Quebec’s office for the protection of the French language carried out close to 10,000 inspections this past year as the province continues to crack down on businesses that fail to comply with its language law.

A total of 9,813 inspections were carried out between April 1, 2024, and March 31, 2025, representing a 47 per cent increase from the 2022 and 2023 period.

The figures were revealed in the office’s most recent annual report made public this week.

The inspections came in response to a record number of complaints, along with the office’s own surveillance efforts.

During that timeframe, a total of 10,371 complaints were brought to the office. The figure represents a nearly 14 per cent increase from the 2023 to 2024 period — and a close to 140 per cent increase from five years ago, according to the language watchdog.

“This record number reflects the public’s growing concern over the protection of the French language and the respect of their linguistic rights,” the annual report noted.

Those complaints primarily came in response to not being served in French in stores or elsewhere, and a lack of French on commercial websites and signage.

In nearly 94 per cent of cases, complaints prompted corrections by the businesses found to be in violation of the law.

The number of complaints over French not being used by staff in stores or other public services has grown significantly, the office reported, representing 40 per cent of all complaints received. That’s up from a quarter of complaints five years ago.

Office’s expenses have also surged since 2018

The office’s expenses totalled $49 million this past year, and $44 million the year before that. The most recent expense is more than double what it spent in its 2017 to 2018 fiscal year, before Premier Francois Legault’s government came into power in October of 2018.

Much of those expenses went toward the handling of complaints, the language watchdog reported. A significant amount of resources were also devoted to ensure businesses complied with a new language law in the province, it noted.

Surveillance remains a high priority for the language watchdog. As of this year it has been conducting a widescale operation targeting businesses in the greater Montreal area, setting a goal to carry out 1,200 inspections by March 31, 2026.

The operation comes in response to new requirements aimed at businesses that came into effect earlier this year. Under the updated language law, French must now take up twice as much space as other languages on storefront signs. These requirements also apply to advertisements.

The law also placed new demands on the way French is incorporated in product packaging, and requires that businesses with at least 25 employees use French as the primary workplace language. Previously the law only applied to businesses with at least 50 employees.

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Quebec’s Bill 96 requires French to be the dominant language on store signs and imposes stricter guidelines for product packaging. The changes came into effect on June 1 despite a request from business groups to extend the deadline for companies to adjust.

As of March 31, a total of 14,366 businesses in Quebec had registered with the language watchdog to ensure they had undertaken a “francization” process. That’s up from 11,509 registered at the same time the year prior.

Businesses in violation of Quebec’s language law can be fined $3,000 to $30,000 per day for a first infraction, and up to $90,000 per day for a third offence.