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Soraya Martinez Ferrada, mayor of Montreal, speaks to media following a speech by the premier in Montreal on Monday, June 1, 2026. Evan Buhler \/ Montreal Gazette<\/p>\nPremier Christine Fr\u00e9chette made an overture to Quebec anglophones on Monday, promising to set a \u201cdifferent tone\u201d after years of acrimony between the Coalition Avenir Qu\u00e9bec government and the community.<\/p>\n
In an aside during a speech to a Montreal business audience, Fr\u00e9chette said she wanted to talk about the importance of Quebec\u2019s English-speaking community.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy overarching responsibility to promote and protect French will not change, but tone matters,\u201d she said in English.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs the premier of all Quebecers, I hope to bring a different tone to these discussions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fr\u00e9chette has been criticized for not speaking directly to anglophones in previous speeches since becoming premier in April.<\/p>\n
Under former premier Fran\u00e7ois Legault, the CAQ government clashed with the anglophone community over language laws, the financing of English universities and the government\u2019s plan to abolish English school boards.<\/p>\n
On Monday, Fr\u00e9chette pointed to Quebec\u2019s bid for Montreal to host a proposed NATO global defence bank as proof that her government values anglophones.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have highlighted the presence not only of a large francophone community, but also an important anglophone community in Montreal and the availability of English-language health and education services as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fr\u00e9chette added: \u201cI firmly believe that the vibrant presence of our historically important English-speaking community \u2014 not only in Montreal, but throughout Quebec \u2014 is an integral part of our \u2018vivre-ensemble.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
She noted that of Quebec\u2019s nine million residents, roughly one million are anglophone \u2014 and that they speak more French today than ever before. \u201cI think that deserves to be commended,\u201d she said in French.<\/p>\n
Since taking office, Fr\u00e9chette has faced sharp criticism from the anglophone community over her government\u2019s plan to move 27,000 students from English-language adult education and vocational programs into the French system.<\/p>\n
Her remarks on Monday came during a wide-ranging speech in which the premier laid out her government\u2019s economic agenda for Montreal and Quebec before a Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal audience of 1,100 people.<\/p>\n
Fr\u00e9chette said her government will boost the economy by raising made-in-Quebec procurement targets, cutting taxes for some small and medium-size businesses, reducing red tape and reactivating the PEQ immigration program for two years \u2014 measures she framed as essential as U.S. tariffs continue to bite Quebec\u2019s economy.<\/p>\n
The premier also vowed to improve Quebec\u2019s dilapidated major infrastructure, much of which was built in the 1960s and \u201970s and is now reaching the end of its useful life.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She said her approach will prioritize maintenance over new construction, and announced that the finance minister will soon release a formal infrastructure maintenance policy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Montreal, which generates 54 per cent of Quebec\u2019s GDP, is the engine of the province\u2019s economy, Fr\u00e9chette noted, as she pledged to reset what she acknowledged has been a strained relationship between the provincial government and the city.<\/p>\n
She offered two promises to Montreal, though they did not include dollar figures or timelines.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She said the CAQ government plans to help finance a major public transit project in Montreal\u2019s east end and a long-promised major expansion of the Palais des congr\u00e8s.<\/p>\n
The convention centre project would include a hotel, adding 13,000 square metres of space \u2014 enough to accommodate 50 additional events per year, the government says.<\/p>\n
Fr\u00e9chette said the project must also include funding from Ottawa, the City of Montreal and the private sector.<\/p>\n
Soraya Martinez Ferrada, mayor of Montreal, speaks to media following a speech by the premier in Montreal on Monday, June 1, 2026. Evan Buhler \/ Montreal Gazette<\/p>\n
Among those listening to Fr\u00e9chette was Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada.<\/p>\n
Speaking to reporters later, Martinez Ferrada said she was glad to hear Fr\u00e9chette say it\u2019s time to stop pitting Montreal against Quebec\u2019s regions.<\/p>\n
However, \u201cI don\u2019t think there was anything new in the premier\u2019s speech,\u201d Martinez Ferrada said. \u201cI think we\u2019re still waiting for something more concrete.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said she hopes the coming provincial election campaign will encourage the CAQ and other parties to explain what they will do to help Montreal in areas such as housing and homelessness.<\/p>\n
Martinez Ferrada said she was happy to hear Fr\u00e9chette \u201cacknowledge our important anglophone population.\u201d The mayor said Montreal\u2019s large number of trilingual workers is a major economic asset.<\/p>\n
However, she added, \u201cFrench must continue to be protected and promoted. If we don\u2019t protect French, we\u2019ll lose that competitiveness and the identity that matters \u2014 that of being a Quebec people.\u201d<\/p>\n
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