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3. Anglodiversity

Page 6 of 16

A. Origins

The origins of English-speaking immigration change considerably when the criterion is first official language spoken rather than mother tongue. On the basis of mother tongue, some 40 percent of Anglophone immigrants hail from the United Kingdom and the United States. Their combined share of Anglophone immigration drops just below 15 percent when the criterion is first official language spoken. Immigrants from parts of Europe outside the United Kingdom account for just over one-tenth of the mother-tongue-English population, but the figure is over one-third for those identified in the category of English as first official language spoken. Immigrants from Asia account for nearly 17 percent of the mother-tongue-English population, but represent more than one-third of Anglophone immigrants as defined by first official language spoken (see Appendix 1).

The relatively heavy immigrant presence within the English-speaking population runs counter to the impression that Quebec Anglophones are very rooted in the province. Nonetheless, many do in fact trace their origins in Quebec for as much as three centuries, and there are well-known institutions bearing the names of Quebec Anglophone families with long histories in the province. Across the province, migration and mixing between Anglophones and non-Anglophones has produced communities diverse in their ethnic, racial and religious backgrounds.

B. Pluralism

The contemporary Quebec Anglophone community little resembles the one of four decades ago. It was once fairly common to associate being Protestant in Quebec with being Anglophone, and speaking French meant that one was Catholic. Historically, religion was the most important marker of identity for English speakers, since the province’s English public school boards were either Protestant or Catholic. In 2001, three-quarters of the Anglophone population reported that they were Christian. Some 244,000 Anglophones indicated they were Catholic, while approximately 175,000 said they were Protestant. Neither group constituted a majority of Quebec’s Anglophone community. Over 50,000 Anglophones reported that they were Jewish, and more than 60,000 declared no religious affiliation. In Montréal, just over one-third of Anglophones were either non-Christian or gave no religious affiliation, compared with less than 15 percent in the rest of the province. In Montréal, Catholics represented one-third of the Anglophone community, Protestants one-quarter and Jews approximately one-sixth of the English-language population.

With the declining importance of religion in Quebec society, the ethnic backgrounds of language groups have taken on increasing significance. On the basis of single declarations of ethnic origin, some 37 percent of those whose first official language spoken is English are of Canadian, British, French and Aboriginal descent. Another 37 percent report other European backgrounds, and about one-quarter report non-European origins. The ethnic composition of the Anglophone population differs when contrasting the Montréal region with the rest of Quebec. Table 8 shows, on the basis of single declarations in Montréal, those declaring Canadian British, French and Aboriginal origins represent just over one-quarter of the population. Outside the Montréal region, 84 percent of the Anglophone population is of Canadian, British, French and Aboriginal descent.

Table 8 – Declaration of Ethnic Origin among First-Official-Language-Spoken Anglophones, Quebec, Montréal Region and the Rest of Quebec, 2001
				Quebec			Montréal region		Rest of Quebec
Aboriginal				17,490			1,365		16,125
Canadian				102,635			63,000		39,635
British				73,900			50,640		23,260
French				5,805			3,265		2,540
Total of above				199,030			118,270		81,560
European				161,345			156,020		5,325
Non-European				137,740			127,335		10,405
Jewish				38,925			38,575		350
Total				537,840			440,200		97,640
Source: Statistics Canada, Census of Canada, 2001.

Among those declaring that their first official language spoken is both English and French (50 percent of whom are distributed to Quebec’s Anglophone population), only a small segment are of Canadian, British, French and Aboriginal origins, and more reside outside the Montréal region than within. Thus the ethnocultural dimension of Quebec’s Anglophone population is further enhanced when defined in this manner, and the share further diminishes what some might describe as the “founding element” of the Anglophone community. Of the 157,000 persons of single ethnic origin reporting their first official language as both English and French, some 90 percent reside on the Island of Montréal, the vast majority being of European and non-European origins. This is a further illustration of the impact of ethnic diversity on the Island of Montréal.

Within the Anglophone population, there has been a constant rise in the share of those identified as visible minorities. Between 1996 and 2001, the visible minority share of the Anglophone population rose from about 11.5 percent to 13 percent. In Montréal, nearly one out of five Anglophones belong to visible minorities. Of the approximately 72,500 visible minority Anglophones in Quebec, most are identified as black (35,285), with South Asians constituting the next largest group (12,580). When using first official language spoken as the defining criterion, nearly one-fifth of the Anglophone population is identified as visible minority and just over one-quarter live on the Island of Montréal.

C. Mixing

In addition to divergent immigrant settlement patterns, the difference in the composition of the English-speaking population residing within and outside Montréal is primarily attributable to marriages between Anglophones and non-Anglophones. Of the nearly four out of ten Anglophones married to non-Anglophones, just over one-quarter have spouses who are Francophone, while the others have Allophone partners. In this regard, there is considerable variation between Montréal and the rest of Quebec. In the former case of those married outside their linguistic community, some two-thirds are married to Francophone partners. Outside Montréal, 94 percent are in mixed-language relationships with Francophones.

In Montréal, 34 percent of Anglophones are married outside their language group. Among the linguistically mixed group, nearly two-thirds have Francophone spouses while the other third are Allophones.

Outside Montréal, some 47 percent of Anglophones married outside their language group. Unlike the pattern in Montréal, however, the rest of Quebec shows that nearly 93 percent of Anglophones have Francophone spouses. The CROP-Missisquoi Institute survey reveals that in such regions as the Mauricie, Abitibi, Chaudière and Saguenay, a majority of mother-tongue-English persons have spouses whose mother tongue is French. On the other hand, Anglophones in the Gaspé have one of the highest rates of marriage within their language group compared with other Anglophone communities elsewhere in the province.

In the event of an exogamous marriage, the acquisition of English and/or French by children often depends on where one resides and is very much influenced by the mother’s principal language. Table 9 shows that when the mother tongue of the father is French and that of the mother is English, slightly more children will initially adopt the French language. However, in Montréal, it is English that is first learned among such mixed language couples. Outside Montréal, a slight majority of the children of such marriages initially acquire the French language.

Table 9 – Mother Tongue of Children Having Mother-Tongue-French Husband and Mother-Tongue-English Wife, Quebec, Montréal Region and the Rest of Quebec, 2001
Francophone Husband
Anglophone wife	Total2	English	French	English and French
Quebec	26,745	11,705	12,120	2,870
Montréal	14,200	6,865	5,625	1,680
Rest of Quebec	12,545	4,840	6,495	1,190
Source: Statistics Canada, Census of Canada, 2001.

When the husband’s mother tongue is English and that of the wife is French, the French language is first learned in two out of three cases, and English in one-quarter. In Montréal, French is the first language the child learns in 60 percent of cases, whereas in the rest of Quebec, it is the language initially transmitted 70 percent of the time.

Note

2.The total numbers include non-official languages.

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