebec for four decades, where she learned French, studied, worked as an interpreter, got involved in local associations and got elected in municipal politics. She was also a candidate for François Legault’s Coalition Avenir Québec in 2018, a party, she believed could bring positive changes to Quebec politics.

She says François Legault convinced her to run in the Liberal fortress of Jacques-Cartier, a riding on Montreal’s West Island, where he grew up and where his mother still lives.

It’s a riding where 65 per cent of the electorate is English-speaking, just like her and, although she was parachuted into the riding, the party hoped to significantly challenge the Liberal candidate Gregory Kelley.

“I regret it. I have actually felt very stupid getting (Legault) votes throughout the elections,” said Hilchey.

She lost in a landslide. But it was what happened next that hurt her the most.

Once in office, Legault established himself as one of the strictest premiers on linguistic issues. Protecting French is his mission, and he won’t back down even though his style is heavily contested within English-speaking communities, but also by some francophones and experts.

In June 2022, Bill 96 was adopted making Quebec officially a francophone province. By using the notwithstanding clause of Canada’s constitution, the government is trying to strengthen the use of French in public services.

All communications with the government must be solely in French and government entities “may” communicate in English with persons declared “eligible” and in possession of a certificate of eligibility for instruction in English, which is issued by the education department. In addition, immigrants have six months to learn French and then communicate in this language with the state.

Legault then cut funding for anglophone universities and implemented new rules requiring students coming from outside Quebec, including Canada, to pay higher tuition fees.

“He (Legault) has always given himself the right to be a social linguistic bully in a legal way. This is social linguistic bullying, harassment and discrimination all in one,” said Hilchey.

In a French interview with the National Post, Éric Girard, the minister of finance who is also responsible for relations with English-speaking Quebecers, didn’t want to react to Hilchey’s comments, saying that he didn’t know her and that she was entitled to her opinions.

“There are points of friction that are amplified. We talk about things that are going less well, but overall, the government has daily interactions with English speakers that go very well,” he said.

A study by the Commissioner of Official Languages of Canada tends to support Girard’s argument.

“As we face linguistic tensions in society”, Raymond Théberge wrote in a July op-ed, “English-speaking Quebecers are in large part allies of French in Quebec, and they encourage the promotion of bilingualism among English speakers elsewhere in the country”.

“Quebecers, both French-speaking and English-speaking, remind us that there is a foundation of goodwill, a way of living together that they express on a daily basis,” he wrote, adding that he feels “a cautious optimism for the future of linguistic relations in Quebec and Canada.”

Todd Hoffman, the president of Brauwerk Hoffman Brewery in the bilingual region of Pontiac near the nation’s capital, agrees. In a region where Ontario and Quebec are almost integrated, he feels both linguistic communities get along well.

But he fears the government wants to break that good relationship. He recently received three written notices from the Office québécois de la langue française, for not having posted predominantly in French on Facebook.

“I speak a little French, and I always have a fully bilingual employee at the brewery. We have francophone and anglophone clients and I take pride in serving them in their language. But I don’t have the resources to hire a social media manager,” he said in an interview.

Many anglophones say they are fighting the provincial government in their own way. Some of them, who speak fluent French, have said they only speak English when they shop or ask for government services. Todd Hoffman went a step further. He brewed a special beer, a lager he called “Resist 96″ and describes as “a beer for those who resist the control of language.” The label is bilingual.

Elected officials told the National Post their offices were swamped by calls and emails from anglophones worried about their services.

Recently, a 31-page directive from the Department of Health mentioned the “exceptional” circumstances in which English is allowed to be spoken in hospitals and other medical facilities.

“The second this whole story started, whether it was emails, phone calls or at the coffee shop, grocery store, people stopped me to talk about this. That was of extreme concern,” said Gregory Kelley, who is the Liberal critic for relations with English-speaking Quebecers.

Minister Girard acknowledged that the controversy shouldn’t have happened in the first place and that communications “could have been much better.”

“Under no circumstances is it necessary to have or present a certificate… to access health services in English,” he said.

But there is a trust issue among the anglophone community that Girard is “fully aware of.” Things aren’t perfect, he said, adding that it is his role to “improve relationships.”

Meanwhile, Premier Legault seems to want to protect French at all costs.

“Whatever indicators you use, they are all decreasing. The percentage of people speaking French at home, in public, at work, whatever you take, every five years, it decreases. I think it’s a matter of facts,” said the premier earlier this week.

Yes, but also no, replies sociology professor at Laval University Jean-Pierre Corbeil. With the arrival of a significant number of immigrants, the French-as-first-language indicator will inevitably decrease, but English will decline, too. In fact, with 94 per cent of the population that speaks French, it seems the language is more present than ever in the province.

“There is no evidence at the moment that allows us to believe that these measures will really have an effective effect on slowing the decline of French,” said Corbeil who thinks French is “fragile” in Quebec.

However, he notes that English speakers are increasingly isolated by the government, and he fears that tensions between the two linguistic groups could rise.

“I think that the strategies adopted by the government have, in my opinion, contributed to deteriorating their sense of belonging to Quebec society… This does not bode well for the future,” said Corbeil.

Professor of linguistic law at the Université de Montréal, Frédéric Bérard, argues that Legault’s politics of division is unnecessary in a Quebec where most anglophones have immersed themselves in Quebec culture.

“What the Legault government is doing might have been understandable in the 1950s. But today, you disgust the Anglo-Quebecers, but what have they done to deserve it? This is cheap petty politics,” said Bérard.

Speaking to the Post, Girard said he is aware of the criticisms, but he did not agree with the notion that the government is engaging in “wedge politics.”

“My commitment is non-partisan, it is sincere, thoughtful and it is in the best interests of Quebec,” he replied.

The Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN) who represents thousands of anglophones across the province, feels this division almost every day. Its president Eva Ludvig criticizes the fact that the community isn’t able to meet with Legault to explain their grievances. The last meeting was in February 2019, according to the premier’s office.

“You know, many of our people have thrown up their arms that there’s no point in discussing with this particular government because they never consult us and are not interested in our perspective,” she said.

Gregory Kelley says his constituents are keeping their eyes open, closely monitoring Legault’s next moves. Will there be more legislation? Other regulations? He personally doubts it.

“But in all honesty, they keep going further as they try to battle the PQ for a certain portion of the electorate, you know, it’s concerning. Things could get worse,” he said.

For Karen Hilchey, it’s too little, too late. Three years ago, she packed her things and left the province. She now lives in Smithers, British Columbia.

“I could be a nobody in my own country, in a province that I loved, in the city that I love, she said. And yet, I’ve got no more rights.”

National Post [email protected]

Get more deep-dive National Post political coverage and analysis in your inbox with the Political Hack newsletter, where Ottawa bureau chief Stuart Thomson and political analyst Tasha Kheiriddin get at what’s really going on behind the scenes on Parliament Hill every Wednesday and Friday, exclusively for subscribers. Sign up here.

Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our newsletters here.