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Timeline of official languages policy in Canada

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Official bilingualism in various forms dates back to Canadian Confederation in 1867. However, for many years English occupied a de facto privileged position, and French was not fully equal. The two languages have gradually achieved a greater level of equality in most of the provinces, and full equality at the federal level. The trend has been very different in Quebec, however, where in the 1970s English lost its status of full equality with French, which is now both the de facto and de jure sole official language of Quebec.

Official languages policy and legislation relating to the Government of Canada

  • 1867: Section 133 of the British North America Act decrees that "The Acts of the Parliament of Canada and of the Legislature of Quebec shall be printed and published in both those Languages [ie. in both English and French]", and also mandates the use of both French and English for parliamentary debates, parliamentary publications, and federal court cases.
  • 1969: The Official Languages Act is enacted.
  • 1973: Parliament passes a Resolution on Official Languages in the Public Service confirming the right of civil servants to work in the official language of their choice.
  • 1974: The Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act required the use of both French and English on all consumer packaging across the country; bilingual packaging remains one of the most visible aspects of bilingualism for the Canadian general public resulting in this aspect of bilingualism sometimes being termed "cereal box bilingualism". In New Brunswick highway signs are bilingual.
  • 1978: The Criminal Code is amended to give accused persons the right to be heard by a judge (a judge and jury, in the event of a jury trial) who speaks the official language of the accused.
  • 1988: A second version of the Official Languages Act is introduced, taking into account the new requirements of the Charter of Rights.
  • 2002: Quigley v. Canada (House of Commons) : The Federal Court of Canada, Trial Division, rules that the House of Commons is obliged to ensure that, in any part of the country where its proceedings are broadcast in one language, they must also be broadcast in the other official language.
  • 2003: Federal government tables its Action Plan for Official Languages.
  • 2005: An Act to amend the Official Languages Act (promotion of English and French) is enacted, making Part VII of the Official Languages Act justiciable.

Official languages policy and legislation relating to the provinces and territories

Laws and policies applicable to all provinces and territories

Ontario

  • 1912: Regulation 17 which forbids the use of French as a language of instruction after the first year of school, unless the pupil is unable to speak English because of "defective training", and bans the teaching of French after the fourth year of school.
  • 1927: Regulation 17 is repealed.
  • 1968: The Education Act is amended to recognize French-language schools.

Quebec

  • 1867: Section 133 of the British North America Act decrees that "The Acts of … the Legislature of Quebec shall be printed and published in both those Languages [ie. in both English and French]", and mandates the use of both French and English for legislative debates, publications of the legislature, and provincial courts. This set of provisions is identical to that used the federal parliament and courts. These rules apply only to the new province of Quebec and not to any of the other provinces, which continue to operate in English only.

Manitoba

  • 1890: The Manitoba Schools Act (1890), abolishes French as an official language of the province and removes funding for Catholic schools (which in practice meant all French-language schools).
  • 1983 (October): Parliament unanimously passes a resolution on the language rights of Francophones residing in Manitoba. Another resolution on Manitoba Francophones is passed on Feb. 24, 1984.

New Brunswick

  • 1993: Canada's Charter of Rights is amended to proclaim the equality of New Brunswick’s English-speaking and French-speaking communities.

See also

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