A new poll reveals a stark divide between Quebec and the rest of Canada on whether the country should be officially bilingual.

In a poll conducted by Léger on behalf of The Canadian Press, only 43 percent of participants across Canada indicated a positive view of federal bilingualism — which was enshrined in law in 1969, making English and French the official languages of Canada.

Eighteen percent of respondents held a negative view.

However, in Quebec, 70 percent of participants said they view bilingualism positively; 11 percent expressed an opposing opinion.

Outside Quebec, the percentage of participants who view official bilingualism positively was 35 percent — with 23 percent in Alberta, followed closely by Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

When asked how important it is for Canada to remain officially bilingual, 83% of Quebec residents said it is important; nearly half of that number – 43 percent – agreed in the rest of Canada.

Sébastien Boisvert, Vice President of Public Affairs at Léger, said: "These are the two poles expressed in the survey. This value posited by the Canadian government, that we are a country with two official languages, and thus have bilingualism from coast to coast, is an illusion that does not hold true for the rest of Canada."

New Brunswick is the only officially bilingual province in Canada; in Quebec, French is the only official language.

Sixty percent of participants in Quebec said that other provinces, excluding New Brunswick, should be bilingual, while 26% said the same in the rest of Canada.

Fifty-five percent of participants in Quebec indicated their province should use both French and English as official languages, compared to 22% in the rest of the country.

However, 65% of Canadians outside Quebec said that provinces should be bilingual.

Boisvert said: "We have seen that for the rest of Canada, people do not see official bilingualism in Canada as a positive thing."

In fact, 41% of all participants – 60% in Quebec – said that official bilingualism is at the heart of Canadian identity; 49 percent in the rest of the country said this goal exists only to appease the minority.

Boisvert stated that federal bilingualism leaves Canadians outside Quebec "apathetic at best. Then, when asked about the importance of official bilingualism in Canada, just over half of English speakers said it is not important."

In Quebec, 70% of participants said the survival of the French language is threatened in Canada, dropping to 19% in the rest of the country.

When focusing on the survival of French speakers in Quebec, 63 percent of Quebec residents said they feel threatened compared to 11 percent in the rest of Canada.

Thirty-eight percent of Canadians outside Quebec said that English is threatened in Quebec, compared to just 17 percent of participants in the province.

The Léger poll was conducted online with 1,536 participants between June 14 and 17, 2024.

Since the sample was not probabilistic, the poll does not have a margin of error; Léger states that a probabilistic poll with a similar sample size would have a margin of error of 2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.