A new study looks at why young English-speaking Quebecers choose to stay in the province — or leave. Across Quebec, English-speaking youth are increasingly bilingual, but historian Simon-Pierre Lacasse says language skills don’t necessarily translate into acceptance. Economic opportunities and a sense of belonging continue to shape those decisions of whether to stay or leave. Lacasse, an affiliate professor of history at Concordia University, says research points to linguistic discrimination, barriers to career advancement, and a lack of recognition. But the challenges aren’t the same across the province. Young anglophones outside Montreal face fewer job opportunities, lower salaries, and less access to post-secondary education, and when they leave the consequences can reach far beyond their own futures. “Because of the size of the community and what it means for the institutions, what it means for keeping a high school going, what it means for having access to health and social services in those remote areas,” he said. The findings need to lead to action, according to Sylvia Martin-Laforge, director general of TALQ, an anglophone rights group in Quebec. “The hat doesn’t fit the same way to everybody. Le chapeau ne fait pas pareil à tout le monde. We must have targeted strategies and investment in targeted strategies,” she said. Martin-Laforge said she wants investments to help English-speakers build their futures in Quebec and wants anglophones to start thinking positively. “Because if you see official minority status as a victim, that we’re all a bunch of victims living in Quebec, that’s a very negative frame from which to start,” she said. After the Parti Québécois election win in 1976, tens of thousands of people left for other provinces. TALQ board member Jordan Black says it’s too early to know whether the party’s return to power after this week’s provincial election will affect today’s youth, especially, he adds, considering the political climate under the previous government. “In the past eight years with the [Coalition Avenir Québe], it’s been pretty negative towards the English-speaking community,” Black said. “The identitarian issues are big winners politically for them because they have a lot of voters who care about that.” Now raising a child of his own, Black hopes the next generation will feel more welcome. “The progress that’s been made by the English-speaking community over the last few generations, and the great effort that’s made by our youth to actually integrate and fit in, and that has to be met on the other end with some goodwill,” he said. “We’re not just visitors, we belong here.” The study suggests the question isn’t just why young English-speakers leave; it’s what would make more of them feel they have a future here.
