English Voices Overlooked

As Quebec’s provincial election campaign enters its final stretch, many English-speaking Quebecers are asking a fundamental question: Where do we fit in?

After eight years of CAQ government, concerns have accumulated around language legislation, access to public services in English, and measures affecting English-language CEGEPs, universities, and other community institutions. During this election, those concerns have been compounded by French-only election mailings, restrictions on the use of English at polling stations, the absence of an English-language leaders’ debate, and limited engagement by political parties with questions raised directly by the community.

At the same time, the possibility of a Parti Québécois government and renewed discussion of another referendum on Quebec sovereignty are raising questions about what the coming years could mean for English-speaking Quebecers and their institutions.

Yet English-speaking voters are not defined solely by language issues. They share many of the same concerns as Quebecers generally—from health care and education to affordability and the economy—while also seeking recognition of their particular realities and a meaningful voice in decisions that affect them.

Across generations, there is a recurring concern: whether English-speaking Quebecers are being heard, considered, and included in Quebec’s political conversation. At a moment when Quebecers are deciding the province’s future, many within a community of some 1.8 million people are questioning their place within it.