Unilingual No More: New Brunswick's Bilingualism

Nouveau-Brunswick, or New Brunswick in English, is one of Canada's thirteen provinces and territories. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only officially bilingual province in Canada, with French and English as its official languages.

In 2021, New Brunswick had a population of 775,610, with about half living in urban areas. The province's largest city is Moncton, while its capital is Fredericton.

According to the 2021 census, about two-thirds of the population are English-speaking, and one-third is French-speaking. The ability to converse in French varies across the province, with certain northern areas like Edmundston and Bathurst having a higher proportion of French speakers than the census metropolitan areas of Moncton, Fredericton, and Saint John.

New Brunswick has a rich cultural history, having been first inhabited by First Nations like the Mi’kmaq and Maliseet. In 1604, Acadia, the first New France colony, was founded in the region with the creation of Port-Royal. The area changed hands multiple times between France and the United Kingdom over the next 150 years. From 1755 to 1764, the British deported Acadians en masse, an event known as the Great Upheaval, which solidified Acadia as British property.

In 1784, following the arrival of many loyalists fleeing the American Revolution, the colony of New Brunswick was officially created, separating it from Nova Scotia. New Brunswick joined with Nova Scotia and the Province of Canada (now Quebec and Ontario) to form Canada in 1867.

The province's bilingual status is enshrined in both provincial and federal law

New Brunswick is the only officially bilingual province in Canada. The province's bilingual status is enshrined in both provincial and federal law.

The Official Languages Act, enacted by the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick, recognises English and French as the two official languages of the province, granting them equal status in all provincial government institutions. This law was first adopted in 1969, and an updated version was enacted in 2002 to include all the constitutional obligations of the province towards the two official languages. The 2002 Act also established the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages of New Brunswick, which is responsible for applying the Official Languages Act in governmental institutions and promoting bilingualism in the province.

At the federal level, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, added to the Constitution of Canada in 1982, further entrenches the official bilingualism of New Brunswick. Section 16 of the Charter explicitly states that English and French are the official languages of New Brunswick and have equal status and rights in all institutions of the legislature and government. Additionally, Section 16.1 guarantees the equality of English-speaking and French-speaking residents of the province.

The recognition of New Brunswick's bilingual status in both provincial and federal law ensures that residents have the right to receive government services in the official language of their choice. This includes the right to use either language in any matter before the courts, as well as the right to communicate with and receive services from any office of an institution of the legislature or government in English or French.

New Brunswick is Canada's only officially bilingual province

The Act also affirmed the equality of status and equal rights and privileges of the two linguistic communities, entitling them to separate institutions for cultural, educational, and social activities.

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, enacted in 1982, entrenched certain language rights in the constitution, with obligations falling specifically on the institutions of the Legislature and the government of New Brunswick.

New Brunswick's variety of French is called Acadian French, and seven regional accents can be found. The province is home to most of the cultural region of Acadia and most Acadians.

The Official Languages Act was amended in 2002, broadening its scope to include obligations on New Brunswick's municipalities with a significant minority Anglophone or Francophone population.

The Official Languages Act of 1969 recognised French as an official language

The Canadian province of New Brunswick is officially bilingual, with two-thirds of the population speaking English and one-third French. The Official Languages Act of 1969 recognised French as an official language, along with English, and gave New Brunswickers the right to receive provincial government services in the official language of their choice. This was the first federal Official Languages Act, and it made English and French the two official languages of Canada.

The Act requires all federal institutions to provide services in English or French on request. It was passed on the recommendation of the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism, which was established by Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson. The Commission was created to recommend steps to develop the country based on the principle of equality between English and French. The Official Languages Act of 1969 had 39 sections. After its short title (section 1) and the declaration of English and French as the official languages of Canada for all purposes of the Parliament and Government of Canada (section 2), the Act describes the legal value of statutory and other instruments. It explains that all rules, orders, regulations, and proclamations that are required under any Act of the Parliament of Canada to be published in the official gazette of Canada must be made or issued and published in both official languages.

The Act then sets out the limited circumstances in which there may be temporary exceptions to this general rule (sections 3 to 7). The section on the construction of versions of enactments provides that, in construing an enactment, its versions in each of the official languages are equally authentic (section 8). The Act then describes the duties of departments and other government authorities in relation to official languages (sections 9 to 11). It moves on to a framework description of federal bilingual districts, setting out the basic conditions for establishing the districts in question but not specifically listing them (sections 12 to 18).

The Official Languages Act of 1969 also created the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages, which oversees its implementation. A senior public servant, the Commissioner has the same legal status as a “deputy head of a department.” The procedure for citizens to make complaints to the Commissioner regarding the application of the Act, and the manner in which the Commissioner investigates those complaints and makes recommendations, is also outlined in the Act (sections 19 to 35). The interpretation section of the Act defines a number of concepts, including “Crown corporation,” “court of record,” “National Capital Region,” “enactment,” “mother tongue,” and “institution of Parliament.”

The Official Languages Act of 1969 was repealed and replaced in 1988 with a new Official Languages Act, primarily to promote the official rights of linguistic minorities in accordance with the latest developments in Canadian language policy. This new Act also stated the Government of Canada's commitment to enhancing the vitality of official language minority communities and supporting their development, as well as fostering the full recognition and use of both English and French in Canadian society.

Anglophones are less likely to be proficient in both official languages than Francophones

Nouveau-Brunswick, or New Brunswick, is a Canadian province that is officially bilingual. In 1969, New Brunswick passed the Official Languages Act, which recognised French as an official language alongside English. This means that New Brunswickers have the right to receive provincial government services in the official language of their choice.

Language Demographics in New Brunswick

According to the 2021 Canadian Census, the most commonly spoken languages in the province are English (91.94%) and French (41.86%). In terms of the population, about two-thirds are English-speaking, and one-third is French-speaking.

Anglophones and Francophones: Proficiency in Both Official Languages

Francophones across Canada are almost unanimous in their support of the Official Languages Act. In the rest of Canada, Francophones are more likely than Anglophones to believe that it is important for the Prime Minister, Supreme Court judges, and federal ministers to be bilingual.

Francophones are more likely than Anglophones to have learned the other official language outside of school, whereas Anglophones are more likely to have learned it only in school. About three-quarters of Francophones describe themselves as fluent or at least conversant in English, compared to about 39% of Anglophones who say they are at least conversant in French.

Reasons for Not Learning the Other Official Language

The main obstacles to learning the other official language include a lack of practice opportunities, a lack of access to courses, a perceived lack of necessity, and a lack of interest. Anglophones are much more likely than Francophones to have learned French only in school.

Attitudes Towards Bilingualism

Large majorities of Canadians agree with statements about the positive attributes of Canada's official bilingualism and its implications for diversity. Most Canadians also live in communities where they estimate that most people are not bilingual.

Support for Official Language Minorities

Majorities of Canadians agree with specific measures to support official language minorities. However, some key myths about official languages and official language minorities persist, such as the perception that the French-speaking minority outside Quebec is smaller than it is or that the English-speaking minority in Quebec is more socio-economically privileged.

New Brunswick has a relatively high proportion of people who can speak both official languages

New Brunswick, one of Canada's three Maritime provinces, is the country's only officially bilingual province, with French and English enjoying equal status. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Official Languages Act of 1969 recognise the equality of the two official linguistic communities in the province.

The province has a relatively high proportion of people who can speak both official languages, with about 246,000 people (33.2% of the population) reporting the ability to speak both English and French. Francophones make up two-thirds of those who are bilingual. The bilingualism rate has been stagnant at around 33% for about 15 years.

The right to use either language is enshrined in law, and New Brunswickers have the right to receive provincial government services in the official language of their choice. This extends to the courts, where every person has the right to use the official language of their choice in any matter, and no one can be placed at a disadvantage based on their language choice.

The province's bilingual status is reflected in its healthcare networks, school systems, universities, and media, which are available in both languages.

However, the language policy remains a perennial issue in New Brunswick society and politics, with debates arising over the interpretation of the provincial bilingualism policy, duality of services, and specifics of implementation. Some Anglophones fear that the duality system is financially inefficient and that bilingualism targets in public employment hurt their chances of getting government jobs. On the other hand, the French-speaking community advocates for full funding of French-language public services and fair representation in public sector employment.

Despite legislative and constitutional protections, there is concern over the decline of French, the minority language in the province. The percentage of New Brunswickers with French as their mother tongue reached a low of 31.9% in 2016, compared to 33.8% in 1971, while the percentage of English mother-tongue speakers has remained stable at around 65%.

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