So They Want Us to Learn French: Promoting and Opposing Bilingualism in English-Speaking Canada

by Matthew Hayday

Bilingualism has become a defining aspect of Canadian identity. But why don’t more English Canadians actually speak French? So They Want Us to Learn French explores the various ways in which bilingualism was promoted to English-speaking Canadians from the 1960s to the late 1990s. It analyzes the strategies and tactics employed by organizations on both sides of the bilingualism debate. Attentive to the dramatic background of constitutional change, economic turmoil, demographic shifts, and Quebec separatism, Matthew Hayday’s vivid account places the personal experience of Canadians faced with the issue and reality of Canadian bilingualism within a historical, political, and social context.

364 pages, Paperback

Published April 15, 2016