GMCDI In the News

Quebec's Anglophone Community in Decline, Survey Finds

www.cbc.ca

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Quebec's English-speaking community is increasingly fragmented, lacking in leadership and struggling to find jobs, according to a report released Wednesday.

More than 75 per cent of the province's anglophones live in the greater Montreal area, and a new survey paints a grim portrait of their lives and their opportunities.

The survey was the result of a series of forums in Montreal, Laval and Longueuil organized by the Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN), which represents 23 English-language community groups across the province.

The nature of the English-speaking community is changing drastically, according to Don Taylor, chair of the steering committee of the Greater Montreal Community Development Initiative, one of the groups represented by the QCGN.

"We found it very diverse. It's not the old anglophones from Britain that people used to think of, you know," he said.

As of 2001, more than a third of the 699,200 anglophones living in the Montreal area were born outside Canada. Another 7.9 per cent were born in another province, according to the QCGN report.

By contrast, only 17 per cent of francophones in the area were born outside Quebec.

Anglophones 24% More Likely to be Jobless

The report suggests declining English school enrolment and high unemployment point to fundamental problems in the community.

Taylor said English speakers have fewer job opportunities, leading to a significantly higher unemployment rate than among francophones.

Even in the public service, anglophones are under-represented, he said.

Anglophones in the greater Montreal area are 24 per cent more likely to be jobless than francophones in the area, the report said.

It also reported a lower proportion of middle-income earners (those making $40,000 to $60,000 a year) among the anglophones.

Weakened Political Clout

The survey found visible minority groups have a higher proportion of households that fall below the low-income cut-off index, including immigrants from Africa, China and West Asia.

"Given that anglophones make up a disproportionate share of the visible minority and immigrant groups, it is likely that there are many anglophones who are living below the low-income cut-off index," the report said.
 
"We're seen as part of the majority in Canada by the francophones, but we're actually a minority within a minority. It's an unusual position," Taylor said.

Taylor said the English community has weakened political clout, with only one anglophone provincial cabinet minister.

Now that the survey has identified the problems, Taylor said, it's up to the English community to band together, and to find new leadership.