Title
The Language Filter: Language as a Tool of Immigrant Selection and Integration in Québec and Canada's Federal Framework
Abstract
Even though Québec is a province of Canada, their ideologies differ greatly. These differences are based on historical, linguistic, and cultural tensions that have shaped Canada and made it the way it is today. This thesis will analyze how these divides came about by focusing on how language policies have shaped the selection of immigrants and the integration frameworks in Québec and Canada since the Quiet Revolution. Through a desk-based analysis of government documents and policy texts, the study finds that Québec uses an intercultural framework, whereas the federal government of Canada uses a multiculturalist framework. This is based on the fact that Québec tries to protect and preserve the French language and cultural identity, so they mostly select immigrants who speak French and can learn the norms and values of Québec. Québec's language filter is therefore a symbolic one that helps to preserve French and its culture. The rest of Canada mostly focuses on accommodating cultural and linguistic diversity. Immigrants are mostly selected based on their economic contributions and language skills, not their cultural background. Canada's language filter is mostly practical, however, its nation building efforts also reflect a symbolic filter. These different approaches lead to tensions between the federal government and the province, showing the complex relations between different levels of government in a multilingual and multicultural federal state.
Keywords
Québec, Canada, immigrant selection, language as a filter, integration, multiculturalism, interculturalism
Author
Karen Splint
Universities
Université de Liège & Universität Osnabrück
Year
2025