The vitality of the English-speaking community in Quebec should be celebrated, says QCGN interim president Eva Ludvig. “We don’t see ourselves as a threat to Quebec, we see ourselves as an ally to the French language — we support it, we learn it, we use it,” she says. “But just because we want our identity and our rights protected does not make us a threat.”
Though many are alarmed by the decline of the proportion of French-speakers in Canada reported in yesterday’s analysis by Statistics Canada, some in Quebec’s English-speaking community are pleased to see the proportion of Anglophones in Quebec on the rise. Between 2016 and 2021, the proportion of English-speaking Quebecers rose from 12 to 13 per cent. “For the English-speaking community, it’s good news,” says Eva Ludvig, interim president of the QCGN: “It’s reassuring: We are here, we are here to stay.”
“It really is a celebration,” says QCGN interim president Eva Ludvig on the rise in the population of English-speaking Quebecers reported in an analysis by Statistics Canada, a sign of recovery from the exodus of the 1970s and 80s.
“Statistics Canada has published revised Census numbers after admitting an error in language stats for Quebec.”
After releasing numbers earlier this month showing a massive spike of anglophones in Quebec, Statistics Canada now presented data which shows only a very slight increase in Quebec since 2011.
The Quebec Community Groups Network says the revised data proves English-speakers are not a threat to French in Quebec.
The QCGN is funded by the Government of Canada through the Department of Canadian Heritage.
