English-speaking populations in Quebec's regions continue to decline (2024)

QUEBEC — A new analysis of 2021 census data reveals that while the number of English-speaking Quebecers in Montreal and Gatineau has increased, the same cannot be said for other regions, which continue to see their populations of anglophones slide.

There was a decline of English-speaking populations between 2001 and 2021 in parts of coastal Quebec, the Eastern Townships and the city of Rouyn-Noranda, according to data compiled by the Quebec English-Speaking Communities Research Network (QUESCREN).

Article content

The new reality in those regions is that of decline in general: aging populations, high unemployment, low incomes and a lack of job opportunities for youth, the study says.

“We are creating an awareness of the reality on the ground,” said Shannon Bell, the research associate at QUESCREN who worked on the study. “We’re not trying to be alarmist or anything. We are just trying to make sense of it all.”

The decline is most dramatic in the coastal regions — including the Gaspé Peninsula and the Îles-de-la-Madeleine — where English-speaking communities, along with francophones, once thrived in resource-based economies.

The regional municipalities of Minganie and Le-Golfe-du-St-Laurent on the lower North Shore, for example, saw their English-speaking populations decline by 20 per cent between 2001 and 2021. The Avignon regional municipality’s English population slipped by 18.9 per cent.

The Rocher-Percé regional municipality, which includes the towns of Chandler and Percé, experienced a drop of seven per cent. The English population of La Côte-de-Gaspé, which includes the city of Gaspé, dropped by 7.2 per cent while the Îles-de-la-Madeleine saw a 6.7 per cent decline.

Article content

Article content

The study notes, however, that French-speaking populations in the Gaspé and parts of the lower North Shore also declined in comparable percentages at the same time, and largely for the same economic reasons.

The difference is the English-speaking populations were already small, so the decline appears “starker,” Bell said.

The study makes no recommendations on how to reverse the decline — if that’s even possible — but is designed to put the facts on the table.

“Studies have shown that population decline in rural, resource-based economies is often due to challenging economic factors that drive younger people away,” the study concludes.

“This depopulation leads to a loss of community autonomy, resulting in a reduction of local services and businesses that further exacerbates its marginalization.”

“It’s kind of normal,” added Bell. “This is what happens when resources dry up or change, priorities change, people leave and they don’t come back.”

The same decline is evident in the Eastern Townships, where the English population is not only dropping, but aging. The decline is most significant in regional municipalities immediately surrounding the city of Sherbrooke, which itself once had a large English population.

Article content

The drop was 11.3 per cent in Le Haut-St-François and 7.31 per cent in Memphrémagog. There has been no corresponding decline of the French-speaking populations in these regional municipalities.

The English-speaking population of the northwest Quebec community of Rouyn-Noranda has also dropped. The study concludes the number there went down by 13 per cent between 2001 and 2021, largely due to a lack of population renewal.

That contrasts with the history of the city, which used to be divided into two municipalities. In 1941, about 41 per cent of Noranda was English-speaking while in Rouyn the English population was 14 per cent.

The statistics for Rouyn-Noranda reveal a high percentage of seniors and a low population of children under 14. On the other hand, the francophone population of the city is growing.

And as is happening in some other regions of Quebec, the recent influx of Filipino immigrants, who speak English, is now being reflected in the local English school and Catholic Church.

The decline in the number of English speakers is not as big a factor in areas around Montreal, where many anglophones had chosen to live even before the exodus from the city that was sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The report says the number of anglophones living in cottage country — roughly defined as rural areas within a two-hour drive of the metropolis — remains stable.

The studyfollows another report about the state of the English community based on 2021 census data.In May 2023, a study produced by the Provincial Employment Roundtable revealed the unemployment gap between francophones and anglophones had grown, with the problem being especially dramatic in the regions.

pauthier@postmedia.com

x.com/philipauthier

Article content

Article content