People take part in a protest against Bill 96 in Montreal on May 26, 2022. A Quebec Superior Court judge has temporarily struck down two articles of the province's new language law, saying they could prevent some English-speaking organizations from accessing justice through the courts. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham HughesGraham Hughes/The Canadian Press
At a podium in the McGill Faculty Club, before an audience numbering in the low double digits, Colin Standish vowed to “reconquer Quebec” and “let freedom reign.”
Mr. Standish was launching the campaign of his new Canadian Party of Quebec, which will contest the province’s Oct. 3 election by appealing to aggrieved anglophones who feel their rights have been trampled. He is not alone in targeting that demographic, as the votes of the province’s English speakers are more up for grabs now than at any time since the 1980s.
The passage of Bill 96, which restricts the use of English in the delivery of public services, the courts and medium-sized businesses, has galvanized the anglophone community and left parts of it looking for a new champion.
The age-old political home of anglos, the Liberal Party of Quebec, ultimately voted against the bill, but supported parts of it; it proposed an amendment that would have required students in the province’s English colleges to take three courses in French. The Liberals have since apologized, but their perceived attempts to court Quebec nationalists have alienated some anglophones.
“People are furious at the betrayal of Bill 96,” Mr. Standish said at the campaign launch. “A vote for the Liberal Party is a vote for Bill 96.”
Quebec’s election campaign is under way. A guide to the five parties vying for votes on Oct. 3
The Canadian Party of Quebec is one of two new parties explicitly vying for English-speaking voters on the basis of language politics, along with the Bloc Montréal, led by former municipal politician Balarama Holness. Both are attacking the Liberals at least as fiercely as they are the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government of François Legault, which conceived and passed the law.
“The Liberals are in defensive mode,” said Daniel Béland, the director of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada. “They should not take anything for granted.”
Sensing an opportunity, other small parties are also trying to nibble at the anglophone vote. The Conservative Party of Quebec has pitched itself as an alternative to the Liberals in heavily English Montreal ridings. Even the province’s tiny Green Party has put up campaign posters appealing to anglos, featuring slogans such as “Bonjour-Hi” – a reference to a bilingual greeting common among Montreal shopkeepers that infuriates some francophones.
Polls suggest the CAQ is almost certain to be re-elected with another majority – but with minimal anglophone support: In addition to Bill 96, the governing party also angered English speakers by scrapping a planned expansion of the community linchpin Dawson College and abolishing school boards, although English boards remain open while they challenge the law in court. Mr. Legault offended others by refusing to participate in an English-language debate during the campaign on the grounds that he was too busy, effectively scrapping the event.
The role of the anglophone vote will likely be in determining the fate of the Liberals, who are at risk of losing their status as the Official Opposition. Although many of the province’s heavily English-speaking ridings are still almost guaranteed to vote “red,” Prof. Béland said, party leader Dominique Anglade is working hard in a community that has often allowed the Liberals to coast.
At a virtual town hall hosted by the Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN), an anglophone advocacy organization, Ms. Anglade spoke about how her background as a Black woman of Haitian descent helped her empathize with linguistic minorities. She praised the English contribution to Quebec history (“It’s part of who we are, it’s part of our DNA”) and vowed to increase funding for anglo community groups while repealing large parts of Bill 96.
Anger should be directed at the government, not the opposition, she argued, noting that the Liberals also voted against Mr. Legault’s Bill 21, which bans certain public servants from wearing visible religious symbols and is also deeply unpopular among anglophone Quebeckers.
“We’re the only party that voted against all those bills,” she said. “The problem here is François Legault.”
That argument may carry the day, with anglophones casting their protest vote against the CAQ rather than the Liberals. The wide range of options facing frustrated anglos may splinter the anti-Liberal vote, especially in ridings where the Canadian Party of Quebec and the Bloc Montréal are both running candidates.
But many English speakers are considering their options rather than automatically casting their votes for the Liberals, as they often have in the past.
“There’s a lot of anxiety, a lot of confusion and people not knowing what to do,” said Eva Ludvig, the interim president of the QCGN. “What’s the best strategy? Who should they vote for?”
The 1989 election offers a precedent for anglophones forsaking the Liberals when linguistic tension boils over. Then-Liberal premier Robert Bourassa had recently invoked the notwithstanding clause to defend Quebec’s law requiring exterior commercial signs to be exclusively in French, inspiring the creation of the Equality Party. It surprised many observers by winning four ridings traditionally loyal to the Liberals.
That party’s former leader, Robert Libman, now working as an architect in Montreal, said it remains to be seen whether the new anglo-rights parties can channel the community’s frustrations. But he said there are parallels between his era and today.
“They’re responding to a void – a void that prompted the creation of the Equality Party in 1989.”
Our Morning Update and Evening Update newsletters are written by Globe editors, giving you a concise summary of the day’s most important headlines. Sign up today.