{"id":580399,"date":"2026-04-03T22:07:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T22:07:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/580399\/"},"modified":"2026-04-03T22:07:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T22:07:09","slug":"legault-sounds-alarm-on-french-decline-in-montreal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/580399\/","title":{"rendered":"Legault sounds alarm on French decline in Montreal"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s a theme Fran\u00e7ois Legault has returned to time and again.<\/p>\n

In his farewell speech as premier, Legault once again warned about the future of French in Montreal, as he leaves office with his party plummeting in the polls.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I look at the situation in Montreal, I am worried,\u201d Legault, who turns 69 in May, said Thursday in Quebec\u2019s National Assembly. \u201cWhether it is the language used at home, at work or in public space, there is a decline.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among several messages in his speech, he urged lawmakers across party lines to take responsibility for protecting French.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s true that our nation is evolving. But we have the right to wish for Quebec to remain Quebec,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

When Legault took office in 2018, he set about implementing a \u201cthird way\u201d: remain in Canada but protect and advance Quebec\u2019s identity and culture, culminating in one of the most aggressive efforts in a generation to strengthen French.<\/p>\n

Most notably was Bill 96, which came into force in June 2025, requiring French to dominate public signage and extend francisation rules to smaller businesses. There was also the targeting of English-speaking higher education institutions, with tuition hikes for out-of-province students, among other policies.<\/p>\n

\t\tEditor\u2019s Picks\t<\/p>\n

Enforcement under Legault\u2019s administration has also intensified. The province\u2019s language watchdog has seen its budget roughly double since 2018. <\/p>\n

But it\u2019s an issue, however, that remains fiercely contested across the province.<\/p>\n

A 2025 survey commissioned for a study by QUESCREN found 72 per cent of francophones believe French is under threat. However, 70 per cent of Quebec\u2019s anglophones said it is not.<\/a><\/p>\n

On April 12, about 20,000 party members of the Coalition Avenir Qu\u00e9bec, which Legault founded in 2011, will choose a new leader: Christine Fr\u00e9chette or Bernard Drainville. That person will automatically become Quebec\u2019s next premier.<\/p>\n

Ahead of a general election later this year, the CAQ finds itself in an uphill battle: A recent L\u00e9ger survey placed support for the CAQ at only nine per cent, a level that could leave the party with no seats if an election were held today, according to analysts.<\/p>\n

Legault, who himself leaves with the lowest approval rating of any Canadian premier, is expected to continue as the MNA for L\u2019Assomption.<\/p>\n

What else to know from Legault\u2019s speech<\/p>\n

Legault, a co-founder of Air Transat before his political career, urged Quebecers not to become \u201cjaded and fearful,\u201d citing global instability, including tensions linked to Donald Trump and continuing wars, as a reason to stay grounded.<\/p>\n

Legault said francophones survived \u201cimprobable\u201d odds over 400 years by defending their language, culture and values.<\/p>\n

Quebec Liberal Leader Andr\u00e9 Fortin praised him as a \u201cself-made man\u201d who \u201cgave everything\u201d during difficult years.<\/p>\n

Parti-Quebecois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon commended Legault\u2019s commitment to Quebec. He also used his tribute to question what Legault\u2019s \u201cthird way\u201d achieved in terms of gains from Ottawa.<\/p>\n

With files from The Gazette\u2019s Philip Authier.<\/p>\n

Do you have a story tip? Write to me at hnorth@postmedia.com<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Profile<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tI\u2019ve been writing for the Montreal Gazette since 2023, chasing the biggest stories I can find and always looking for new ways to tell them. I studied economics and computer science at McGill. Now I live in the city\u2019s Plateau, where I wear Doc Martens to blend in among the hipsters. It doesn\u2019t work. Seen something interesting? Email me: hnorth@postmedia.com\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s a theme Fran\u00e7ois Legault has returned to time and again. In his farewell speech as premier, Legault…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":580400,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194292],"tags":[49,48,218342,63778,2338,92296,222207],"class_list":{"0":"post-580399","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-montreal","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-coalition-avenir-quebec-caq","11":"tag-francois-legault","12":"tag-montreal","13":"tag-news-videos","14":"tag-quebec-language-policy"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/580399","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=580399"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/580399\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/580400"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=580399"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=580399"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=580399"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}