Overview

Since the 1960s, bilingualism has become a defining aspect of Canadian identity. And yet, today, relatively few English Canadians speak or choose to speak French. Why has personal bilingualism failed to increase as much as attitudes about bilingualism as a Canadian value? In So They Want Us to Learn French, Matthew Hayday explores the various ways in which bilingualism was promoted to English-speaking Canadians from the 1960s to the late 1990s. He analyzes the strategies and tactics employed by organizations on both sides of the bilingualism debate. Against a dramatic background of constitutional change and controvery, economic turmoil, demographic shifts, and the on-again, off-again possibility of Quebec separatism, English-speaking Canadians had to decide whether they and their children should learn French. Highlighting the personal experiences of proponents and advocates, Hayday provides a vivid narrative of a complex, controversial, and fundamentally Canadian question.

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9780774830058

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Reviews

Hayday's work is solid, carefully researched, and written in an accessible style ... [T]he entire book is worthwhile reading, for it tells an important story of efforts, not by political decision-makers or paper-pushers but by grassroots activists, to transform English Canada's linguistic identity one classroom at a time. -- Bruce Douville, Algoma University * Canadian Journal of History * Hayday's work is a careful account of the English Canadian response to the Official Languages Act and French immersion programming that effectively illustrates the divisions of public opinion on these controversial programs. It is a valuable addition to our understanding of the evolution of English Canadian opinions regarding Canadian identity, official bilingualism, and national unity. -- Jack Cecillon, Glendon College * Historical Studies in Education *

Hayday's work is solid, carefully researched, and written in an accessible style ... [T]he entire book is worthwhile reading, for it tells an important story of efforts, not by political decision-makers or paper-pushers but by grassroots activists, to transform English Canada's linguistic identity one classroom at a time. -- Bruce Douville, Algoma University * Canadian Journal of History *

Author Information

Matthew Hayday is an associate professor of Canadian history at the University of Guelph. He is the author of Bilingual Today, United Tomorrow: Official Languages in Education and Canadian Federalism and co-editor of Mobilizations, Protests and Engagements: Canadian Perspectives on Social Movements and Contemporary Quebec: Selected Readings and Commentaries, as well as many scholarly articles and book chapters on issues related to political history, Canadian language policies, English-French relations, national identity, federalism, commemorations and Canada Day celebrations. He was the founding chair of the Canadian Historical Association's Political History Group and has served on the editorial boards of the Canadian Historical Review, the Journal of the Canadian Historical Association and the Journal of Canadian Studies. He is currently the series editor for Oxford University Press Canada's ""Living History"" Canadian history book series.

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