BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association
Your Data Your Rights
A group representing anglophones in Quebec is calling on the provincial elections authority to reverse its decision to only send out voter information in French.
Élections Québec said Tuesday that printed voter cards will only be available in French for the first time in its history, in order to comply with language laws.
In previous elections, voter information cards were printed in both English and French.
Spokesperson Julie St-Arnaud-Drolet said in an email that Élections Québec must follow legislation adopted in 2022 making French the sole language of communication for public institutions. However, this year’s documents will include a QR code for voters to access information online in English, she added.
Indigenous voters and those eligible to receive English instructions must contact Élections Québec to request English information.
But Eva Ludvig, the director of a lobby group that represents the anglophone community in Quebec, says the new measures are creating unnecessary barriers for voters. She says Élections Québec, as a neutral and independent institution, should encourage maximum participation in democracy.
“I think this goes contrary to all that,” said Ludvig, the director of Talking Advocating Living in Quebec. “This limits participation. It marginalizes English speakers. It limits participation to those who aren’t adept at using technology.”
According to Statistics Canada, around five per cent — or roughly 400,000 voters in Quebec — only speak English. Ludvig says anglophone seniors, many of whom are unilingual, will be especially affected, especially if they don’t know how to scan a QR code.
St-Arnaud-Drolet said the elections authority will multiply its efforts to reach anglophone and allophone voters throughout the campaign period.
She said the agency repeatedly asked both the commissioner of the French language and the minister of the French language to be allowed to provide basic information in both languages during the election period, but “these efforts were unsuccessful.”
“We will run advertisements in English-language media … as well as on several websites and online streaming platforms, such as Spotify,” she said.
But Ludvig says those measures are not enough. She worries the new directives could prevent anglophones from showing up at the ballot, especially as Quebec has flip-flopped over who can access services in English since it expanded its language laws.
“All voters need to be treated equally and have equal access to clear information as to the process,” she said. “This is fundamentally an issue of democratic participation, not language politics.”
Duff Conacher, co-founder of Democracy Watch, agrees with Ludvig.
He says that not having printed materials hinders access to information, even if it can be found online. He says that the provincial election guide, which gives thorough information on voting options, is not as easy to read as a notice with the address of a polling station.
“It’s a bad idea to put up barriers to any voters voting, and this is a barrier,” he said. “People are not being mailed printed information directly in the language that they speak and read.”
Donal Gill, a political science professor at Dawson College, says that while he understands the concerns of the anglophone community, he does not expect to see a drop in voter turnout as a result of the new rules. He says most anglophones in Quebec are functionally bilingual.
“Political parties have very well-oiled machines to make sure that older voters get to the ballot box,” he said. “So I think that will fill any gaps there.“
He said those pressuring Élections Québec are “barking up the wrong tree,” as the agency’s changes are in line with the law and not meant to favour any one political party.
However, he warns against favouring the protection of the French language over making democracy as accessible as possible.
“The law is written oftentimes in a kind of a clumsy way, and this is one of the ways in which it’s going to take effect,” he said. “It’s a furtherance of a process that’s been ongoing that can be debated, but it can also be reversed if a different government came in with different priorities.”
Voters should receive information cards by Sept. 18, ahead of the election on Oct. 5, according to Élections Québec.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 1, 2026.
The Local Journalism Initiative (LJI) is a federally funded program to add coverage in under-covered areas or on under-covered issues. This content is created and submitted by participating publishers and is not edited. Access can also be gained by registering and logging in at: https://lji-ijl.ca
You can support trusted and verified news content like this.
FIPA’s news monitor subscribers, donors and funders help make these available to everyone rather than behind a paywall. We appreciate every contribution because it makes a difference.
If you found this article interesting and useful, please consider contributing here.
