Having grown up in an English-speaking family in Montreal, Jeremy Schachter says the question of staying or leaving Quebec was a “very real” dinner-table conversation.
asserted
question → grow → Quebec
“So many of my friends have left.
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many → leave → friends
It’s just, people wonder about the future of the anglophone community,” he said.
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he → ’ → community
Schachter himself moved to Toronto a year ago to join his girlfriend, who works as a social worker in the city.
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who → move → city
He is part of a long-standing movement of young English-speakers leaving Quebec to move elsewhere in Canada.
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speakers → stand → Canada
Data from the federal census shows that English-speakers are more likely to leave Quebec in favour of other provinces than French-speakers, but that the trend is slowing down.
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trend → show → speakers
This movement was especially strong in the 1970s and 1980s, said Simon-Pierre Lacasse, who recently wrote a paper exploring the migration of young anglophones out of Quebec.
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who → say → Quebec
“The ‘Anglo exodus’, as it’s often referred to, is something that’s really contingent to a specific period,” Lacasse told The Canadian Press.
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Lacasse → refer → Press
In their research, Simon-Pierre Lacasse and student Meghan Rulli focused on young adults, who are more likely to move between provinces.
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who → focus → provinces
Their research paints a picture of how the rate of this migration has slowed down in recent decades.
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rate → paint → decades
Their research paper, published by the Quebec English-Speaking Communities Research Network, shows close to 20 per cent of English-speakers in Quebec left the province between the late 1960s and the early 1980s, with the net loss of around 121,000 anglophones in interprovincial migration between 1976 and 1981.
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cent → publish → 1976
At the end of the most recent period, federal statistics reveal the overall English-speaking community in the province remained strong.
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community → reveal → province
Over 1.6 million Quebeckers spoke English at home on a regular basis in 2021, according to the census.
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Quebeckers → speak → census
This represents over 19 per cent of the Quebec population.
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This → represent → population
At the same time, the census numbers show that over 35 per cent of workers in the province said they regularly spoke English while on the job.
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they → show → job
Lacasse said the numbers appear to suggest young English-speakers are better integrated in the province’s culture today than they were in the 1970s.
“
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they → say → 1970s
If the goal is youth retention for the vitality of English-speaking communities, then maybe there is hope,” said Lacasse.
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Lacasse → speak → communities
The researchers identified many “push” factors that might drive anglophones away from Quebec, including greater career opportunities elsewhere and economic concerns.
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that → identify → opportunities
Interwoven with many of these factors is the question of language.
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question → interweave → language
“Language in Quebec, perhaps more than other provinces in Canada, is directly linked to identity and is politicized,” said Lacasse.
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Lacasse → link → identity
In 2022, the provincial government passed a bill that strengthened language legislation in the province.
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that → pass → province
It imposed measures like French-only services for most Quebec residents and a cap on enrolment in some English-language colleges.
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It → impose → colleges
The bill also caused disruptions during the recent provincial election campaign after the election authority sent out French-only guides to all voters.
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authority → cause → voters
A Superior Court judge temporarily suspended the bill’s provisions and ordered the agency to send out bilingual reminder cards to voters.
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judge → suspend → voters
On Ki Lin, who was born in Hong Kong but moved to Montreal when they were eight years old,
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they → bear → Montreal
said they left Quebec to study at the University of Toronto mainly because they thought this was the best place to pursue their education.
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this → say → education
Although Lin says financial concerns are keeping them in Toronto, the former Montrealer also noted having struggled to fully integrate into Quebec culture.
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Montrealer → say → culture
Or they would assume that if I had an accent, it meant that I wasn’t fluent enough to understand what they were saying,” said Lin.
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Lin → assume → what
The feeling that there is no space for English-speaking identities in Quebec lingers for many, said Lacasse.
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Lacasse → be → many
“When I was living in Montreal, the overarching sentiment was that, you live here, but are you really welcome here?
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you → live → Montreal
I don’t know.
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I → know → ?
It was not so clear to me,” said Schachter.
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Schachter → say → me
This affects not only feelings of identity and belonging, but also professional development, with some anglophones feeling that they are not welcome in francophone workspaces, found the paper.
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paper → affect → workspaces
But English-speaking Quebeckers’ relationship with the French language is also generational, said Lacasse, pointing out that those born after the Quiet Revolution in the 1960s, a period of nationalist political and social reform marked by a strengthening of the French-speaking Quebec identity, were more likely to understand the importance of French within the province.
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those → speak → province
The paper also highlights that young English-speakers in Quebec are increasingly bilingual.
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speakers → highlight → Quebec
Speaking with The Canadian Press, Schachter expressed attachment to the French language.
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Schachter → speak → language
He said he was recently offended when a man sitting close to him at a hockey game became upset to hear the national anthem sung in French.
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anthem → say → French
“Even though I wouldn’t consider myself francophone … I think that’s really offensive,” he said.
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he → consider → ?
Lacasse added English-speakers may find it easier to move to the rest of Canada, while French-speakers may face language barriers.
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speakers → add → barriers
Lacasse said he is curious to see what trends will appear from the 2026 census data, which is set to be released in early 2027, especially after a period of high political tensions around language in Quebec.
From their new lives in Toronto, Lin and Schachter both reminisced about Montreal and Quebec.
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Lin → say → Montreal
…and 1 more, not listed.
The Aporia
