Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found athttp://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=rmmm20

Download by: [Vancouver Island University] Date: 28 September 2015, At: 18:15

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 planningin Québec and Canada: language learning andintegration

Maeve Conrick & Paula Donovan

To cite this article: Maeve Conrick & Paula Donovan (2010) Immigration and language policyand planning in Québec and Canada: language learning and integration, Journal of Multilingualand 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.

Submit your article to this journal

Article views: 1112

View related articles

Citing articles: 2 View citing articles

Immigration and language policy and planning in Quebec and Canada:

language learning and integration

Maeve Conrick* and Paula Donovan

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 inQuebec and Canada are long established. With the continuing upward trajectoryin levels of immigration to Canada and Quebec the linguistic integration of thesenew arrivals remains an important topic. In recent years, Asia has overtakenEurope as the leading source of immigrants; as a consequence there has been afurther increase in Canada’s linguistic heterogeneity. Demographic linguistic data(e.g. from Statistics Canada) provide evidence that the majority of Canada’snewest immigrants no longer come from a European languages background butrather from diverse Asian language groups. This article discusses the approachestaken by Canada (federal level) and Quebec (provincial level) as evidenced in thevarious language and immigration policies put in place to support and encouragelanguage learning and integration among Allophones (speakers of languagesother than English and French). The article focuses particularly on immigrants ofChinese origin as this group is now the leading source of immigrants to Canadaand Chinese languages are the most spoken non-official languages amongAllophones.

Keywords: language policy; language minorities; immigrants; languagedemographics; multilingualism; language choice

Introduction

Canada’s ‘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

Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development

Vol. 31, No. 4, July 2010, 331�345

ISSN 0143-4632 print/ISSN 1747-7557 online

# 2010 Taylor & Francis

DOI: 10.1080/01434632.2010.497215

http://www.informaworld.com

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Van

couv

er I

slan

d U

nive

rsity

] at

18:

15 2

8 Se

ptem

ber

2015

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 Quebec 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 Quebec, 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 Quebec, 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 Quebec. 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

332 M. Conrick and P. Donovan

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Van

couv

er I

slan

d U

nive

rsity

] at

18:

15 2

8 Se

ptem

ber

2015

for the Canadian population (Statistics Canada 2008, 13). Thus immigration and

consequently integration are topics of considerable interest to the Canadian

population and government agencies and there are many policy measures in

place which seek to welcome and accommodate these new members of Canadian

society.

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 Quebec the top source countries of immigrants differ from

those of the rest of Canada (see Table 2). The top three sources of immigrants to

Quebec are three francophone regions, in order, Algeria, France and Morocco, while

China is in fourth place (Quebec 2009a, 23).

Immigration has contributed to Canada’s 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 Quebec, 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 (Quebec 2009b). The foreign

born chose to settle in Quebec 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. Top 10 countries of birth of recent immigrants to Canada.

Order 2006 2001 1996 1991 1981

1 People’s Republicof China (PRC)

People’s Republicof China (PRC)

Hong Kong Hong Kong UK

2 India India PRC Poland Vietnam3 Philippines Philippines India PRC USA4 Pakistan Pakistan Philippines India India5 USA Hong Kong Sri Lanka Philippines Philippines6 South Korea Iran Poland UK Jamaica7 Romania Taiwan Taiwan Vietnam Hong Kong8 Iran USA Vietnam USA Portugal9 UK South Korea USA Lebanon Taiwan10 Colombia Sri Lanka UK Portugal PRC

Source: Statistics Canada (2007a, 10).

Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 333

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Van

couv

er I

slan

d U

nive

rsity

] at

18:

15 2

8 Se

ptem

ber

2015

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

five-year period between 2001 and 2006) lived in Quebec (Statistics Canada 2007a,

15). These facts and figures illustrate that immigration is an important component of

population growth in Canada and in Quebec. People immigrating to Quebec and

Canada come from a wide range of countries with great diversity of language and

culture. While Canada and the province of Quebec face many similar challenges in

integrating new members into their communities they have chosen to approach this

integration in different ways; Quebec 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 Quebecois 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 Quebec).

Contributing factors to immigration trends within Canada and Quebec

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 2. Top 10 countries of birth of recent immigrants to Quebec 2004�2008.

2004�2008

1 Algeria 6 Romania2 France 7 Lebanon3 Morocco 8 Haiti4 People’s Republic of China 9 India5 Colombia 10 Mexico

Source: Quebec (2009a, 23).

Table 3. The most common non-official mother tongues in Canada.

Mother tongues 1971 2001 2006

Chinese languagesa 3.4 16.4 16.4Italian 19.2 9.3 7.6German 19.9 8.5 7.4Punjabi � 5.3 6.1Spanish 0.9 4.9 5.8Arabic 1.0 4.1 4.6Tagalog � 3.7 4.2

aFor 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 aresidual 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 allmother tongues here.) The table does not total to 100% but is a reflection of each language’s percentageshare of the 200 non-official mother tongues spoken in Canada.Source: Statistics Canada (2007c, 8).

334 M. Conrick and P. Donovan

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Van

couv

er I

slan

d U

nive

rsity

] at

18:

15 2

8 Se

ptem

ber

2015

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 Montreal 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 Montreal 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 Quebec and are most likely French-

speaking immigrants who know that perhaps they would integrate more easily in

Quebec than in other areas of Canada and that the Quebec government will protect

their right to use French. This again illustrates that Francophone immigrants are

most likely to immigrate to Quebec and that language is a deciding factor in this

regard. According to the 2006 census, the CMA of Montreal 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 Quebec does have

some impact on the initial immigration patterns of Chinese immigrants. This article

now examines in more detail Chinese immigration in Canada and Quebec and in

particular the language patterns of Chinese immigrants.

Chinese immigration in Canada and Quebec

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 Quebec 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 Quebec in 2008, 6.2% originated in China; this figure

represents the fourth largest group of recent immigrants to Quebec. One must

question whether Quebec’s Language Policy and Planning (LPP), especially that

which is enforced in enterprises, makes it more difficult for Chinese immigrants to

Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 335

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Van

couv

er I

slan

d U

nive

rsity

] at

18:

15 2

8 Se

ptem

ber

2015

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 Canada’s 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 Quebec 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. Quebec 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 Quebec in relation to language issues.

Federal immigration policy and Quebec immigration policy

Quebec 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 Quebec 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, whilerespecting the federal, bilingual and multicultural character of Canada;

(b.1) to support and assist the development of minority official languages communitiesin Canada. (Canada 2001/2009, 3.b, 3.b1)

English is the minority official language in Quebec, however, Quebec has some

autonomy with regard to immigration and so the federal government does not

actively seek to boost the Anglophone population in Quebec. Outside Quebec 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 Quebec and leaves most of the pressure on provincial authorities to

secure the French language in Quebec. The Canada�Quebec Immigration Accord

was signed into law in 1978 (Canada 2004) and affords Quebec 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 Quebec to

develop such objectives and issued statements acknowledging the importance

immigration had for Quebec’s demography. Article 3 of the Quebec Immigration

Act outlines how Quebec uses immigration as an element of its overall strategic

approach:

La selection des ressortissants etrangers souhaitant s’etablir au Quebec a titrepermanent ou temporaire se fait dans le cadre de la politique gouvernementale relativeaux immigrants et aux ressortissants etrangers. Cette selection a notamment pourobjets de:

336 M. Conrick and P. Donovan

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Van

couv

er I

slan

d U

nive

rsity

] at

18:

15 2

8 Se

ptem

ber

2015

(a) contribuer a l’enrichissement du patrimoine socio-culturel du Quebec, a lastimulation du developpement de son economie et a la poursuite de ses objectifsdemographiques. (Quebec 1968/2008, Art. 3.2.5)3

Quebec and the federal authorities have also weighted selection criteria differently as

Table 4 shows.

Under the Quebec 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 Canada’s 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 Quebec

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 Quebec 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 Canada’s official languages is less than the

disadvantage of not being able to speak French under the Quebec system.

Language policy

Quebec language policy

The cornerstone of Quebec language policy is the Charte de la langue Francaise

(Charter of the French Language) (Quebec 1977/2009). The Charte was introduced in

Table 4. Immigration points system, Canada and Quebec.

Quebec Points

Knowledge of French 16Knowledge of English 6Education/training 28a

Age 16Arranged employment in Quebec 10Family in Quebec/time spent in Quebec 8Work experience 8Children 8Adaptability 6Self-financing 1

Canada Points

Knowledge of first official language 16Knowledge of second official language 8Education 25Experience 21Age 10Arrange employment in Canada 10Adaptability 10

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

Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 337

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Van

couv

er I

slan

d U

nive

rsity

] at

18:

15 2

8 Se

ptem

ber

2015

Quebec 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 Quebec, 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 l’enseignement states that ‘L’enseignement se donne en francais dans les

classes maternelles, dans les ecoles primaires et secondaires sous reserve des exceptions

prevues au present chapitre’ [instruction in the kindergarten classes and in the

elementary and secondary schools shall be in French, except where this charter allows

otherwise] (Quebec 1977/2009, Art. 72). Under the Charte any Chinese parent

immigrating to Quebec 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

Quebec. Title II, Chapter V of the Charte is concerned with La francisation des

entreprises; Article 135 states that ‘Le present chapitre s’applique a toute entreprise, y

compris les entreprises d’utilite publique’ [this chapter applies to all enterprises,

including public utility enterprises] (Quebec 1977/2009) while Article 136 states

that ‘L’entreprise employant cent personnes ou plus doit instituer un comite de

francisation compose d’aumoins six personnes . . . S’il y a lieu, il elabore le programme

de francisation de l’entreprise et en surveille l’application’5 (Quebec 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 towork in anymedium to large enterprise

within Quebec. This may prove a disincentive to those immigrants with little or no

knowledge of the French language andmay deter them from settling in the province. If

an Allophone sought to immigrate to Quebec 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

Table 5. Use of an official language most often at home in Quebec.

Period of immigration Transfer to French Transfer to English

Before 1961 24.8 75.21961�1970 39.2 60.81971�1980 61.7 38.31981�1990 69.9 30.11991�2000 72.0 28.02001�2006 75.2 24.8

Source: Statistics Canada (2007c, 22).

338 M. Conrick and P. Donovan

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Van

couv

er I

slan

d U

nive

rsity

] at

18:

15 2

8 Se

ptem

ber

2015

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. AChinese immigrant with no knowledge of

French would face considerable challenges in setting up and running a business in

Quebec or in finding employment in a ‘francised’ enterprise.

Federal language policy

Canadian federal language policy has perhaps less of an impact on people’s daily

lives than language policy in Quebec 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 Canada’s commitment to official bilingualism and states that its

objectives are to:

Ensure respect for English and French as the official languages of Canada and ensureequality 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 andother instruments, in the administration of justice, in communicating with or providingservices 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 Canada’s 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

Commissioner’s 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

Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 339

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Van

couv

er I

slan

d U

nive

rsity

] at

18:

15 2

8 Se

ptem

ber

2015

to learn French. The Roadmap for Canada’s 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:

� 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 Quebec 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 byAllophones is more opaque thanQuebec’s ongoing

publically stated aim of integrating immigrants into the francophone community.

Quebec language policy is more active in encouraging Allophones to acquire French

but perhaps the main struggle facing Quebec 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 Quebec 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 Quebec 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 andQuebec language policies are not focused specificallyon 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 Trudeau’s federal government in 1971

(see Cardinal 2003, for discussion of Trudeau’s 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:

340 M. Conrick and P. Donovan

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Van

couv

er I

slan

d U

nive

rsity

] at

18:

15 2

8 Se

ptem

ber

2015

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 thecultural and racial diversity of Canadian society and acknowledges the freedom of allmembers of Canadian society to preserve, enhance and share their cultural heritage;

preserve and enhance the use of languages other than English and French, whilestrengthening the status and use of the official languages of Canada; and

(j) advance multiculturalism throughout Canada in harmony with the nationalcommitment to the official languages of Canada

(2) (e) make use, as appropriate, of the language skills and understanding of thelanguage 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 Quebec 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 Quebec Ministry of Immigration published an action plan on diversity in

Quebec which applies from 2008 to 2013 (Quebec 2008). Under this Action Plan the

importance of French within Quebec is again emphasised:

Pour les personnes immigrantes, la langue francaise est un instrument essentiel decommunication avec les autres citoyens; elle contribue a rompre leur isolement et aaccroıtre leur autonomie’. (Quebec 2008, 9)7

From the perspective of Chinese immigrants the integration policy of Canada rather

than that of Quebec may appear the more welcoming. Federal integration policy

encourages the retention of one’s mother-tongue or heritage language and to do so

within the framework of Canada’s official languages. Quebec 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 Quebec 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 Quebec where the retention of a non-official language

is actively encouraged rather than actively discouraged.8

Language use after immigration

Approximately 25% of Canada’s 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

Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 341

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Van

couv

er I

slan

d U

nive

rsity

] at

18:

15 2

8 Se

ptem

ber

2015

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 Quebec and federal language policies and

integration policies with specific reference to immigrants, especially those of Chinese

origin. The federal government and the Quebec 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 Quebec government considers successful integration are two very different

concepts. For the Quebec 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 Quebec society. In contrast to this, the federal

authorities are more concerned with accommodating everyone linguistically and

342 M. Conrick and P. Donovan

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Van

couv

er I

slan

d U

nive

rsity

] at

18:

15 2

8 Se

ptem

ber

2015

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

Quebec 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 followinglanguages: Mandarin, Cantonese, Hakka, Taiwanese, Chaochow (Teochow), Fukien andShangainese, 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 informationin this publication referring to Chinese, the Chinese community, Canadians of Chineseorigin or people of Chinese origin denotes those who reported Chinese origins either aloneor in combination with other origins in response to the question on ethnic origin inthe 2001 Census or 2002 Ethnic Diversity Survey’ (Statistics Canada 2007b, 9).

3. English translation is provided by the Editeur officiel du Quebec: ‘The selection of foreignnationals wishing to settle permanently or temporarily in Quebec is effected within theframework of government policy concerning immigrants and foreign nationals. Theselection is intended, in particular, (a) to contribute to the enrichment of the socioculturalheritage of Quebec, to the stimulation of its economic development and to the pursuit ofits demographic objectives’; Available at: http://www2.publicationsduquebec.gouv.qc.ca/dynamicSearch/telecharge.php?type�2&file�/I_0_2/I0_2_A.html

4. This 51% refers to the entire Allophone population in Quebec including those whoimmigrated prior to 1977 while the figures provided in Table 5 are categorised accordingto time of arrival of Allophones to the province. For example, among Allophones whoarrived between 2001 and 2006 and started using an official language, 75.2% used Frenchmost often at home (English translations of the Charte are those provided by the Officequebecois de la langue francaise; Quebec 1977/2009).

5. Enterprises employing 100 or more persons must form a francisation committeecomposed of six or more persons. Where necessary, the committee shall devise afrancisation program for the enterprise and supervise its implementation.

6. Both make brief reference to Canada’s First Nations heritage. Section 25 of the Charterstates that ‘Aboriginal rights and freedoms are not affected by Charter’ (Canada 1982/2009) while the Official Languages Act states, ‘The Government of Canada recognises theimportance of preserving and enhancing the use of languages other than English andFrench 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 theirfellow citizens; it helps to break their isolation and to increase their independence(Authors’ translation).

8. The Charte de la langue francaise does, however, recognise the rights of First Nationsand states ‘L’Assemblee nationale reconnaıt aux Amerindiens et aux Inuit du Quebec,descendants des premiers habitants du pays, le droit qu’ils ont de maintenir et dedevelopper leur langue et culture d’origine’. ‘The National Assembly of Quebec recognises

Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 343

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Van

couv

er I

slan

d U

nive

rsity

] at

18:

15 2

8 Se

ptem

ber

2015

the right of the Amerinds and the Inuit of Quebec, the first inhabitants of this land, topreserve and develop their original language and culture’ (Quebec 1977/2009).

References

Australia. 2007. 2006 census quick stats: Person characteristics. Canberra: Australian Bureauof Statistics. http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/prenav/ProductSelect?newproducttype�QuickStats&btnSelectProduct�View�QuickStats�%3E&collection�Census&period�2006&areacode�0&geography�&method�&productlabel�&producttype�&topic�&navmapdisplayed�true&javascript�true&breadcrumb�LP&topholder�0&leftholder�0&currentaction�201&action�401&textversion�false (accessed April 21, 2010).

Canada. 1969/2009. Official Languages Act. Ottawa: Department of Justice.Canada. 1982/2009. Canadian charter of rights and freedoms. Ottawa: Department of Justice.Canada. 1988/2009. Canadian Multiculturalism Act. Ottawa: Department of Justice.Canada. 2001/2009. Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. Ottawa: Department of Justice.Canada. 2003. The next act: New momentum for Canada’s linguistic duality � the action

plan for Canada’s official languages. Ottawa: Government of Canada. http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/205/301/pco-bcp/website/06-07-27/www.pco-bcp.gc.ca/olo/docs/action/actionplan_e.pdf (accessed April 21, 2010).

Canada. 2004. The Canada�Quebec accord. Ottawa: Library of Parliament. http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/library/PRBpubs/bp252-e.pdf (accessed April 21, 2010).

Canada. 2008. Roadmap for Canada’s linguistic duality 2008�2013. Ottawa: Government ofCanada. http://www.pch.gc.ca/pgm/slo-ols/pubs/08-13-LDL/08-13-LDL-eng.pdf (accessedApril 21, 2010).

Canada. 2010. Skilled workers and professions: Who can apply � six selection factors and passmark. Ottawa: Citizenship and Immigration. http://www.cic.gc.ca/English/immigrate/skilled/apply-factors.asp (accessed April 26, 2010).

Cardinal, L. 2003. Difficult citizenship: Pierre Elliott Trudeau and the politics of recognition inCanada. Dublin: Faculty of Arts, University College Dublin.

Conrick, M. 2006. The challenges of linguistic duality for Francophone Canada: Contact,conflict and continuity. International Journal of Francophone Studies 9, no. 3: 311�28.

Conrick, M., and V. Regan. 2007. French in Canada: Language issues. Oxford, Bern, Berlin,Bruxelles, Frankfurt am Main, New York, Wien: Peter Lang.

Donovan, P. Forthcoming. Language policy and planning in the context of immigration inCanada and Quebec. Central European Journal of Canadian Studies.

Edwards, J. 1998. Language in Canada. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Edwards, J. 2009. Language and identity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.MacLennan, H. 1945/2005. Two solitudes. Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University

Press.Oakes, L., and J. Warren. 2007. Language, citizenship and identity in Quebec. New York:

Palgrave Macmillan.Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages. 2008. Annual report, 2007�2008. Ottawa:

Minister of Public Works and Government Services. http://www.ocol-clo.gc.ca/docs/e/2007_08_e.pdf (accessed April 27, 2010).

Quebec. 1968/2008. Loi sur l’immigration au Quebec [Immigration Act in Quebec]. Quebec:Editeur officiel du Quebec.

Quebec. 1977/2009. Charte de la langue francaise [Charter of the French Language]. Quebec:Editeur officiel du Quebec. http://www.oqlf.gouv.qc.ca/charte/charte/index.html (Availablein English at: http://www.oqlf.gouv.qc.ca/english/charter/index.html) (accessed May 2,2010).

Quebec. 2008. La diversite: une valeur ajoutee. Plan d’action gouvernemental pour favoriser laparticipation de tous a l’essor du Quebec 2008�2013 [Diversity: An added value.Government action plan to promote participation of all in Quebec development].Montreal: Ministre de l’immigration et des communautes culturelles. http://www.micc.gouv.qc.ca/publications/fr/dossiers/PlanActionFavoriserParticipation.pdf (accessed May2, 2010).

Quebec. 2009a. Tableaux sur l’immigration permanente au Quebec 2004�2008 [Statistical tableson permanent immigration to Quebec 2004�2008]. Montreal: Ministre de l’immigration

344 M. Conrick and P. Donovan

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Van

couv

er I

slan

d U

nive

rsity

] at

18:

15 2

8 Se

ptem

ber

2015

et des communautes culturelles. http://www.micc.gouv.qc.ca/publications/fr/recherches-statistiques/Immigration-Quebec-2004-2008.pdf (accessed May 2, 2010).

Quebec. 2009b. Immigrants selon la langue maternelle, Quebec 1980�2008 [Immigrantsby mother tongue, Quebec 1980�2008]. Montreal: Institut de la statistique Quebec.http://www.stat.gouv.qc.ca/donstat/societe/demographie/migrt_poplt_imigr/606.htm(accessed May 2, 2010).

Quebec. 2010. Grille Synthese des Facteurs et Criteres Applicables a la Selection desTravailleurs Qualifies Reglement du 14 Octobre 2009 [Synthesis of factors and criteriaapplicable to the selection of qualified workers, Regulation of 14 October 2009],Publications Quebec. http://www2.publicationsduquebec.gouv.qc.ca/dynamicSearch/telecharge.php?type�7&file�GPI_3_1_Annexe_3_Grille_TQ.pdf (accessed April 24, 2010).

Skutnabb-Kangas, T. 2009. Language policy and linguistic human rights. In An introduction tolanguage policy: Theory and method, ed. T. Ricento, 273�91. Oxford: Blackwell.

Statistics Canada. 2000. Passing on the language: Heritage language diversity in Canada. InCanadian social trends, ed. B. Harrison, vol. 58, 14�19. Ottawa: Statistics Canada. http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/11-008-x/2000002/article/5165-eng.pdf (accessed April 25, 2010).

Statistics Canada. 2003. Longitudinal survey of immigrants to Canada: Process, progress andprospects. Ottawa: Statistics Canada. http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/89-611-x/89-611-x2003001-eng.pdf (accessed April 25, 2010).

Statistics Canada. 2007a. Immigration in Canada: A portrait of the foreign-born population, 2006census. Ottawa: Statistics Canada. http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/anaylsis/immcit/index.cfm (accessed April 27, 2010).

Statistics Canada. 2007b. The Chinese community in Canada. Ottawa: Statistics Canada. http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/89-621-x/89-621-x2006001-eng.pdf (accessed April 27, 2010).

Statistics Canada. 2007c. The evolving linguistic portrait. Ottawa: Statistics Canada. http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/analysis/language/pdf/97-555-XIE2006001.pdf (accessedApril 27, 2010).

Statistics Canada. 2008. Canadian demographics at a glance. Ottawa: Statistics Canada. http://www.statcan.ca/english/freepub/91-003-XIE/91-003-XIE2007001.pdf (accessed April 27,2010).

Statistics Canada. 2009a. Appendix C comparison of ethnic origins disseminated in 2006, 2001and 1996. Ottawa: Statistics Canada. http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2006/ref/dict/app-ann003-eng.cfm#22 (accessed April 29, 2010).

Statistics Canada. 2009b. Immigrants in Canada who work in a language other than Englishor French. In Canadian social trends, ed. D. Thomas, vol. 87, 2�10. Ottawa: StatisticsCanada. http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/11-008-x/2009001/article/10770-eng.pdf (accessedApril 29, 2010).

US Census Bureau. 2008. 2006�2008 American Community Survey 3-year estimates.Washington, DC: US Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ACSSAFFFacts?_event�&geo_id�01000US&_geoContext�01000US&_street�&_county�&_cityTown�&_state�&_zip�&_lang�en&_sse�on&ActiveGeoDiv�&_useEV�&pctxt�fph&pgsl�010&_submenuId�factsheet_1&ds_name�null&_ci_nbr�null&qr_name�null&reg�null%3Anull&_keyword�&_industry� (accessed April 4, 2010).

Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 345

Dow

nloa

ded

by [

Van

couv

er I

slan

d U

nive

rsity

] at

18:

15 2

8 Se

ptem

ber

2015