Background slide

The land now referred to as Canada was colonized first by the French in the 17th Century, and later more expansively by the British. The Canadian Province of Quebec, the territory most heavily colonized by the French, has long held a unique identity centered around the primacy of the French language and has historically suffered from both a relative lack of economic development and from discrimination against Francophones in the labor market. Approximately a quarter of all Canadians are Francophones and over 80% of these Francophones reside in the Province of Quebec. Since 1969, Canada has officially been bilingual at the federal level, and all federal laws and services are available in both French and English. Lingering tensions led Quebec to hold referendums on secession in 1980 and 1995, both of which had a small majority voting against secession. Today, Quebec and Francophones hold an outsize role in Canadian politics, with half of Prime Ministers hailing from Quebec since 1968 and all being bilingual. There is a strong norm - enforced by some parties as rule - that candidates for party leadership and by extension federal premiership be bilingual.