A Snapshot of Poverty Among Québec’s English-Speaking Communities

2023 - 08 - 30

Contributors

Executive Summary

Morgan Gagnon, Policy Researcher, PERT

Sithandazile Kuzviwanza, Director of Policy & Research, PERT

Québec is home to more than 1.2 million English speakers, representing 14.9% of the province’s population. Data from the 2021 Census of Canada indicates that English-speaking Quebecers occupy a more precarious economic position than their French-speaking counterparts, experiencing higher rates of poverty and unemployment and earning lower median incomes.

Research conducted by PERT has highlighted some of the specific barriers and challenges English speakers face regarding labour market integration and retention in Québec, including lack of French-language training for the workforce, lack of English-language employability services, lack of English-language vocational training, and lack of wrap-around support services. These employment challenges impact English speakers’ labour market outcomes and are associated with higher rates of poverty. Furthermore, many of these challenges, especially lack of wrap-around supports (e.g. housing or food security), can directly contribute to–and result from–poverty.

These findings demonstrate the need for Québec policymakers to employ a linguistic lens when analyzing poverty in Québec and to examine the relationships between language, employment and poverty. Utilizing a linguistic lens to address poverty would allow Québec policymakers to combat the specific disparities faced by linguistic minority communities, advancing to the goal of a poverty-free Québec

Recommendations

Linguistic Lens

Adopt a linguistic lens to understand and analyze trends in economic precarity and poverty and advance solutions to combat poverty and social exclusion.

Global Supports

Increase income supports available to low-income Quebecers and those living in poverty; ensure there are no French-language barriers to accessing and enrolling in income support programs.

French-language Learning

Increase the availability and accessibility of French-language training for the working population.
Increased investment in work-integrated language training programs.
Raise awareness of the subsidies available to companies for French-language training of their employees.
Develop programs that meet the diverse needs of learners.

Access to Wrap-around Supports

Adopt a holistic approach to access to employment, which understands food security, housing, childcare, transportation, and mental and physical health as necessary precursors to employment.

Community-based Approach

Develop closer collaboration between government and community organizations providing basic services such as accompaniment, translation, health information, and employment support.

Vulnerable Groups

Develop targeted programming for specific English-speaking groups who experience higher rates of poverty, including wrap-around supports and employment programs for youth, seniors, visible minority groups and immigrants, and non-permanent residents.