I chose to immigrate to Quebec to speak French there

Arriving from Mexico a few years ago after making the effort to learn French, Alan Munoz was disappointed to discover that the city of Montreal did not value its main language more.

In 2015, in Mexico, I decided to start studying the French language in order to settle in Quebec and have access to the job market and live my professional life in French.

In 2020, upon my arrival in Montreal, I was surprised to observe that, in daily life, mastery of French, although necessary, did not really seem a prerequisite for newcomers. Thus, in retail, when I asked for services in French, my foreign accent encouraged the employees to respond to me in English, despite my insistence on continuing in the common language of this province.

A few years later, the situation in the working world hasn’t changed much: employers seem more comfortable speaking to me in English and a few have told me that I have language barriers (in because of my accent) even if I spoke in their own language and without considering my various certificates in French.

I speak English, but my goal is to integrate into Quebec society, and it seems that Quebec society has difficulty integrating me.

Is the city of Montreal losing its position as a global French-speaking power? According to data from the 2024 report on the evolution of the linguistic situation in Quebec from the Office québécois de la langue française¹English has gained ground in the public space: the proportion of Montrealers using English most often increased from 13.4% in 2016 to 17.4% in 2022. In the same period, the proportion of citizens most often using French increased from 67.5% in 2016 to 59.5% in 2022.

The committee on the French language, chaired by Louise Harel, proposes recommendations aimed at increasing the influence of French in the daily lives of Montrealers and reaffirming Montreal’s status as a French-speaking metropolis in America and a leader of the French-speaking world. We can only welcome the proposals that the Committee submitted to the City of Montreal recently².

Reversing the trend

Why is it important to reverse this trend? Historically, Montreal was considered the second French-speaking city just after Paris. Today, Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, has even surpassed Montreal in the number of French-speaking citizens.

The city of Montreal should not only continue to protect French, but also use the language as an advantage. If French dominates daily life, the city will continue to be an important French-speaking center of innovation, research and a major player in the global cultural arena.

The city’s French-speaking institutions such as its museums, organizations and universities are considered powers in their respective fields of action. It is thanks to the culture that emerges from the French language that Montreal has a distinctive tourist attraction in North America.

Does the decline of French in the public space constitute a definitive movement which undermines the position of the metropolis as leader of the Francophonie? The implementation of the recommendations of the Committee on the French Language of Montreal as well as the legislative strengthening of Quebec in terms of language protection have everything to allow Montreal to recover the predominant place it occupied as the French-speaking capital of the world. However, one fact remains: it is also citizens and employers who must get involved and support these initiatives before the situation is irreversible.

1. Consult the Report on the evolution of the linguistic situation in Quebec 2024

2. Consult the second report of recommendations from the committee on the French language of the City of Montreal

What do you think? Participate in the dialogue