Poll shows anglo-Quebecers mistrust Provincial Government

Seventy per cent of English-speaking Quebecers do not trust the provincial government, according to a recent study conducted by Léger Marketing.

Geoffrey Chambers, the president of the Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN), said the numbers are not surprising.

“I think this government has given a number of soft signals that it’s not really listening to the community,” said Chambers. “(They’re) continuing to talk about school boards, what they did with Bill 21 and even some harder signals taking away our schools.”

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Two-thirds of those surveyed said the government doesn’t understand the concerns of english-speaking Quebecers.

Among the concerns listed in the study were the CAQ’s positions, ideologies and legislation such as Bill 21, known as the secularism bill and their campaign promise to abolish school boards.

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French-Quebecer Annie Chicoine believes “the Legault government should be a little more open on their rights and issues.”

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“It’s a worry that (the CAQ is) not a government that’s sensitive to the civil rights of minorities,” said Chambers.

Out of the 2,000 English-speaking Quebecers surveyed, the majority felt they often had issues with provincial services like health care.

Natalie Gerbaux recounts a time when she noticed the way English- and French-speaking Quebecers were treated differently.

READ MORE: Majority of anglophone Quebecers say axing school boards puts minority language rights at risk: survey

“I had a partner once upon a time with an English name and I saw it from my own eyes,” she said. “I got the opportunities, I got the doors open, she (had) plenty of other qualities I didn’t have, for example, but because of the name.”

Quebec Premier François Legault did not comment on the poll but instead insisted his priorities will benefit the anglophone community.

“My top priority is really education, get education closer to economy, create well-paid jobs and I will continue to explain that these are my priorities and its good for the anglophones,” said Legault.

READ MORE: Poll shows CAQ has gained support since election

Conducted by Léger Marketing for the Quebec Community Groups Network, the Community Economic Development and Employability Corporation (CEDEC), the Quebec English School Boards Association (QESBA) and the Association for Canadian Studies (ACS), the survey was conducted via web panel between Aug. 29 and Sept. 4, 2019. The poll sampled 1,936 Quebecers. This included 1,019 Quebecers with English as their first language, 773 Quebecers with French as their first language and 144 persons whose first language is neither English nor French. The survey has a margin of error of 2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.