Canada has 2 official languages: English and French. 8 of the 10 provinces conduct their government business only in English with Quebec (French) and New Brunswick (English and French) being the exception. Minority language rights are protected in the provinces as French-language communities are scattered throughout Canada.
Most people in Ontario are familiar that there are francophone communities in the province. Doug Ford isn't one of them.
In its fall economic statement, the Ontario premier's government eliminated the French language services commissioner position and shut down the planned French-language university in the greater Toronto area.
As we noted on election night for the last Ontario election, Doug Ford was the only party leader who did not speak in French. The throne speech traditionally contains some French though Ford broke with the tradition and didn't include a single French sentence.
Earlier this year, Ford didn't seem to know people in Ontario speak French.
MPP Amanda Simard (Glengarry–Prescott–Russell) left the Progressive Conservative caucus to sit as an independent as a result of the moves against French speakers.
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You can build a government in Ontario while freezing out francophones. The path for the Conservatives in the 2019 federal election requires francophones, especially in Quebec.
Turns out Quebec has been paying attention to what Ford has done and Simard's reaction. Conservative leader Andrew Scheer has been supportive of Ford in general and his party may pay the price in Quebec in the 2019 federal election.
With the Bloc Quebecois losing most of its power and the NDP losing those same seats in the last election, the Conservatives had a shot for those seats, many of which are currently held by the Liberals. In a province where the motto is Je me souviens (I remember), Quebecers may indeed remember.
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Ford's major moves have revolved around pettiness, such as shrinking the size of the Toronto city council during its last election cycle. Ford has gone out of his way to not include French despite the fact that, according to the latest census, French is the primary language of more than half a million people in Ontario.
2018 Canadian politics preview
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On the federal level, party leaders need to be bilingual. Kevin O'Leary tried to be the exception but he didn't get very far in the last Conservative leadership race. Provincial leaders don't have to be bilingual as we've learned in Ontario and New Brunswick this year.
Speaking more than one language is an asset in this world. Canada has an advantage over the United States in being officially bilingual in communicating with the world. Being bilingual reflects the shared history of Canada in English and French as well as respect for the people in your country and province.
photo credit: Rozenn Nicolle/Radio-Canada
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