Bill 96 Has Dramatically Divided Quebecers Along Linguistic Lines, Poll Suggests

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Bill 96, the Legault government’s legislative effort to reform Quebec’s language laws, has dramatically divided the province’s residents along linguistic lines. suggests an online Angus-Reid poll.

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When asked if they supported Bill 96 based on what they know about it, 62 percent of the 1,080 Quebec respondents said they supported it in some way or strongly, compared with 38 percent who somehow supported it. or energetically did not support it.

When those responses were broken down by linguistic lines, 95 percent of Anglophone respondents said they were somewhat (29 percent) or strongly (66 percent) opposed to the proposed legislation compared to 77 percent of Francophones somewhat ( 45 percent) or strongly support it (32 percent).

When asked whether they agree or disagree with the statement “Quebec is a nation and its official language is French,” 64 percent of Quebec respondents agreed. However, a breakdown of language lines revealed that while 76% of Francophones agreed with the statement, 82% of Anglophones disagreed and 53% of respondents whose language was not English neither the French did not agree.

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Many other measures proposed by Bill 96 divided Quebecers along linguistic lines. While there was consensus among Francophones (98 percent) and non-Francophones (94 percent) on support for free French classes, divisions emerged with measures such as employers being forced to demonstrate the need for skills languages ​​other than French (88 percent). percent of Francophone support versus 49 percent of non-Francophones).

The split was also evident regarding the creation of a ministry for the French language (84% French, 24% non-French), more stringent French requirements for companies with more than 25 employees (85% French, 19% non-French) and the change of government communication with immigrants to French after six months (73% Francophones, 16% non-Francophones).

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Pollsters note that while French-speaking respondents broadly supported Bill 96, “they are less convinced of those (measures) that affect their ability to access educational opportunities in English.”

That lack of enthusiasm is more pronounced by age group. “When it comes to limiting the number of places available to French-speaking students at English-language CEGEPs … half (50-52 percent) of French-speakers aged 18 to 54 are opposed, while seven out of each 10 (71 percent) Francophones over the age of 55 support it. “

The survey notes that there is even less support among Francophones for the proposal to reduce access to English-language programs in French CEGEPs, with almost two-thirds (64 percent) of Francophones aged 18 to 34 opposing it and more than half (55 percent) of the people between 35 and 54 who speak out against it. Meanwhile, 62 percent of Francophones over 55 support it.

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Quebec respondents seem to appreciate the controversy created by Bill 96. The survey found that 62 percent of respondents believe that if Bill 96 were passed into law, it would have a negative impact on the reputation of the province. in the rest of Canada.

The survey found that 52 percent of Quebec respondents are concerned that the law will “negatively impact the willingness of commercial companies to establish operations in the province,” while 44 percent believe the law will have a “negative impact. negative in Quebec-based industries. “

The House Bill 96 survey review was conducted July 25-29 and was part of a larger survey of language attitudes across Canada.

While no margin of error can be assigned to the online survey, a professionalbability sa sample of this size would have a margin of error of 2.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.