{"id":7405,"date":"2024-01-31T06:14:55","date_gmt":"2024-01-31T11:14:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/panoramitalia.com\/?p=7405"},"modified":"2024-01-31T08:26:57","modified_gmt":"2024-01-31T13:26:57","slug":"saint-leonard-schools-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/panoramitalia.com\/index.php\/2024\/01\/31\/saint-leonard-schools-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"The Saint-Leonard Schools Crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Canadian Encyclopedia –<\/em><\/strong> The Saint-L\u00e9onard Schools Crisis is the name of a two-year period of low-intensity civil unrest in the Montreal<\/a> suburb of Saint-L\u00e9onard<\/a> in the mid-late 1960s. In the context of the Quiet Revolution<\/a>, the crisis focused on whether allophone<\/a> immigrants<\/a> had the right to choose their children\u2019s language of instruction. Though there were angry, occasionally violent protests, the matter was resolved peacefully through legislation and a public commission. The crisis ultimately led to the adoption of language laws in Quebec<\/a> that made French<\/a> the province\u2019s sole official language, as well as the primary language of instruction for immigrants to the province.<\/p>

Historical Context<\/h3>

In the 1950s and 1960s, Italian<\/a> immigrants<\/a> settled in Saint-L\u00e9onard<\/a>. At the time, the area was quickly changing from being rural and francophone<\/a> to being suburban and increasingly multilingual. From a population of 925 in 1956, Saint-L\u00e9onard\u2019s population grew to 52,000 in 1971.<\/p>

Many of these Italian immigrants wanted to send their children to English-language<\/a> schools. They believed that learning English would give their children more opportunities as the anglophone<\/a> upper class dominated Quebec<\/a>\u2019s economy. In contrast, francophone schools focused more on preserving traditions. Moreover, francophone spaces were less welcoming of new immigrants. The Parent Report argued that this was because previous generations of French Canadians lived in relative cultural isolation and were heavily focused on preserving their language and society. As francophone birthrates slowed and many immigrants learned English instead of French<\/a>, immigration came to be seen as a potential threat to Quebec\u2019s francophone society.<\/p>

\"\"
Protesters during the Saint-L\u00e9onard schools crisis, 1969
(photo by Antoine Desilets\/courtesy of the Biblioth\u00e8que et Archives nationales du Qu\u00e9bec\/611983\/CC BY-NC-ND 4.0<\/a>)<\/sup><\/figcaption><\/figure>

Linguistic Tensions<\/h3>

While non-francophones settled Saint-L\u00e9onard<\/a>, the area also saw an influx of middle-class francophones<\/a>, many of whom had been active in Quebec<\/a> nationalist groups in their youth. (See<\/em> Francophone Nationalism in Quebec<\/a>.) Saint-L\u00e9onard\u2019s francophone community, which had been the majority a decade earlier, was now just over half of the population.<\/p>

The Italian community<\/a>\u2019s presence led to the creation of English-language<\/a> classes offered by French<\/a> schools. A bilingual<\/a> program (French and English) was introduced for grades 1 to 3 in 1963, but by 1967 parents were becoming discouraged with it, as it was not creating bilingual students.<\/p>

The bilingual program was supposed to help Italians integrate into the French-speaking majority. However, the program taught mathematics and science in English, encouraging students to pursue high school education in English. By 1968, about 85 per cent of bilingual program graduates opted to attend high school in English.<\/p>

School commissioners proposed the gradual elimination of the bilingual program in favour of unilingual French education for the first three years, with English taught as a second language. This proposal was opposed by immigrant<\/a> communities. In February 1968, they organized to get the right to choose the language of instruction for their children.<\/p>

Meanwhile, in March 1968, those in favour of unilingual French-language education created the Mouvement pour l\u2019int\u00e9gration scolaire (MIS), which became the Ligue pour l\u2019int\u00e9gration scolaire (LIS). The MIS wanted to reverse the trend of new immigrants integrating into the English-speaking provincial minority. Saint-L\u00e9onard architect Raymond Lemieux was elected the MIS\u2019s first leader. Both sides contested the school board elections to contest the language of education issue.<\/p>

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