A Unique Bilingual State
250 Years of Bilingualism in Canada
A Unique Bilingual State explores 250 years of institutional French-English bilingualism in all of its evolving complexity, from the Quebec Act to the present day, within the broader context of language use in Canada. Topics of focus will include: language minority groups, lived social and cultural realities of bilingualism, language laws, and impacts on Indigenous communities and languages.
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In 1774, Great Britain adopted the Quebec Act, restoring and protecting many religious and legal rights to the French Canadian inhabitants of the Province of Quebec, and arguably ensuring the survival of the French language in Canada. Since then, bilingualism has persisted and flourished; with the adoption of the 1969 Official Languages Act, both English and French are now recognized as legal, official languages in Canada. Over the last 250 years, this cultural and legal bilingualism has become a defining element of our Canadian identity.
A Unique Bilingual State will commemorate 250 years of bilingualism in all of its evolving complexity, from the Quebec Act to the present day. In doing so, it will challenge 21st century learners to reconsider the historical scope of legal bilingualism through the microhistories that have established its ‘place’ in Canadian identity and society. This project will explore the seminal laws and moments that shaped bilingualism to create enduring understandings about its nature and significance.
Anchored by the anniversaries of the Quebec Act (1774), the Official Languages Act of Canada (1969), the Official Languages Act of New Brunswick (1969) and the Official Language Act of Quebec (1974), Defining Moments Canada will develop a commemorative project that will explore the history of legal bilingualism in Canada. This project will address pivotal moments in our shared history, including the Common Schools Act in New Brunswick (1871), the Manitoba Schools Act (1890), Regulation 17 in Ontario (1912) and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (1982). Truly pan-Canadian, this project will explore the history of Canada and its provinces through the laws that have shaped and formed our linguistic identity, marked by protection, prohibition and exclusion.
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Content from our partners
Most recent project content
Section 23’s Remedial Mission
While Québec was wrangling with its language charter’s challenges vis-à-vis the Canadian charter, back in the Rest of Canada (ROC) francophones were wrestling with provincial governments to obtain an education equivalent to that of the majority.
Historical Articles
Oppositions to Bilingualism
A (Very) Short History
As a bookend to 250 years of state bilingualism in Canada, a sober reminder that its status has remained fragile, and been the subject of significant opposition throughout the years, might be in order.
Historical Articles
American Reactions to the Quebec Act
“By the Quebec bill now passed,” wrote one reader of the Connecticut Gazette in January 1775, “there is no reason to believe that if any liberty for Englishmen is to remain, it must be in the North American colonies, where, I hope, the inhabitants will have virtue enough to exert their utmost strength to secure it to themselves.”
Historical Articles
Bilingual Bills: A Graphic Pre-history of Official Bilingualism
This comic dives into the contested history behind bilingual currency and how it reveals issues over language that were reflected in competing visions for Canada.
Education Resources
Historical Articles
The Quebec Act (1774) and Other Acts to 1900
The Fluctuating Fortunes of French in Canada
Tire-toi une buche qu’on se parle. In this article, we adjust our rearview mirror and explore the power struggles, attitudes around national identity, and internal and cross-border battles over the status of French language and culture in Canada in our shared history.
Historical Articles
Section 23
Les Deux Solitudes and Legislated Asymmetry
Abolishing or severely restricting French-language instruction over so many decades effectively wiped out swaths of potential section 23 rights-holders by barring access to French-language education for children of francophone families, making it less likely that they would develop fluency in their mother tongue. A culture was being actively erased.
Historical Articles