Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development

ISSN: 0143-4632 (Print) 1747-7557 (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rmmm20

Immigration and language policy and planning

in Qubec and Canada: language learning and
integration
Maeve Conrick & Paula Donovan
To cite this article: Maeve Conrick & Paula Donovan (2010) Immigration and language policy
and planning in Qubec and Canada: language learning and integration, Journal of Multilingual
and Multicultural Development, 31:4, 331-345, DOI: 10.1080/01434632.2010.497215
To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2010.497215

Published online: 13 Aug 2010.

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Date: 28 September 2015, At: 18:15

Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development

Vol. 31, No. 4, July 2010, 331
345

Immigration and language policy and planning in Quebec and Canada:

language learning and integration
Maeve Conrick* and Paula Donovan

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Department of French, School of Languages, Literatures and Cultures, University College Cork,
Cork, Ireland
(Received 28 October 2009; final version received 12 May 2010)
The connections between immigration and language policy and planning in
Quebec and Canada are long established. With the continuing upward trajectory
in levels of immigration to Canada and Quebec the linguistic integration of these
new arrivals remains an important topic. In recent years, Asia has overtaken
Europe as the leading source of immigrants; as a consequence there has been a
further increase in Canadas linguistic heterogeneity. Demographic linguistic data
(e.g. from Statistics Canada) provide evidence that the majority of Canadas
newest immigrants no longer come from a European languages background but
rather from diverse Asian language groups. This article discusses the approaches
taken by Canada (federal level) and Quebec (provincial level) as evidenced in the
various language and immigration policies put in place to support and encourage
language learning and integration among Allophones (speakers of languages
other than English and French). The article focuses particularly on immigrants of
Chinese origin as this group is now the leading source of immigrants to Canada
and Chinese languages are the most spoken non-official languages among
Allophones.
Keywords: language policy; language minorities;
demographics; multilingualism; language choice

immigrants;

language

Introduction
Canadas founding nations concept of Anglophones and Francophones emphasises
the traditional view of Canada as a nation of Two solitudes (MacLennan 1945/2005).
In recent decades the linguistic and ethnic profile of Anglophone Canada and
Francophone Quebec has shifted considerably and this Two solitudes framework is no
longer the widely accepted vision of Canada (see Conrick and Regan 2007, for a
wider discussion of the French language in Canada). Key to this shift is the year on
year increase in immigration to Canada at a federal level and to Quebec at the
provincial level resulting in 19.8% of the Canadian population being foreign born
at the time of the last Canadian census in 2006 (Statistics Canada 2007a, 7). The
linguistic profile of Canada adds further complexity to this multilingual and
multicultural mix: among the immigrant community over 200 languages were
reported as a mother tongue (Statistics Canada 2007c, 8). In terms of official
language status, French and English are the official languages of Canada, while in
Quebec French is the sole official language. This article focuses on the language
*Corresponding author. Email: mconrick@french.ucc.ie
ISSN 0143-4632 print/ISSN 1747-7557 online
# 2010 Taylor & Francis
DOI: 10.1080/01434632.2010.497215
http://www.informaworld.com

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332

M. Conrick and P. Donovan

learning and integration of Allophone (Allophones are defined by Statistics Canada

as persons of a mother tongue other than French or English; Statistics Canada 2007c,
31) immigrants in Anglophone Canada and Francophone Que bec with particular
reference to Chinese immigrants (in terms of ethnic origin, there are no distinctions
made between China and Hong Kong; these are all reported as Chinese
see
Statistics Canada 2009a). Canada, at a federal level, and Que bec, at a provincial level,
offer different supports and incentives to immigrants to foster their successful
integration into their new host society. This article critically assesses the three
principal policy approaches of the two administrations, namely immigration policy,
language policy and integration policy and theorises their potential impact on
immigrants, particularly those of Chinese origin. Chinese immigrants were selected as
the focus of this research as the 2006 Canadian census reports that China is now
the leading source of immigrants to Canada and Chinese languages1 are the most
spoken non-official languages among Allophones in Canada (Statistics Canada
2007a, 10
11).
The issues of language acquisition and integration are closely linked in the
Canadian context, as elsewhere. As a general principle, integration of immigrants
into a new community involves engagement with a wide range of new cultural
practices, of which language is a highly significant element: Integration is
characterised by voluntary mutual additive learning of other cultures. Integration
means a choice of inclusive group membership(s) (Skutnabb-Kangas 2009, 282).
Immigrants to Canada may not be considered
or consider themselves
successfully
or fully integrated unless they are able to converse in one or other of the official
languages. In Que bec, immigrants may not consider themselves fully integrated until
they are able to use French. This article examines three core elements: immigration,
language and integration, which need to be addressed in order to shed light on
language policy interactions between the federal level in Canada and the provincial
level in Que bec. As Chinese speakers are the largest immigrant linguistic group in
Canada, their experience of linguistic integration is key to an understanding of the
process of linguistic integration in Canada as a whole.
Immigration trends in Canada
On the basis of the 2006 census, Statistics Canada reported that 19.8% (2007a, 7) of
the Canadian population is foreign born. Statistics Canada points out that, among
the Western countries that are also major immigrant receiving countries, Canada is
only exceeded by Australia where 22.2% (this 22.2% figure is based on the 2006
census results released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics in 2007; Australia 2007)
of the population is foreign born while in the USA a figure of 12.5% (this 12.5%
figure is from the American Community Survey 2006 and refers to documented
immigrants and does not take into account the many undocumented immigrants
living in the USA; US Census Bureau 2008) is quoted (Statistics Canada 2007a,
8). Rates of immigration continue to increase in Canada while growth in the
Francophone and Anglophone populations has slowed considerably. Anglophones
continue to represent the majority of the Canadian population at 57.8% while the
Francophone share is 22.1%. Between 2001 and 2006 the foreign-born population
grew by 13.8% compared to an overall growth in the Canadian population of 3.3%
(Statistics Canada 2007a, 7). By 2030, it is predicted that deaths will outnumber
births and, from that point forward, immigration would be the only growth factor

333

Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development

for the Canadian population (Statistics Canada 2008,
consequently integration are topics of considerable
population and government agencies and there are
place which seek to welcome and accommodate these
society.

13). Thus immigration and

interest to the Canadian
many policy measures in
new members of Canadian

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Immigration: countries and language of origin

The countries of origin of immigrants have changed considerably in recent decades
and the majority no longer come from Europe. Table 1 illustrates the main source
countries of immigrants since 1981 and over this 16-year period one can easily trace
the demographic changes that have occurred (Statistics Canada 2007a, 10). The UK
was the lead country in 1981; it was in ninth position in 2006, while China, which
was in tenth position in 1981, has now moved to first position overall.
In the province of Que bec the top source countries of immigrants differ from
those of the rest of Canada (see Table 2). The top three sources of immigrants to
Que bec are three francophone regions, in order, Algeria, France and Morocco, while
China is in fourth place (Que bec 2009a, 23).
Immigration has contributed to Canadas linguistic diversity and nearly
200 languages were reported as mother tongue among the foreign-born population
(Statistics Canada 2007c, 8). Mother tongue is defined as the first language a person
has learned at home during childhood and still understands at the time of the census.
Table 3 illustrates the most common non-official mother tongues between 1971 and
2006.
At the 2006 census, people who reported one of the Chinese languages as their
mother tongue accounted for the largest proportion of Allophones in Canada at
16.4%, which translates to 3.3% of the Canadian population. In Que bec, 15% of all
immigrants reported French as a mother tongue, 3.5% reported English as a mother
tongue while 81.5% reported a non-official language as a mother tongue. In 1980,
these figures were 12%, 10.9% and 77.1%, respectively (Que bec 2009b). The foreign
born chose to settle in Que bec at a faster pace than in any other province between
2001 and 2006 and during this five-year-period immigration to the province
increased by 144,600 people or 20.5% from 2001 which was higher than the 13.6%
growth rate in the foreign-born population in the rest of Canada during this
Table 1.
Order
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Top 10 countries of birth of recent immigrants to Canada.

2006

2001

1996

1991

Peoples Republic
of China (PRC)
India
Philippines
Pakistan
USA
South Korea
Romania
Iran
UK
Colombia

Peoples Republic
of China (PRC)
India
Philippines
Pakistan
Hong Kong
Iran
Taiwan
USA
South Korea
Sri Lanka

Hong Kong

Hong Kong

UK

PRC
India
Philippines
Sri Lanka
Poland
Taiwan
Vietnam
USA
UK

Poland
PRC
India
Philippines
UK
Vietnam
USA
Lebanon
Portugal

Vietnam
USA
India
Philippines
Jamaica
Hong Kong
Portugal
Taiwan
PRC

Source: Statistics Canada (2007a, 10).

1981

334
Table 2.

M. Conrick and P. Donovan

Top 10 countries of birth of recent immigrants to Que bec 2004
2008.

2004
2008
1
2
3
4
5

Algeria
France
Morocco
Peoples Republic of China
Colombia

6
7
8
9
10

Romania
Lebanon
Haiti
India
Mexico

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Source: Que bec (2009a, 23).

period. Of the estimated 1,110,000 new immigrants to Canada, 17.5% (cover a

five-year period between 2001 and 2006) lived in Que bec (Statistics Canada 2007a,
15). These facts and figures illustrate that immigration is an important component of
population growth in Canada and in Que bec. People immigrating to Que bec and
Canada come from a wide range of countries with great diversity of language and
culture. While Canada and the province of Que bec face many similar challenges in
integrating new members into their communities they have chosen to approach this
integration in different ways; Que bec has implemented a policy of interculturalism
and promotes the province as a unilingual Francophone province while Canada
promotes linguistic dualism and pursues a policy of multiculturalism. Linguistic
duality is seen as a defining feature of Canadian identity, while the French language
is a strong marker of Que be cois identity (see Conrick 2006, for a full discussion of
the concept of linguistic duality in Canada; Edwards 2009, 38
9; 180
5; Oakes and
Warren 2007, for discussion of language and identity in Que bec).

Contributing factors to immigration trends within Canada and Que bec

A longitudinal study carried out by Statistics Canada and published in 2003
(Statistics Canada 2003) examined why immigrants chose to immigrate or settle in
certain Central Metropolitan Areas (CMA). Overall, immigrants cited two main
reasons for choosing to locate in a given CMA. Forty per cent reported that they
chose their destination based on family members currently living there. The second
Table 3.

The most common non-official mother tongues in Canada.

Mother tongues
a

Chinese languages
Italian
German
Punjabi
Spanish
Arabic
Tagalog
a

1971

2001

2006

3.4
19.2
19.9


0.9
1.0

16.4
9.3
8.5
5.3
4.9
4.1
3.7

16.4
7.6
7.4
6.1
5.8
4.6
4.2

For the purposes of the Canadian Census, the Chinese languages consist of the following languages:
Mandarin, Cantonese, Hakka, Taiwanese, Chaochow (Teochow), Fukien and Shangainese, as well as a
residual category (Chinese languages not otherwise specified) (Statistics Canada 2007c, 31).
Note: This table refers only to the most common non-official mother tongues as over 200 mother tongues
(Statistics Canada 2007c, 8) were reported in the 2006 census. (Space does not permit a full listing of all
mother tongues here.) The table does not total to 100% but is a reflection of each languages percentage
share of the 200 non-official mother tongues spoken in Canada.
Source: Statistics Canada (2007c, 8).

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Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development

335

most important reason behind destination choice was the prospect of a job (14%),
while other notable factors included education prospects, lifestyle criteria and
housing. The reasons given by newcomers (newcomers is the term used within the
report to refer to immigrants aged over 15 years who arrived in Canada between
October 2000 and September 2001; Statistics Canada 2003, 5) for settling in the three
largest CMAs of Vancouver, Toronto and Montre al showed interesting variations. In
all three cases, the possibility of reuniting with family was cited as the most
important reason. In Vancouver, climate was the second most important reason, in
Toronto job prospects were second most important, while in Montre al it was
language, at 18.5% (Statistics Canada 2003, 10). The people who make up this 18.5%
are clearly aware of the language situation in Que bec and are most likely Frenchspeaking immigrants who know that perhaps they would integrate more easily in
Que bec than in other areas of Canada and that the Que bec government will protect
their right to use French. This again illustrates that Francophone immigrants are
most likely to immigrate to Que bec and that language is a deciding factor in this
regard. According to the 2006 census, the CMA of Montre al was home to 60% of all
newcomers with French only as their mother tongue (Statistics Canada 2007a, 25). It
is evident that the language policy employed in Canada and Que bec does have
some impact on the initial immigration patterns of Chinese immigrants. This article
now examines in more detail Chinese immigration in Canada and Que bec and in
particular the language patterns of Chinese immigrants.
Chinese immigration in Canada and Que bec
With regard to Chinese Allophones a 2001 Statistics Canada study which focused on
the Chinese community in Canada found that while most Canadians of Chinese
origin2 can speak at least one official language, the large majority have a mother
tongue other than English or French. In 2001, 85% of the Chinese community
reported a non-official language as their mother tongue and 6.3% of these Chinese
immigrants spoke only a non-official language at home. Among Canadians of
Chinese origin in employment 18% reported using a non-official language most often
at work while a further 4% regularly used a non-official language at work combined
with French and English. Of the official languages spoken at work 77% reported
using English only while a mere 2% reported using French only or in conjunction
with English (Statistics Canada 2007b, 12). Within the general Allophone population
46% speak French or English most often at home; this figure rises to 68%
when Allophones who report speaking a language other than French or English
most often at home but who also use English and French on a regular basis are
included (Statistics Canada 2007c, 9). Generally use of official languages increases
with length of time in Canada. With regard to Que bec perhaps the most interesting
statistic is that in 2001 85% of Canadians of Chinese origin could carry on a
conversation in at least one official language while 15% could not converse in either
English or French. Of the 85% who could carry on a conversation in an official
language 78% could converse in English, 1% could converse in French only, while 6%
could converse in both English and French (Statistics Canada 2007b, 12). Of the
immigrants who arrived in Que bec in 2008, 6.2% originated in China; this figure
represents the fourth largest group of recent immigrants to Que bec. One must
question whether Que becs Language Policy and Planning (LPP), especially that
which is enforced in enterprises, makes it more difficult for Chinese immigrants to

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336

M. Conrick and P. Donovan

be employed in the province, which in turn reduces their exposure to the French
language and makes it more difficult to acquire French. At the time of the 2001
census Chinese Canadians were Canadas largest visible minority and numbered
over one million people; of these one million, only 7%, could converse in French
while 78% or 780,000 Chinese immigrants had acquired English. Where a greater
proportion of Chinese immigrants to acquire French it would be a considerable
boost to the francophone population in Que bec and in the rest of Canada. Also,
given that most people chose their immigration destination based on having existing
family there, many of the future Chinese immigrants to Canada will immigrate to
Anglophone Canada where they have relatives. Que bec remains at a remove from
current and future generations of Chinese immigrants whose numbers and influence
increase year on year. This situation has implications for the linguistic and cultural
composition of Canada into the future. The next section examines in detail
immigration policy in Canada and Que bec in relation to language issues.

Federal immigration policy and Que bec immigration policy

Que bec and federal language policy are part of a wider programme to support and
facilitate the integration of Allophones and other immigrants into their new host
society, however, even before immigrants are admitted to Canada, language is an
issue. The Canadian Immigration Act and the Que bec Immigration Act both refer
to language. The Canadian Immigration Act states that one of the objectives of
immigration is:
(b) to enrich and strengthen the social and cultural fabric of Canadian society, while
respecting the federal, bilingual and multicultural character of Canada;
(b.1) to support and assist the development of minority official languages communities
in Canada. (Canada 2001/2009, 3.b, 3.b1)

English is the minority official language in Que bec, however, Que bec has some
autonomy with regard to immigration and so the federal government does not
actively seek to boost the Anglophone population in Que bec. Outside Que bec it is
federal policy to encourage French speakers to immigrate to areas of Canada
where French is the official minority language. This is a positive action but it does
absolve the federal authorities of some responsibility towards the French-speaking
community in Que bec and leaves most of the pressure on provincial authorities to
secure the French language in Que bec. The Canada
Que bec Immigration Accord
was signed into law in 1978 (Canada 2004) and affords Que bec significant powers in
selecting applicants who wished to settle in the province. The federal immigration
policy did not have explicit demographic objectives but it allowed Que bec to
develop such objectives and issued statements acknowledging the importance
immigration had for Que becs demography. Article 3 of the Que bec Immigration
Act outlines how Que bec uses immigration as an element of its overall strategic
approach:
La se lection des ressortissants e trangers souhaitant se tablir au Que bec a` titre
permanent ou temporaire se fait dans le cadre de la politique gouvernementale relative
aux immigrants et aux ressortissants e trangers. Cette se lection a notamment pour
objets de:

Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development

337

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(a) contribuer a` lenrichissement du patrimoine socio-culturel du Que bec, a` la

stimulation du de veloppement de son e conomie et a` la poursuite de ses objectifs
de mographiques. (Que bec 1968/2008, Art. 3.2.5)3

Que bec and the federal authorities have also weighted selection criteria differently as
Table 4 shows.
Under the Que bec system, knowledge of the French language is the most
important criterion along with training (see footnote [a] in Table 5) and age whereas
under the federal system knowledge of either official language is a much less
weighted criterion (under the federal system 16 points are awarded for knowledge of
either of Canadas official languages while applicants may be awarded a bonus six
points if they have knowledge of both official languages). From comparing and
contrasting immigration policy at a federal level and at a provincial level in Que bec
a picture has emerged of two systems whose variations greatly affect potential
immigrants. Firstly a Chinese immigrant has increased likelihood of success if he or
she applies to immigrate to Canada rather than to Que bec as knowledge of official
languages is worth less in the application process. At a federal level the disadvantage
of not being able to speak one of Canadas official languages is less than the
disadvantage of not being able to speak French under the Que bec system.

Language policy
Quebec language policy
The cornerstone of Que bec language policy is the Charte de la langue Franc aise
(Charter of the French Language) (Que bec 1977/2009). The Charte was introduced in
Table 4.

Immigration points system, Canada and Que bec.

Que bec
Knowledge of French
Knowledge of English
Education/training
Age
Arranged employment in Que bec
Family in Que bec/time spent in Que bec
Work experience
Children
Adaptability
Self-financing
Canada
Knowledge of first official language
Knowledge of second official language
Education
Experience
Age
Arrange employment in Canada
Adaptability
a

Points
16
6
28a
16
10
8
8
8
6
1
Points
16
8
25
21
10
10
10

The 28 points are broken down into a maximum of 12 points for education and a maximum of 16 points
for training. Training in certain fields is awarded extra points based on the need Que bec has for particular
occupations.
Source: Publications du Canada (2010) and Que bec (2010).

338
Table 5.

M. Conrick and P. Donovan

Use of an official language most often at home in Que bec.

Period of immigration
Before 1961
1961
1970
1971
1980
1981
1990
1991
2000
2001
2006

Transfer to French

Transfer to English

24.8
39.2
61.7
69.9
72.0
75.2

75.2
60.8
38.3
30.1
28.0
24.8

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Source: Statistics Canada (2007c, 22).

Que bec in 1977 and provides that French is the sole official language of the province.
Prior to the introduction of the Charte the majority of Allophones acquired English
as their first official language; however, this trend has now been reversed and the
majority of Allophones now acquire French as their first official language in the
province as illustrated in Table 5.
The 2006 census showed that, for the first time in Que bec, the majority of
Allophones using an official language at home adopted French as the language mainly
spoken at home. This 51%4 majority represents some success for the objectives of
Charte; however, it is still a slim margin of difference between transfers to English
at 49% (Statistics Canada 2007c, 22). With regard to Chinese immigrants it is likely
that the provisions within the Charte relating to education and business are the ones
that most impact on their daily lives. Title I, Chapter VIII of the Charte entitled
La langue de lenseignement states that Lenseignement se donne en franc ais dans les
classes maternelles, dans les e coles primaires et secondaires sous re serve des exceptions
pre vues au pre sent chapitre [instruction in the kindergarten classes and in the
elementary and secondary schools shall be in French, except where this charter allows
otherwise] (Que bec 1977/2009, Art. 72). Under the Charte any Chinese parent
immigrating to Que bec will have to send their children to a French-speaking school.
This provision has undoubtedly boosted the rates of acquisition of French within the
province but it may also have discouraged some Allophones from immigrating to
Que bec. Title II, Chapter V of the Charte is concerned with La francisation des
entreprises; Article 135 states that Le pre sent chapitre sapplique a` toute entreprise, y
compris les entreprises dutilite publique [this chapter applies to all enterprises,
including public utility enterprises] (Que bec 1977/2009) while Article 136 states
that Lentreprise employant cent personnes ou plus doit instituer un comite de
francisation compose dau moins six personnes . . . Sil y a lieu, il e labore le programme
de francisation de lentreprise et en surveille lapplication5 (Que bec 1977/2009). An
enterprise which employs 50 or more persons must also submit to the francisation
programme. Article 141 details how the francisation should be pursued. It is evident
that a good knowledge of French is required to work in any medium to large enterprise
within Que bec. This may prove a disincentive to those immigrants with little or no
knowledge of the French language and may deter them from settling in the province. If
an Allophone sought to immigrate to Que bec as an entrepreneur and
set-up business these language restrictions would apply to many aspects of their
businesses regardless of their knowledge of French. Title I, Chapter VII of the Charte
deals with La langue du commerce et des affaires: all labels, public signage, place names
and websites must be in French and documents such as contracts, legal documents,
application forms, invoices, receipts must also be in French. One may also provide

Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development

339

these documents in another language so they are understood by all parties but the cost
and time involved in translating all business documents into French may be
prohibitive for some people and could discourage them from immigrating to the
province and establishing a business there. A Chinese immigrant with no knowledge of
French would face considerable challenges in setting up and running a business in
Que bec or in finding employment in a francised enterprise.

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Federal language policy

Canadian federal language policy has perhaps less of an impact on peoples daily
lives than language policy in Que bec but it is still relatively influential. In terms
of legislation, Canada has two important legal instruments which underpin federal
language policy, namely the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the
Official Languages Act (see Conrick 2006; Conrick and Regan 2007; Donovan
forthcoming; Edwards 1998). The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms states
that English and French are the official languages of Canada and have equality of
status and equal rights and privileges as to their use in all institutions of the
Parliament and government of Canada (Canada 1982/2009, 16). Federal protection
of the official bilingual status of Canada is further enhanced by the Official
Languages Act which was first introduced in 1969 and revised and amended in 1988.
It reinforces Canadas commitment to official bilingualism and states that its
objectives are to:
Ensure respect for English and French as the official languages of Canada and ensure
equality of status and equal rights and privileges as to their use in all federal institutions,
in particular with respect to their use in parliamentary proceeding, in legislative and
other instruments, in the administration of justice, in communicating with or providing
services to the public and in carrying out the work of federal institutions. (Canada 1969/
2009, Art. 2a)

The language provisions of both the Charter and the Act are concerned primarily6
with the official languages of Canada and do not refer to the sizeable Allophone
population. In 2003, the federal Action Plan for Official Languages entitled The next
act: new momentum for Canadas linguistic duality (Canada 2003) was introduced by
the federal government. One of the main aims of this plan was the doubling of
the numbers of bilingual young Canadians. The 2008 annual report issued by the
Commissioner of Official Languages, Graham Fraser, showed that not only did the
plan fail to meet its target but also that official bilingualism among young
Anglophone Canadians actually decreased between the 2001 and 2006 census
(OCOL 2008, 19). In 2001, 24% of Anglophones aged between 15 and 19 years
reported themselves as bilingual compared to 22% in 2006 (Statistics Canada 2007c,
27). The Commissioner is critical of the budget cuts that were made, especially in
2006, but he is still in favour of an Action Plan which promotes linguistic duality. The
Commissioners main recommendation in his 2007/2008 report is the renewal of the
Action Plan for the 2008
2013 period with an emphasis on the importance of
linguistic duality in public places, particularly for newcomers and young people
(OCOL 2008, 29). This reference to newcomers recognises the need to stress the
bilingual status of Canada in order to support and encourage more Allophones

340

M. Conrick and P. Donovan

to learn French. The Roadmap for Canadas linguistic duality 2008
2013 was
announced by the federal government in June 2008 (Canada 2008). The Roadmap
is presented as an unprecedented government wide investment of S1.1 billion
over 5 years, based on two pillars: the participation of all Canadians in linguistic
duality, and the support for the official language minority communities (Canada
2008, 6). The Roadmap concentrates on five key areas to target these two pillars.
These are:

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emphasising the value of linguistic duality among all Canadians;

building the future by investing in youth;
improving access to services for official minority communities;
capitalising on economic benefits; and
ensuring efficient governance to better serve Canadians (Canada 2008, 6).

Its renewed emphasis on linguistic duality helps to underline the idea that French is
as important as English in Canada.
With regard to immigration, $20 million is allocated to encourage francophone
immigrants to settle outside Que bec in minority francophone communities. The
Roadmap does not make specific reference to the linguistic integration of Allophones
but instead concentrates on official language minorities. Federal language policy
makes broad commitments to official bilingualism; however, its commitments to the
acquisition of official languages by Allophones is more opaque than Que becs ongoing
publically stated aim of integrating immigrants into the francophone community.
Que bec language policy is more active in encouraging Allophones to acquire French
but perhaps the main struggle facing Que bec authorities is not teaching Allophones
French but convincing them that French is a language worth learning. English
is a world language and, as a result, traditionally immigrants are often more
instrumentally and integratively motivated to acquire English rather than French
regardless of the measures the Que bec Government puts in place to enable the
acquisition of French. Data from the 2006 census show that among Allophones who
use an official language most often at home 24% speak French most often at home
while 21% speak English most often at home (Statistics Canada 2007c, 22). These
figures reveal that, regardless of the extensive measures Que bec has put in place to
support the use of French, many Allophones continue to acquire English rather than
French.

Federal and provincial integration policies

While federal and Que bec language policies are not focused specifically on immigrants,
both the federal and provincial governments have integration policies in place
to support and encourage the integration of all immigrants. The Canadian
Multiculturalism Act is the main component of federal integration policy. A policy
of multiculturalism was introduced by Trudeaus federal government in 1971
(see Cardinal 2003, for discussion of Trudeaus views on multiculturalism and
multilingualism) and in 1988 the Canadian Multiculturalism Act was introduced; it
was the first act of its kind globally and further reflects the importance of immigration
to Canada. The Act states that:

Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development

341

It is hereby declared to be the policy of the Government of Canada to

3.(1) (a) recognize and promote the understanding that multiculturalism reflects the
cultural and racial diversity of Canadian society and acknowledges the freedom of all
members of Canadian society to preserve, enhance and share their cultural heritage;
preserve and enhance the use of languages other than English and French, while
strengthening the status and use of the official languages of Canada; and

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(j) advance multiculturalism throughout Canada in harmony with the national

commitment to the official languages of Canada
(2) (e) make use, as appropriate, of the language skills and understanding of the
language skills and cultural understanding of individuals of all origins. (Canada 1988/
2009, Art. 3)

At the federal level Canada seeks to accommodate all cultures and traditions, with
the result that Canada is often cited internationally as a model in that area. While it
makes reference to the two official languages there are no official cultures and there
is no attempt to assimilate new immigrants into Canadian traditions. The Act
encourages immigrants to create their own cultural space within Canadian society
and to do so without losing their language or heritage. In contrast to this Que bec has
adopted a policy of interculturalism. Under this policy immigrants are encouraged to
express their culture and heritage but to do so through the medium of French. In
2008, the Que bec Ministry of Immigration published an action plan on diversity in
Que bec which applies from 2008 to 2013 (Que bec 2008). Under this Action Plan the
importance of French within Que bec is again emphasised:
Pour les personnes immigrantes, la langue franc aise est un instrument essentiel de
communication avec les autres citoyens; elle contribue a` rompre leur isolement et a`
accrotre leur autonomie. (Que bec 2008, 9)7

From the perspective of Chinese immigrants the integration policy of Canada rather
than that of Que bec may appear the more welcoming. Federal integration policy
encourages the retention of ones mother-tongue or heritage language and to do so
within the framework of Canadas official languages. Que bec integration policy is
less open to other languages but is also less ambiguous and clearly states its
commitment to the French language. The need to learn French in order to become a
full and active member of Que bec society is emphasised. If a Chinese immigrant
wishes to maintain his or her heritage, of which language is a major component, it
may be easier to do so outside Que bec where the retention of a non-official language
is actively encouraged rather than actively discouraged.8

Language use after immigration

Approximately 25% of Canadas foreign-born population said that English alone was
their only mother tongue; 3.1% reported French as their only mother tongue while
70.2% of the foreign-born population had a mother tongue other than English
or French, with the largest proportion, 16.4% having a Chinese language as their
mother tongue (Statistics Canada 2007c, 8). Use of official languages changes
considerably once immigrants have arrived in Canada. Forty-six per cent of
Allophones speak English or French most often at home while 40% speak English

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342

M. Conrick and P. Donovan

or French exclusively at home (Statistics Canada 2007c, 9). As might be expected, the
use of official languages increases with length of time in Canada. The longer
Allophones have been in the country, the more they are exposed to the predominant
language of the host society and this has a subsequent impact on the language most
spoken at home. In 2006, 19% of immigrants to Canada who arrived between 2001
and 2006 speak English or French most often at home. This proportion increases to
one-third for those arriving in the 1980s. Among Allophone immigrants who arrived
between 1961 and 1970, half reported that they speak one or the other of the official
languages most often at home (Statistics Canada 2007c, 9). Within the Chinese
immigrant community, 63% spoke only a non-official language at home (Statistics
Canada 2007b, 12). While this is much higher than the general Allophone population
it is also worth remembering that the majority of Chinese immigrants to Canada
have arrived in the last 20 years and thus have had less contact with and exposure
to French and English. An earlier census study showed that in 2000 59% of children
of mother-tongue Chinese parents used Chinese as their home language, and,
conversely, 41% did not; this dropped to only 8% when only one parent had Chinese
as a mother tongue (Statistics Canada 2000, 17). These figures illustrate that Chinese
immigrants are willing to converse at home in an official language but the most
recent statistical data show, the majority of Chinese immigrants have integrated into
the Anglophone community with 78% able to carry on a conversation in English
while a total of 7% (the figure of 7% is the total of 1% who can converse only in
French and 6% who can converse in both French and English) can converse in
French (Statistics Canada 2007b, 12).
Language at work
In recent studies language at work has become an important indicator of knowledge
of official languages. Again, Chinese immigrants have different language usage
patterns at work than the general immigrant population. Of the top 20 non-official
languages used at work by immigrants number one is an unspecified Chinese
language; second is Cantonese while Mandarin is in fifth place. While Chinese
immigrants as a group are larger in number and therefore will have more people in
the workforce, proportionally Chinese Allophone immigrants are still more likely
than other Allophone immigrants to use a non-official language at work (Statistics
Canada 2009b, 4).
Conclusion
This article has sought to analyse Que bec and federal language policies and
integration policies with specific reference to immigrants, especially those of Chinese
origin. The federal government and the Que bec government pursue very different
policies with regard to language, integration and immigration and yet both seek the
same ultimate goal: the successful integration of immigrants. The main difference
may be that what the federal government considers successful integration and what
the Que bec government considers successful integration are two very different
concepts. For the Que bec government success is presented as the acquisition of
French by immigrants with knowledge of the French language being portrayed as the
key that grants complete access to Que bec society. In contrast to this, the federal
authorities are more concerned with accommodating everyone linguistically and

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Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development

343

culturally within reason. Chinese immigrants are likely to remain the leading source
of immigration to Canada in the coming years and it will be interesting to observe
what linguistic and migration trends emerge among this group especially in second
and third generations. The majority of Chinese immigrants are first or second
generation; a study of third generation Chinese immigrants will provide interesting
data in the future as the linguistic habits of this community evolve. It is clear that
language policy, immigration policy and integration policy have impacted on
immigration trends in Canada at a federal level and at the provincial level in
Que bec but further research needs to be done to elucidate the multiple and complex
factors, including language, which are influencing the destination choices of
immigrants. Such data will shed further light on whether immigrants are already
aware of and reacting to these differences in policy before immigration and choosing
their destination accordingly or whether their experience of language policy
influences their subsequent decisions.
Notes
1.

For the purposes of the Canadian Census, the Chinese languages consist of the following
languages: Mandarin, Cantonese, Hakka, Taiwanese, Chaochow (Teochow), Fukien and
Shangainese, as well as a residual category (Chinese languages not otherwise specified)
(Statistics Canada 2007c, 31).
2. The term Chinese origin here is as used by Statistics Canada: All statistical information
in this publication referring to Chinese, the Chinese community, Canadians of Chinese
origin or people of Chinese origin denotes those who reported Chinese origins either alone
or in combination with other origins in response to the question on ethnic origin in
the 2001 Census or 2002 Ethnic Diversity Survey (Statistics Canada 2007b, 9).
3. English translation is provided by the E diteur officiel du Que bec: The selection of foreign
nationals wishing to settle permanently or temporarily in Que bec is effected within the
framework of government policy concerning immigrants and foreign nationals. The
selection is intended, in particular, (a) to contribute to the enrichment of the sociocultural
heritage of Que bec, to the stimulation of its economic development and to the pursuit of
its demographic objectives; Available at: http://www2.publicationsduquebec.gouv.qc.ca/
dynamicSearch/telecharge.php?type2&file/I_0_2/I0_2_A.html
4. This 51% refers to the entire Allophone population in Que bec including those who
immigrated prior to 1977 while the figures provided in Table 5 are categorised according
to time of arrival of Allophones to the province. For example, among Allophones who
arrived between 2001 and 2006 and started using an official language, 75.2% used French
most often at home (English translations of the Charte are those provided by the Office
que be cois de la langue franc aise; Que bec 1977/2009).
5. Enterprises employing 100 or more persons must form a francisation committee
composed of six or more persons. Where necessary, the committee shall devise a
francisation program for the enterprise and supervise its implementation.
6. Both make brief reference to Canadas First Nations heritage. Section 25 of the Charter
states that Aboriginal rights and freedoms are not affected by Charter (Canada 1982/
2009) while the Official Languages Act states, The Government of Canada recognises the
importance of preserving and enhancing the use of languages other than English and
French while strengthening the status and use of the official languages (Canada 1969/
2009).
7. For immigrants, the French language is an essential tool of communication with their
fellow citizens; it helps to break their isolation and to increase their independence
(Authors translation).
8. The Charte de la langue franc aise does, however, recognise the rights of First Nations
and states LAssemble e nationale reconnat aux Ame rindiens et aux Inuit du Que bec,
descendants des premiers habitants du pays, le droit quils ont de maintenir et de
de velopper leur langue et culture dorigine. The National Assembly of Que bec recognises

344

M. Conrick and P. Donovan

the right of the Amerinds and the Inuit of Que bec, the first inhabitants of this land, to
preserve and develop their original language and culture (Que bec 1977/2009).

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