The Rise and Fall of English Montreal 

Yes, this was my parents' experience (in the 1960's) when they attended McGill. I support the importance of keeping Quebec French. I am from B.C. and I could already speak French when I arrived in QC. I am told that I now have a very good proficiency in the language now:) It's hard for me to understand this division as I am not originally from QC.

Or... Humble suggestion... Go back to France! Montreal is multicultural. Not only french. If you don't like gringos, move to France.

Merci, de leur faire réaliser ce linguicide.

This has been equally done to the English by the French. When the English monarch was ruled by the French, they banned the use of English for over 300 years. It's why the English language has many French sounding words. This shit will never end.

Ironically, they're not being forced to stay in Quebec to study. If they aren't happy, there are school that are arguably better in Toronto. Would you move to Japan and not learn Japanese?

Ouais MAIS écoutez bien. En tant que Louisianais francophone qu’a réclamé sa langue d’héritage, j’ne forcerait JAMAIS les non-francophones d’apprendre le français ni d’ôter des signes dans les autres langues dans leurs entreprises. Yeah, BUT listen well. As a Francophone from Louisiana who has reclaimed his heritage language, I would NEVER force non-Francophones to learn French nor would I force them to eliminate signs in all languages other than French in their own businesses. I admire how Québec has fought to keep their language! Ça m’inspire tellement! But I’m against and HATE this kind of reverse discrimination the Québécois government feels it must do in order to keep French alive.

@@sylvainb2366 De dire à un propriétaire d’un magasin du Pays de Galles qu’il peut pas avoir un signe en gallois sur la porte de son magasin, ça aussi, c’est du linguicide, mon cousin! Cette discrimination à l’envers, c’est d’la marde pis c’est quèque chose que j’peux pas soutenir.

C’est plus que suffisant pour nous, bienvenus.😘⚜️❤️‍🔥

If you drive you'll hate all the Potholes that will be arising In the next few months.

@@jeffreykaufmann2867 potholes exist in every city in North America

@André D It's the huge number of them that makes Montreal Special.

@@jeffreykaufmann2867 si tu veux des festivals à tout les trois jours…voilà!🙄🙄

Ils le font déjà sans même être à notre place (en essayant de nous assimiler)

No one should take away your French. I remember the day of referendum in 1995 .i was in Montreal for a year but now I am in New York . Love 💕 canada 🇨🇦 from USA 🇺🇸

Le problème ce n’est pas essaie de « conserver la langue » le problème c’est l’approche. Ce n’est pas correct qu’il y’a des personnes qui sentent forcer par le gouvernement de parler une langue. Ils sont aussi né ici et ils ont aussi des droits. La guerre, était perdu par les français, et la reine anglaise a nous laissez avoir notre province. Je ne comprends pas pourquoi c’est si difficile pour les français d’offrir au anglais le même respect de retour. This argument is stupid and it’s counter-intuitive to try to force ppl. The more you try to force someone to do something, the more they do not do it. Look at bill 96. I am clearly bilingual and I am half québécoise and I don’t appreciate this ongoing, never ending, pointless debate. Find a way to work together and stop acting like kids.

@@jenniferfrancis4032 Est-ce que les francophones sont respectés dans les autres provinces ? La réponse est NON. Cessez donc de focaliser sur le Québec et regardez ce qu'il se passe ailleurs ! Si vous ne mettez pas des limites de vitesse sur les autoroutes, les gens vont se conduire comme ils le veulent, c'est comme ça aussi dans tout autre domaine de la vie. Ça prend des règles pour se faire respecter, les parents qui ne mettent pas de règles claires ne se font pas respecter, même chose pour une entreprise ou un gouvernement. On voit que vous ne comprenez rien de la dynamique québécoise francophone qui est si fragile. De toute façon, je crois que le Québec se dirige lentement mais sûrement vers sa sécession de ce pays de clowns qu'est le gouvernement d'Ottawa.

@@sylvainb2366 on ne parle même pas des autres provinces, on parle de Québec et Montréal spécifiquement. Si vous êtes capable de lire mon commentaire, ma mère est québécoise et je n’accepterai jamais que vous pensez que je ne comprends rien de mon propre sang ou de ma propre culture. Le fait que t’as juste lu la moitié de qu’est-ce que j’ai écrit démontre le respect que vous avez pour les opinions des autres personnes. Le fait que t’as changer de sujet complètement et a commencer à comparer les autres provinces à nous ici au Québec démontres à quel niveau votre commentaire est invalide. Je suis née ici et j’habite ici et tu me donneras pas des ordres à quoi faire dans ma propre province. La plupart des anglophones sont même pas anglophones au Québec, ils sont bilingue, mais vous les appeler anglophones. C’est pas correct. It’s not a sound argument. Ottawa was not even a topic of discussion. There’s a difference between rules and pure dictatorship, last time I checked, we live in a democracy. Wake up. I am willing to admit there might be no right answer here. Are you? It’s wrong to force people. Period. That’s what I know to be true. If you think forcing people to do something is fine, and you want to disguise it as “rules” well I can’t help you with that. However, I would suggest you stop fooling yourself. You’re not fooling anyone else. If you simply hate English people or anyone who speaks English, that’s discrimination. A spade is a spade. Je vous laisse avec ça, j’ai autres choses à faire que de gosser avec quelqu’un qui ne peux pas lire le tout de ce que j’écris.

But in fairness to the documentary makers, we have the benefit of hindsight whereas they faced the difficult task of extrapolating from contemporary trends. Indeed, if but a handful of people had voted differently in 1995 Quebec could have been independent. In that scenario, it wouldn’t be surprising if English speaking Montreal also faded away. But looking forward from 2021, I think you’re definitely right. As things stand today I think some English language presence will definitely persist.

What Montreal? I look it up and no such place exists. However i did find a city called Montréal.

By the way, we changed tactic: Instead of removing english from only Québec, we are now making everyone in Canada learn French, yup even all the way in BC. Eventually (in a few centuries) there wont be any english left in Canada at all. They will all have either converted to French or left to the US or some other anglo country.

@@tusk3260 Are you serious? I can't tell if you're an Anglo troll complaining about French laws or not. Canada will remain majority English for centuries. French just isn't as useful right now internationally.

@@dylanc9174 Actually, Canada wasn't english by majority a century ago. So you cant use the word "remain" because thats the same as claiming it's always been. You should use the word "stay" in Canada will always stay english by majority for centuries. But that too wont happen because Canada keeps electing french leaders like Justin Trudeau, Jean Chrétien, Pierre Trudeau and so on. And its already the law to learn both french and english. The english Canadians keeps arguing there should only be 1 official language, they dont specify english. But if you force a french leader to choose one of the 2, its obvious they will choose french.

You do not speak French.

@@sananton2821 Yeah lol that looks google translatey

You do realize the Anglos created and supported those schools, hospitals and newspapers, don't you? They also pay taxes if you didn't realize that too!

​@@DonaldMains Indeed, just as French Quebecers pay for public French institutions and English ones. The difference is that the English healthcare system and English universities receive far more budget than they represent in the population (For instance, in 2017-2018, English universities received 3.7 times from the government what they represent demographically, or about 13% of the Qc population).

@@jean-bastienc.1576 Really poor argument on your part. it's the same stupid argument Legault uses. The purpose of higher education is to train students for future careers. Quebec students, including French Canadians, understand that English is a competitive advantage in the job market.This is the reason reason why English student seats are over representative. this is a worldwide thing by the way. There are many universities in Europe where English is the language of instruction where English is not the native language; Denmark, Sweden, Holland. Both Allophones and Francophones choose, of their own free will, to assist Anglo schools. Rather than a be a source of frustration for you, you should be excited that Quebec is training future professionals. Restricting language in higher education always ends up poorly. By the way you forgot the 20% of Allophones who have no opportunity to attend higher education in their mother tongue. Why always so inward looking and defensive? Embrace diversity and let adults decide for themselves what language they want to study in.

@@DonaldMains I'd say your answer is as bad as you consider mine simply because you're comparing the situation of countries that are nation-states and not a minority within their own borders. You're comparing apples and oranges. Quebec is not a country and doesn't have to pay for its own anglicisation, period. Statistics Canada data show that most French-speaking Quebecers have a very good knowledge of English before they even start CEGEP. If they go to an English university, it's probably not to improve their English (because most of them don't really need to) but because it's “more prestigious”, which is a problem that needs to be solved. There are nine other provinces if you want to study in Shakespeare's language. French Canadians have one and a half if you consider New Brunswick, and that's because Acadians had to fight for years to have French institutions of higher learning. I'll conclude with what I read from an American blogger living in Quebec. These are his thoughts, the mentality of some Anglo-Quebecers (especially those living in Mtl): "Anglophones have their English language mass culture everywhere. Why do they think they are special and under attack from a nation of 8 million when they are over 300 million? Isn’t it plain as day that what deserves protection are the francophone institutions? Why don’t anglophones take an interest in their surrounding community? Do they not realize that without French, Montréal would be just another North American anglophone city? If they valued Montréal’s difference, why don’t they help contribute to that said difference, instead of indirectly destroying it? They harp on and on about diversity and accepting everyone. Why can’t they see that North America’s French-speaking society is real diversity?"

I miss Mordecai Richler's voice in Montreal, he would speak up for the rest of us who were sadened but did not find the words to express it; Then we would see an article by Mordecai in the Montreal Gazette and it would bring relief, peace and love in our hearts for our beloved French city. I think of him fondly and often still. Greetings from Montreal ❤

@@katerinab474 Thanks for the kind thoughts, Katerina.

I am hitlers grand nephew........

My mother-in-law’s mother’s last name was Kravetz. I was wondering where Kravetz come from originally. I understand there are many different spellings of the last name meaning Tailor.

Wait, what? I thought M. Hated the guts of French canadians. He did spit quite some venom on us.

did you really expect all the international companies not to want their employees to speak the language of business?

Yup they force you to learn english, they you complain to your french government about it, then the french government forces those international companies turn french and then those companies protests by making movies like this one when it was they that started it....

Oh no, a second language! In Europe some places they can speak like five. For a province that prides itself on being distinct from the rest of North America, Quebec's adopted the "Talk white" mentality pretty well ironically.

@@m.a.118 The problem i have with the english is that they refuse to learn french yet force us to learn english. Canada has 2 official language so you should learn them both and be thankful its not 5 official languages.

@@m.a.118 Je suis un français Canadien come les québéquois. I have learned both languages and i am offended that there are a bunch of lazy Canadians that refuse to learn french. Am i clear enough yet? Or do i need to use baby language?

I was taught Parisian French in school. None of my French speaking friends could understand it, so I had no opportunity to practice. Hardly remember most of it, now.

Le Canada est un pays unilingue anglais, il n'y a pas d'avenir pour les francophones, vous nous en témoigner.

Great work; you murdered your heritage for no reason. English Canada does not tolerate bilingualism and never has, but it seems like this was what you wanted.

Of course we understand parisian French... @@TeamonD

Wait, why did you leave Quebec for British Columbia? Out of the frying pan and into the fire?

@@dancooper1 And they don't steal the land and houses and murder people like the Israelis do to the Palestinians.

Rates of French speaking in Quebec keep dropping because culturally, French language is irrelevant. The language of business, science, coding, aviation, the internet is English. No draconian government is going to change this.

@@4spooky8u So if those reason's make French irrelevant then all languages of the planet are, and everybody should switch to English. Is that what you're suggesting??

@@chrisfernandez8916 That’s essentially what is happening. Maybe in 150 years the dominant language will be hindi or whatever Nigerians speak but as it stands, yes everybody should probably learn to speak English.

@@4spooky8uso it's okay for it to die off?

My stepfather is British he has lived in Quebec city for more than 46 years he also speaks French and he supports law 101 which protects French he finds it silly to live in a place and not want to learn the local language

Given that you are an American, it seems like you're fetishizing the ides of French. You'll find most Anglo & Allophones literally have no problem with the Francophone majority.

​@@firthbythesea I used to believe the protections for French were ridiculous since I was able to understand anglophone media better which is very biased towards the anglophone cause. But once my French got better, I was able to understand the francophone point of view and it makes more sense. I am not at all saying anglophone and allophones have a problem with the francophone majority, what many have a problem with is that they must use French to communicate with others, and many expect francophones to conform to them by forcing the francophones to use English. If you are the majority in a society, why must you conform to the minority? That does not make sense. I am not against people speaking other languages in Québec, all I believe is that French should be the common language, the lingua franca, of Québec, not English. Just because I am American does not mean I "fetishize" cultures without truly trying to understand them. Not all Americans are the same. Thinking one nationality is all the same is not ok.

@@jinjysbro thanks

Merci de comprendre…😘🤟🏼

If you look at "Canada", the French were not the first. The Vikings were. And the French illegally stole from the aboriginals - just like the English. The French even invented "scalping". One was not better than the other.

@@LanielPhoto The Vikings did not live 2 years in Newfoundland due to the temperature, as for the rest of your comment, it's a lie The French never scalped the English and unlike the English, the French married with the Natives and had Métis children with them,,,, which is not the case for the English.

So many false details in this document. Sounds like an old propaganda.

No intention to stay in Montreal after being educated in english university for free paid with our taxes.

I understand, I'm from the United States I speak English and there are people in my family who speak Spanish, and often times we try to preserve our culture and heritage, yet everywhere English speaking people go they tried to enforce their language on to other non-English people, now that English speakers live in Quebec now they get a taste of what it feels like to be forced to speaking another language and learn of another culture. I would love to learn French and I would love to one day go to Quebec, Quebec was founded by the French so I don't understand why English speaking Canadians want Quebecers to speak English and to forget all about the French language and their heritage.

I agree with you Eric. I am an anglophone that left Montreal because my French was not strong enough to be hired in the 80’s. I loved My hometown but it did not love me, but I understood why, I grew up during the October crisis, the oka crisis, Premier Leveque was honest about his intentions, but I grew tired of the fist fights with my French brothers, and I loved French girls. It broke my heart, we sold our apple farm and I left. I get it, but I wish I didn’t have to experience it.

@@donovanjones4175 vous auriez pu mettre de l’eau dans votre vin.

before the revolution in 50-60's if you were french in montreal you didnt have the right to live

@@retrocompaq5212 My great grandfather's name was Mayeux. It was changed to Mayo. My father was bilingual but considered himself an Anglo. He rose to upper management in the bank. His Francophone colleagues did not. My mother was from Toronto. My father never spoke French at home, so we only learned basics at school. We left in 1978, moved to Toronto. I've lost what little French I knew. I'm a tourist when I go back to Montréal. Quel dommage.

Yeah, this isn't a balanced exploration at all. But I did like the acknowledgement on how the Catholic Church oppressed and controlled the Québécois. And René Lévesque's contribution in helping Hydro-Québec was *immense*. A remarkable man.

That’s true. I couldn’t find it for years and thought I was crazy

Un angryphone a peine capable de bredouiller le français quoi! T’as bien fait de partir avec les francophobes, tu ne nous à jamais manqué depuis.👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼😂🤣😁😘

​@@robin-bq1lz👍🏼

​@@robin-bq1lzJe suis curieux, préfère-tu dire que t'aimes manger des "hot-dogs" ou des "chiens chauds"?

@@toastmd7825 hot-dog , mais c’est pas important 😉

As a Montreal anglo I completely agree with you.

I totally agree, this documentary was so biased.

T’as tout compris de leur hypocrisie victimaire d’impérialiste américanisé…👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

You can move to Vancouver and speak French and go to French schools, just like the reverse in Quebec. On the other hand, you can also move to Vancouver, or Toronto, or Calgary, or Winnipeg, or Halifax and open a restaurant called Chez Sutoeben and you won't get fined or told you can't have that on your business. If you immigrate to Vancouver from abroad and you want your kids to go to a French-speaking school, you can do that. Try it in Montreal in English... and good luck if you do. That's the difference.

​@@AChapstickOrangeTell us, O knower of all things, how the English language is threatened by the French language in Vancouver?

Preservation is fine, discrimination is not. Almost the entire world actively works to better provide gov. services in all the languages of its citizens. Quebec actively works to limit gov. services in any language other than French.

@@nobody.123 Not Ukraine. They banned Russian language before the start of the war. English is not banned but French must be given priority. The problem is there are generations of Quebecers who were born and grew up in Quebec but still can't speak proper French.

@@prodigiii712 Businesses can’t operate in any other language, even small businesses now. Language inspectors can now invade and search computers to ensure compliance. Immigrants can’t receive many gov. services in anything but French after 6 months. Crazy. All this while English speaking countries are constantly improving private and public multilingual services.

@@nobody.123 because english is the international language. It will never be under threat. I’m from a former British colony in South Asia and I speak fluent English. It is the only language with such status. The entire world has adopted English as the second language. But French doesn’t have the status so they’re trying their best to force anglophones to learn French.

@@prodigiii712 French is an international language.

Exactement 👍🏼

It’s historical revisionism, so Canada's colonization attempts (past, present and future) are seen as actually a good thing, a civilizing act of humanitarianism to save the anglophones who are being oppressed by a “fascist” minority... it’s blantant,y racist if you think about it, as it associates the French-Canadian poverty to culture and society instead of systemic attempts to eradicate our culture.

You make some excellent points. But in the current political atmosphere there are attempts to limit the rights of young francophones. The PQ, among others, would ban francophones from English CEGEP's. The CAQ and its Bill 96 would limit francophones access to English CEGEP's. The quality of English Second Language instruction in French schools is not good, especially outside the Montreal area. To many language hardliners there is fear that if francophones become too proficient in English they will be lost to Quebec. While some do move elsewhere in Canada or the US most remain in Quebec and are valued liaisons with the rest of North America.

@@TomMcBoston Yes, thank you for adding the current situation with the CEGEP’s. As a french Québecois myself, I never understood why learning and being proficient in English is seen as a bad thing by some. I went to an English elementary school (Sir Wilfrid Laurier school board) and today, my bilingualism is an amazing asset for work, travel, relationships etc. I fear these new policies will exacerbate linguistic tensions and keep young ambitious french canadians from learning the language efficiently, and also make it harder for them to study abroad.

ENglish should still be opressed in canada

Lol really man ? Have you heard of Bill 96 ?

@@Omar-fr2bu not enough Canada should abolish English

Yes, bilingualism is what is needed, so government policy should promote this. Effectively banning English is the problem.

@@eldarshamukhamedov4521 The thing is, Québec doesn't shun bilingualism. People here are allowed to speak English. The problem is certain people not respecting that this province is majority French. This would mean that, a lot of people that don't speak English. They also wouldn't need to just like an English Canadian wouldn't need to know French in Alberta. Respecting the cultural differences is what Québec is asking. You wouldn't move to Japan and not speak Japanese right?

@@CanadianWookie "You wouldn't move to Japan and not speak Japanese right?" Of course I'd learn it, and it is a problem that people move to Quebec and don't learn French. Not arguing that. The problem is real, and French language and culture in Quebec need to be preserved. My issue is with the method of solving that problem. I'd rather Canada as a whole forced everywhere to be bilingual (e.g. force Ontario to make French an official language), than split the country into English and French parts. I know most of the discourse is much more polarized than that, and I'll happily criticize anyone from, say, BC, who thinks French culture and/or language isn't relevant to Canada as a whole. I'd probably be happy with the current policy if they dropped the working in French requirement, or added some reasonable exceptions. Quebec or not, you can't escape the fact that English is a global language. It's not an Ontario, or BC, or "Anglo-Saxon", etc. language; it's a world language. There are companies in Paris, France that do business with Germany, and they communicate with each other in English (fun fact, English is an official EU language, despite Brexit). It doesn't destroy French culture, and it doesn't destroy German culture. Quebec is in a tougher spot, because the cultural pull of the rest of Canada, and, more importantly, the US, is very strong, so stronger protections make sense, but the solution can't be to cut the province off from English, not if you want to compete economically with the rest of the world. I'm a software engineer and let me tell you, you can't keep up in the field without English. Most clients are US companies, most documentation is written in English, most RU-vid tutorials and online courses are in English. Even medium-sized tech companies tend to hire engineers from multiple countries. For example, my last job was a mix of US, Canada, Brazil, and Ukraine, but now, bill 96 says that any Quebec employees have a right to work in French. How is that supposed to work for a multi-national? It's not. That's the problem. A company that works across borders is now incentivized to ignore Quebec, not hire anyone from Quebec, and certainly to never ever move their headquarters to Quebec. So, as I said, French language and culture in Quebec need to be preserved, but bill 96 is a particularly terrible "solution" to the problem.

@@eldarshamukhamedov4521 I agree with you that the current methods being used by the premier of Québec is getting blown out of proportion and only musters division between the languages. I believe one of the reasoning the premier passed that law is because of past trauma. In the provinces history, French people were discriminated against and prevented from working in English Jobs for merely speaking French or culturally identify as being Québécois. The people that lived in that generation are still alive today, some of them holding ptsd and telling their kids about said trauma, believing it as an attack on the people. there is a lot of people in Québec that only speak French. There have been companies that were working in Québec today, before that law passed, which forced people to speak English and had discrimination towards French speakers. I hope you can understand that due to the current premiers desire to remain in power, he'll be sure to focus on the people who are willing to vote for him the most. Unfortunately, this is all a political shit show. I understand both sides, but there needs to be a better way to approach the issue. However, economically speaking, the province won't have much of an impact with trade because there are always companies that see it as an opportunity to tap in the market when the bigger players throw in the towel. The premier seems to have the desire to focus on an Economy with French characteristics. If you're willing to come to the province to conduct business and have an establishment but not put the effort to employ people with the ability to speak French, kind of silly and comes back to the Japan bit. Your point with being a software engineer that works in an environment entirely in English, I understand what you mean since I also work in IT. I feel like the issue is getting people to be bilingual if you're located in the province. They obviously can't outright force a population to learn. So instead they create the environment for it to come. There has also been a lot of immigrants coming into the province with the desire of speaking and integrating. In a way, it's a negative with a positive objectively speaking. Québec can never erase the English presence, and I and many others would never support any attempt to rewrite the history.

"promote"? how? Anglos have been flat-out refusing for centuries.@@eldarshamukhamedov4521

It’s not the the language it is the fascist regime in government

​​@@edfast5893The terms Fascist and fascism are used without any knowledge of their signification. Who cares? It's an insult, so let's use it to accuse discriminate! Then, say They are the racists cuz hey, racism is not a thing in the RoC.

Hi Diana...I feel for you, my fellow expat Canuck!💞🇨🇦 I was luckier than you, since I grew up in Montreal-North, which was predominantly French-speaking in my neighbourhood. There are also many French Canadians who married into my primarily Italian Canadian family. I’m also 1/4 English Canadian, since my paternal grandmother was English. My Italian grandmother, as well as my English grandmother, both lived with us throughout my childhood. My mother’s 9 brothers and sisters, along with some of their spouses being French-Canadian, frequently visited our home, since their mother, my Italian grandmother “Mamelle” lived with us. So, three languages were spoken in our home. I have some cousins who could barely speak a word of English, but my brothers and I spoke both languages, with English as our primary language. Nevertheless, some of the Francophones in our neighbourhood often teased me, especially if I misspoke in French, calling me “tête carrée”(square head, referring to my English side) or “maudite wop” a slur against my Italian heritage. It’s a shame that there was so much derision among the French against the English, but equally so among the English against the French. Back when the separatist movement was at an all-time high in the ‘70s, I recall some francophone friends of my parents trying to coax them into joining their movement and my parents refused. These so-called friends then dropped them like hot potatoes. Some of my own friends and one of my older cousins who was married to an Irish Canadian man who spoke only English, all left in the Great Migration west when René Levesque came into power. I lived most of my life in Montreal and worked in both languages. I only came down to the US after my second husband, who was American, returned here after spending 5 years in Montreal. He hated the French separatists, especially the OLF with their draconian laws. Personally, I think that government office should have been abolished years ago! I miss Montreal too, but I don’t miss the politics, especially now with Quebec’s Nazi-like approach to the virus, nor the bloody long and frigid winters after living here in Missouri for 16 years. But, what I would give for a St.Viateur bagel!😍 I hope you are doing well and are happy wherever you are in the States. Take care, Diana, and à bientôt, mon amie!😉💖🇨🇦

@@Linrose8 bref, tu pensais vivre dans une nation francophone en anglais comme une vraie petite impérialiste génocidaire, auprès duquel même les nazis passent pour des amateurs. Dis-moi, est-ce que ton mari était stupide où c’était simplement un gros ignorants qui se croyait le centre de l’univers? D’ailleurs tu devrais nous démontrer ta maîtrise du français, après tout tu es née ici, tu dois extrêmement bien connaître ta nation ⚜️.😁😘

I learned and spoke "Parisian" french too , or so I thought when I went and worked in Paris. Once when I said "dimanche" , my fellow workers winced. I had no idea I was talking with that accent. So I went to Berlitz! 😂

@@Linrose8 Wow! That's quite a story. I never become completely fluent. I consider myself an intermediate speaker. Since my parents moved to California in 1978, that's when I can to the US. It was a relief to no longer have to struggle with the french.

@@dianadallalnctmrcmc9303 yet I live in Texas and learned French in Quebec just fine. Sounds like you refused to apply yourself like most English Canadians.

Tolerating the intolerant

1890: The legislature enacts An Act to Provide that the English Language shall be the Official Language of the Province of Manitoba (better-known as the Official Language Act abolishes French as an official language of the legislature and requires that only English be used in Manitoba courts. Ontario apologizes for 1912 regulation banning French in schools 'Regulation 17 showed a disregard for Franco-Ontarian identity and equality, and on behalf of the government of Ontario I offer an apology' Ontario did not officially recognize the right of francophones to receive French-language education in elementary and secondary schools until 1984.

It's because like much of the other immigrants at the time, they had that "this is America, so we speak English" mentality, and that is why the government eventually stepped in and said "not so fast, this is a French-speaking province". Now about 60% of anglophones and 75% of non-francophone immigrants living in Montreal are able to speak at least basic French.

A lot of Italian in Montréal can speak French lol

Hahaha that is so true .. because I have three Italian neighbours who each own duplexes here in Ndg Montreal .. and I always speak to them in french because they cannot speak english:-).. btw I am old and can't ever remember having an Italian friend who could not speak french! @@Willsmith547

Simple it was the language of elitists in the city and the one the most useful one to get a job.

Lmao like closing french school across the country?

@@VinceLocRS The English community of Montreal is the most pampered in North America with its 17 hospitals its 4 Universities (which cost millions of dollars to Quebecers)While the Franco-Canadian Communities can only dream of the privileges that Anglo Montrealers have and yet they are the most complaining

@@linefrenette9116 The people who go to those universities come from all across Canada. Of course anglos would want to come to the second biggest city in Canada to study. It's good for Quebec, and it's good for them. You forget those people pay to go there, and they fund a lot of business in the city. Without them Montreal would be like Calgary. Appreciate the wealth they bring you even if they don't learn French while studying in Montreal.

@@dylanc9174 You forget one thing, it's when we Francophones go outside the province of Quebec, we are forced to speak English and that doesn't matter if it's for studies or not otherwise we are ostracized in our rights, I know I have already lived outside Quebec,,,, and here the English-speaking universities of Montreal are super subsidized compares to the French Canadians University out of Quebec. If we Francophones are forced to speak English in other provinces,,,,Learn French in ours,,,the only official language in Quebec is French.

@@linefrenette9116 You also don't a have francophone population analogous to Montreal's huge anglo population in cities elsewhere in Canada either...

No duh. Didnt you hear about wars in Syria, Yemen, iraq, etc Itsnot rocketscience

Wait till immigrants make the move. The french are a dying breed

Well dope, why do you think they built mirabel airport where it was. Because they had done studies in the early 70s and that was suppose to be the outskirts of montreal. With a population of over 6 million by year 2000

Toronto pop 1976 1.5 million. 2022 5.5 million

Lol a person who thinks he's intelligent thinks that in a pop of 2.8 million in 1976 to 3.1 million in 1994 is big growth. Wow 300000 in 20 years, when the city stagnated. It was only after the referendum that things calmed down. And the 1 million growth is due to immigration. The lead mo treal had built up was surpassed big time. Montreal built Calgary Vancouver and Toronto.

Sounds just like quebecois in Quebec.

United States has no official language

As someone who lives in South Florida. I can back this statement up. There is a key difference between English and Spanish in USA and English and French in Canada. Spanish is not a co-official language with English in Florida. Nor in the USA as a whole. Maybe in the future but, I doubt it. I am not fluent in Spanish but, I am familiar with the language, I can speak it improperly. It is important to know Spanish in the USA. If you live in a community with a significant latino population.

​@@4spooky8u ur wrong the officially staten language is English. Yet many people can speak their own aside from English.

@@carlcast1286 Some states have official languages in the US, but federally there is none.

Yes and they have been subject to Canadian Francophobic laws (Manitoba act, Regulation 17 Ontario etc) and that until today. Le Canada : 150 ans de lois contre le français / Vigile.Québec ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Jz-0FWxjsUg.html

*There are plenty. Check your spellings. Thanks.

@@ubelove4410 check your flaps

You cant compare 1850 which is 172 years to the Anglos that left in a 10 year period

@@jeffreykaufmann2867 Many French Canadians left between 1930 and 1960 as well! See the title "Voices from French Ontario" by Sheila Arnopoulos. The points I am trying to make is that outmigration from Quebec has been almost constant throughout its history and when French people leave , nobody bats an eyelash! Try that. Even better, read The Reconquest of Montreal, by Marc Levine. Montreal's decline began as early as the 1930's.

Do you live in Montréal?

@@firthbythesea I did once for a long time, but moved back home to Iceland due to the "neverendums", linguistic Nazism, politics of hate and resentment and poor economy. Rent was cheap, but so was pay! Eventually settled in a small place near Quebec in Eastern Ontario which is bilingual.

Im just curious,may i ask what is the third language you speak?

People tend to oppose something when it's forced on them

@@DonMrLenny french problably, since he speaks English and is from Iceland.

I'm confident one can work in Toronto and speak one of any number of languages that aren't English. Even more than in Montreal with it's two, count 'em, two languages(!). In fact there are almost certainly more languages spoken on any half busy block in Toronto than in the entire province of Quebec. And without fear of the language police kicking in the door to steal the computer and check your work emails.

​@@erikt454 ne dites pas n'importe quoi , A toronto les gens travaillent en anglais. Oui tu peut travailler à toronto et parler plusieurs langues comme partout dans le monde mais c'est en anglais que les gens communique.

You would have more problems than them.

no law says you can't. That's the difference

@Khabib in France the word STOP is used for stop signs but the Quebec Government spent a lot of Money taking down STOP signs and replacing it with ARRET. The Word STOP can be found in every French dictionary.

Yesss get out !

@@jeffreykaufmann2867 Who cares? Imagine still being mad over a word.

@@VinceLocRS montreal is a sad place

@@ubelove4410 For sure, a sad place ranked in the happies city to live in LOL

This attitude of someone from a country that has been invaded and torn apart so many time by Russia and German countries is beyond my comprehension. Anglos moved out because having been the ruling minority for 250 years felt the threat of losing their privileges. They refused to be treated as equals.

Exactly, the issue is not language, it’s to make to it a political issue. Shouldn’t we be proud to be a bilingual city? Shouldn’t we be proud to embrace both cultures? And why fighting still, if both languages are still very well alive and knowing it will never ever be a « French only city »? Besides that, Montreal history is not only French (and of course native), but English, Scottish, Irish..it’s never been a French city.

Shawn did you watch the video? It was put to show that Montreal is not just a French city. We built a huge portion of the city it is ours as much as it is the Francophones.English is part of the Montreal Heritage and Heritages need to be protected .I mean hey we're here 260 years not 50

@@jiop538 hum? I dont think you understood my comment. I invite you to re-read it

@@Jijohann 1890: The legislature enacts An Act to Provide that the English Language shall be the Official Language of the Province of Manitoba (better-known as the Official Language Act abolishes French as an official language of the legislature and requires that only English be used in Manitoba courts. Ontario apologizes for 1912 regulation banning French in schools 'Regulation 17 showed a disregard for Franco-Ontarian identity and equality, and on behalf of the government of Ontario I offer an apology' Ontario did not officially recognize the right of francophones to receive French-language education in elementary and secondary schools until 1984.

1890: The legislature enacts An Act to Provide that the English Language shall be the Official Language of the Province of Manitoba (better-known as the Official Language Act abolishes French as an official language of the legislature and requires that only English be used in Manitoba courts. Ontario apologizes for 1912 regulation banning French in schools 'Regulation 17 showed a disregard for Franco-Ontarian identity and equality, and on behalf of the government of Ontario I offer an apology' Ontario did not officially recognize the right of francophones to receive French-language education in elementary and secondary schools until 1984.

Montreal is the only bilingual city in Quebec ,what is the problem about trying to preserve it especially as you have witnessed in this film its been around since 1760 the rest of Quebec which is 90% is French only,trust me its doing super fine,you cant see an Anglo for miles in Trois Rivieres.You know something look at Europe a country like Denmark its language is Danish and it s surrounded by 43 other countries and itès been around since the ancient times for heavens sake Danish should have vanished eons ago but no its alive and kicking and they have no language laws no stress.If Denmark which is a lot smaller than Quebec can make it so many times more Quebec can too.Please once and for all its not about the decline in the Language it has as much decline as any other language and when did any English province try to invade Quebec to remove the French?There is only one truth and all Francophones have to believe it because it is the real truth:Separatists and Nationalists HATE anything English ..except for Money because when you are in MOntreal and you leave it to go east Everything is completely French ,you cant even find a fly that speaks or Buzzes in English.And that is the truth.The attack is on Montreal not the rest of Quebec.Point finale.

You already have everything in Quebec to protect your language: French Schools, French Libraries, Radio, Television, Theater etc. The only Languages in Quebec that are fragile are the native Indian Languages. French is the most widely spoken language in Quebec so how can it be the most fragile?

@@jeffreykaufmann2867 It’s not fragile due to Quebecois vigilance and their amazing language policy, which has served as a model to protect indigineous tongues as well. Keep in mind also, natives in Quebec speak their native language at a far higher rate than most of English Canada, and the language threatening native languages is English, even in Quebec.

@Mario Lebeau So America is historically an Italian continent discovered by Christophe Colomb and it should all be Italian And the world was historically Adam and Eve and we should all be speaking Hebrew.And France was discoverd by anglo saxons and it should be English and the Moon was discovered by Americans and it should be American.WE all can play your game.It doesn't mean nothing who was there first.Its who made it what it is and Montreal apart from the first French from France the European french not les Quebecois that made something small but when the English came it became a huge city so if it wasn't for the English Irish and Scottish Montreal would be as big as Chicoutimi. And You guys were creverde faim you had no jobs it took the English business people to come here and open factories to give you jobs and save you from une famine and this is how you treat us after we save your ancestors life?

@Mario Lebeau yes you helped we both n build it together that is why we need to respect each other

Fully agree, it’s a shame. Only in Quebec is the english language a disease; everywhere else in the world it’s an asset

Est-ce qu’il y a d’autres films de propagande du KKK?!😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂😁😘

@@robin-bq1lz cest pas du KKK, tu dois re etudier l'histoire

@@MrViyasan tu devrais aller la réviser , juste pour voir les liens entre les orangistes et le KKK😂😘, maintenant les angryphones sont surtout des francophobes fanatisés ignorants et américanisés a l’extrême de la stupidité jouant les petites victimes hypocrites.😁😘👌

Nothing will change.

Thank you, I'm bilingual myself cause I grew up in a bilingual family and I completely agree with you.

It’s incremental and happens over decades. 20-30 is not long

Both Montreal and Quebec city was created by france they came here and send the French to louisiana

They want the world see they terrible instinction of the English Montrealer by the villain French 👹

Most of Canada does not have bilingual signs

@@heartman2013 And we should not...

Signs on roads are just a symbolic accommodating. The reality is that an anglohphone citizen or a tourist can easily be served in English in public services. For a francophone in the ROC, it is not that easy to be served in French. English is a language so powerful it doesn't need any special protection. It is de facto used in many countries even where is has no official status, like in Israel, Scandinavian countries, Netherlands and so on. In Quebec it is widely used too. The reason why many Quebecers don't speak English as well as Scandinavians, is that the level at school is pretty basic, like the core French in other provinces. In some provinces it is even not a compulsory subject. And finally, Quebec is a unique place it North America and they want to preserve their heritage. The English colonizers were the most racist and supremacists who wouldn't share North America with the French, the Spanish and the Dutch.

@@boogyjuggy actually all of north america should probably be learning english, french and spanish as knowing multiple languages is only an asset. but people (possibly people like you) suck, and i feel increasingly weird living in a place that only really has signs and announcements in english despite it being the only language i know. i can live comfortably with english and learning languages as an adult can be difficult but i increasingly feel less good about it, so hopefully i can finally get myself to learn those languages. so, to object to your statement, signs should be in multiple languages, what the fuck does it matter to you if a sign is in multiple languages?

Read about linguistic assimilation and the hegemony of English around the world. Comparing English and French is not a fair comparison, because one of them in the unofficial "international language" of the world. It has been known to drive out any minority language, and even threatens other majority languages on their own turf. In this age of globalization, the French language would almost certainly disappear if it were not protected to the extent it is in Québec. French needs protection, and English does not, whether in Canada or elsewhere, simple as that. I mean, look at the EU- only 1% of EU citizens speak English as their native language, and it's still often a struggle to obtain information on their websites (europa.eu) in a language other than English. Native English speakers don't understand that it's THEIR language that's subjugating and obliterating cultures around the world, and not the other way around. Call it English language privilege, if you will. Of course, if you want all of Canada to wind up as a version of the U.S. lite, feel free to repeal the language laws in Québec.

We used the term "square heads".

So in response we should be french fascists wow great idea. Fucking farmer

Tes vraiment pas intelligent frere

Yeah, I mean, why don't the Palestinians just move to Jordan?

@@ridesharegold6659 Yeah they should. Bye, sandies.

@@ridesharegold6659 Are you actually kidding me???

Wow you are going to let one person represent 8 millions. In montreal you will be served in english just aswell as in french. Nobody expect the province of Canada to be billingual and they are not. The federal government is billingual because a quarter of its population speak french. Nobody is serving anyone in french in Calgary. In fact they would be lucky to get out of there alive.

They have never been... Catalans have always try to build their own thing because they do not believe they have a good deal with Spain. You should listen to them instead of oppressing them... They would be easy to accomodate...

Learning English is simple as well

@@Jijohann i do speak english, Spanish , and Russian. But here in Quebec, the only official language we must speak is French language and I am happy about that.

@@Jijohann English is the most easy to learn. But here in Quebec we must speak french. Simple.

Problem is that if all the anglos in Montreal spoke French the enmities would still continue.

@@kazkazimierz1742 no they dont speak french or any other language. They just cant.

Lived in CDN for the first three years of my life, left for Scarborough, Ontario.

I live Verdun, you must be missing Wellington and verdun beach

Back then the water was not clean for swimming, my Aunt actually got polio

1890: The legislature enacts An Act to Provide that the English Language shall be the Official Language of the Province of Manitoba (better-known as the Official Language Act abolishes French as an official language of the legislature and requires that only English be used in Manitoba courts. Ontario apologizes for 1912 regulation banning French in schools 'Regulation 17 showed a disregard for Franco-Ontarian identity and equality, and on behalf of the government of Ontario I offer an apology' Ontario did not officially recognize the right of francophones to receive French-language education in elementary and secondary schools until 1984.

Tell me you didn't watch the video without telling me you didn't watch the video.

@@4spooky8uparle moi d’un innocent angryphone incapable d’avoir un minimum de réflexion, je te conseille de réécouter le vidéo et leur francophobie d’ignorant, tu vas écrire moins de stupidités d’enfant attardé.!!😂😂😂😁😘👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻😮

@@4spooky8u tell me you don't know Québec history without telling me you don't know Québec history

Ça sent l’angryphone moron qui est jamais sorti de son petit quartier de peur de sortir de ses fantasmes de fédérastes, et tu peux toujours aller vivre au N-B si tu trouves ça si spécial.🤣😂🤣😂🤣 J’adore les ignorants…😘

No sir, it's the French Canadian culture makes montreal unique. English Canada is about money and work work work. That's why you Anglos move to Quebec because is different from the rest of English Canada but unfortunately the Anglos don't appreciate cultures

@@ericktwelve11 I disagree, the english music scene is huge in Montreal and they contribute alot to the Montreal culture. Montreal is different than the rest of Quebec because of the mix of the english culture. Its unique and both language contribute to it.

@Eric Tremblay it's alright,but it's better without English, French adds a bit of flavor.

What a profound statement. the "Anglos don't appreciate cultures" I can see you're not prejudiced. @@ericktwelve11

Immigrants back then were not allowed to attend French schools. Today young Quebecers tell seniors who don’t speak French, “parle en francais. Cest Quebec “

Cette vidéo est rempli de préjugés et de fausses informations.

You clearly don't know anything about our history and culture

All the woman Irish until me, who is half, but was raised in an Irish Catholic school.

La haine et le mépris des angryphones victimaires, la minorité la mieux traitée au monde d’après l’ONU, les bons vieux rhodésien de Westmount. Après tu iras lire sur la misère des Allemands qui soutenaient le mouvement Nazi après leur défaite, tu vas sans doute trouver ça aussi triste et intéressant….tu regarderas plus tard.😂🤣😁😜

Sad. I suppose some people find it hard to accept their way of life has ended.

I didn't know it was like that in New Brunswick. Aren't there mixed marriages between French and English people in N.B?

@@jeffreykaufmann2867 no. Marriage back in time was based on religion. French Catholics would marry Irish Catholics in Quebec.

@@klarissaclairiton9010 French Marrying Irish is a mixed marriage.

Well I mean, almost all of the Acadian areas have been flooded with anglophones. The anglophones in their province, which used to be majority francophone, even elect governments that are hostile to/neglect francophone communities. A bit of resentment makes sense, you’re taking their community.

Don't get out much do you. As nice as Montreal is, it is not what you think it is.

@@maestroCanuck Perhaps he doesn't, but I do. And I agree with his statement. I've had a way better experience in Montreal than I ever have living in Toronto or Vancouver city for that matter. One benefit being in BC is the beautiful weather. However, exploring the forests in the north of Quebec is mesmerizing during the fall.

@@CanadianWookie Well, I do too and if you go back and read his comment, it does not hold water. I have no issues with Montreal per se, but it is not what that poster claims.

Des pleures d’angryphone hypocrite…👏🏻👏🏻😂🤣😁😘

@@dancooper1 Yet another troll... you have no clue what you are talking about and you don't know me. I spoke French whenever I could. The problem with you racist French people is that you can't accept you lost the war... You are part of the problem, always blaming English people, maybe focus on yourself and correct your racist tendencies or move to France but they probably don't want you either.

@@dancooper1 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂. You are one very ignorant person and racist. I feel sorry for you.

@@robin-bq1lzexactement lol

Seems what happens here is the same that the Frenchspeaking Elite have