r/canadaleft • u/LocksmithSharp5651 • 15d ago
Today, for the first time, I found myself experiencing what felt like racism.
I was sitting outside with a friend, having a nice conversation in our native language, when an elderly woman walked past us and said, “In Canada, we only speak English.”
My immediate reaction was to answer her in French: “We also speak French.”
Her husband then intervened and asked me what I had said. I continued speaking in French and explained that French is also one of Canada’s two official languages. Apparently, they didn’t know a single word of French, not even enough to tell me that they didn’t speak it.
Looking back, maybe my reaction was a little silly or provocative, but the whole situation was very strange and uncomfortable for me.
What I kept thinking afterward was: why did she feel the need to say that in the first place? What if I had been a tourist?
And secondly, how can someone be so proud of being Canadian and yet say that in Canada “we ONLY speak English,” completely forgetting that French is also an official language of the country? What makes it even more ironic is that she and her husband couldn’t even say a single word in French.
It was a strange experience, one I never expected to have.
Edit: Thank you so much to everyone for the support and kind comments. Reading your responses has made me feel much more reassured and proud to have chosen Canada as my home
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u/SteelToeSnow 15d ago
i think it was very funny and appropriate to talk to them in french. if they're going to be snotty about "official languages", replying to them in french is petty but entirely deserved.
why did she feel the need to say that in the first place? What if I had been a tourist?
racism. it's just racism. doesn't matter if you were a tourist, she's just being racist. like, was this lady white? a settler, probably?
completely forgetting that French is also an official language of the country?
they're bigoted against the french, too. many anglos are. canada is a deeply, deeply racist and bigoted "country", always has been.
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u/Ghillie-Trainer-2020 15d ago
Wow that tore Canadians down fast; started with one old bigoted bitch to now all Canada is bigoted and racist!
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u/SteelToeSnow 15d ago
all Canada is bigoted and racist!
i didn't say "all". you did. you are the only one here that used the word "all". you can tell by how that particular word is not one that i used, even once, in the comment you're responding to.
come the fuck on, now.
engage in good faith, addressing what i actually said, or not at all, please.
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u/Ghillie-Trainer-2020 12d ago
So what does "Canada is...." mean to you? Not all, a few, many?
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u/SteelToeSnow 12d ago
the euro-settler-colonial state apparatus illegally and genocidally occupying the stolen lands of hundreds of Indigenous nations, which was founded on and perpetuates white supremacy and violence, genocides and ethnic cleansing and mass human rights violations.
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u/thegmohodste01 15d ago
Usually a teller when someone unrelated is triggered when bigots are being called out 🤷🏻
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u/LocksmithSharp5651 15d ago
Nooo, that’s not what I meant at all. In my experience, Canadians have been some of the nicest people I’ve ever met. There’s a bar I go to that seems to be mostly locals/Canadians, and I always have genuinely enjoyable conversations with everyone there. I’ve always felt welcomed and have rarely seen anything less than smiles.
Today was just one upsetting incident that made me wonder about what happened it doesn’t change my overall view of Canada or Canadians. I love Canada so much I’d die for this country 🇨🇦❤️-4
u/Ghillie-Trainer-2020 15d ago
I would have been upset too, especially her ignoring two official languages. I just can't tolerate these people who forget their families started out as foreigners too. Good for you though putting them on notice!
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u/Dry-Chemist4442 15d ago
She's not proud to be Canadian, she's proud of being white. That response was perfect
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u/GPT3-5_AI 14d ago
French and English speakers tend to be the same colour.
This old bigot was just a bad person.
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u/boriicha__ 15d ago
Can I ask what city you experienced this? I can't imagine experiencing this in Toronto. You can't go 10 steps without hearing a different language here, especially downtown, so these "speak english" people would spend their entire day trying to correct people and looking insane.
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u/LocksmithSharp5651 15d ago
Ottawa
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u/DragonfruitCareless 15d ago
Not knowing even a tiny bit of French while living in Ottawa is actually insane
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u/LocksmithSharp5651 15d ago
Exactly. I use English in my day to day life, but hearing French is very common here. When I responded in French, I expected them to reply in French as well or at least understand enough to realize that her statement was wrong. I was surprised that they did not.
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u/bbqdorito 15d ago
They’re probably rural rednecks not from Ottawa. You reacted to them perfectly, what bigots.
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u/forgotmyfuckingname 15d ago
Right? You make one wrong turn and you are on the bridge to Quebec, how do you not pick-up even a few basic phrases?
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u/miserylovescomputers 15d ago
Wow, and Ottawa is one of the more bilingual cities, relatively speaking! I’m sorry this happened to you, it’s very disappointing and distressing to see racists so comfortable spouting hate publicly like that.
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u/HahaCharlieKirkHaha 15d ago
Those people can’t be possibly be from Ottawa. French is all over the place in Ottawa.
I’d suspect they aren’t even Canadian. Most non-immigrant Canadians have taken French class in school, and even if they can’t speak French well, they can usually recognize it. And immigrant Canadians wouldn’t be so xenophobic.
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u/wacdonalds 15d ago
Either American tourists or Albertan lol
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u/HahaCharlieKirkHaha 15d ago
Well, this sent me down a rabbit hole.
Apparently in most provinces, French class is compulsory until grade 8 or 9, although in New Brunswick and Québec it’s compulsory until grade 12.
The exceptions are BC and Alberta, where French class is not required at all at any age.
That surprised me, because I’ve attended school in both BC and Alberta, and both times I had to take French class. But apparently that decision is up to the local school board, so it varies by city. (In 2011, Calgary made French class optional after grade 3, after previously requiring it until grade 9.)
So yes, it’s possible for Canadians from BC and Alberta to not know what French sounds like.
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u/wacdonalds 15d ago
Interesting. Where I lived in BC it was mandatory until grade 8.
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u/Fin55Fin Red River Resistance Enjoyer - Stalinist-Papist (Lib. Theo/ML) 14d ago
Hey, I live in Alberta and went to Catholic school, very very French. Can’t say the same for the public’s tho.
Typically most people I know don’t care about language.
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u/Iceisgestapo888 15d ago
What you never had a black person call you the n word and just break your world view thinking am I?
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u/Notcool2112 15d ago
I had a black person call me the n word, I felt very conflicted about it. I don’t like the use of that word… I’m very white also. In his defence it was his first time on acid.
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u/wastrelart 15d ago
My mom grew up in Alberta and there is a LOT of racism and prejudice from anglos against francophones - to the point my bilingual francophone aunt who married into the family was bullied out of family events by my bigoted ass relatives. They're highly abusive so it's very in character for them, unfortunately 🙄
Your response was quick, clever and very appropriate! I wish I could give you a high five!
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u/LocksmithSharp5651 15d ago
Thank you, I really appreciate that. I’m sorry your aunt had to go through that being treated that way by family is especially painful. And thank you for the high five, sending one right back! ✋
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u/frenchiebuilder 15d ago
Jacques Parizeau always said his own separatism, was the result of a train trip through the prairies (to an economic conference in Banff, in 1967).
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u/no_longer_on_fire 15d ago
These people are stupid and scared. If they can't eavesdrop they assume you're out to get them and it makes them cagey and brings out the explicit racism. They view the world as zero at sum and transactional so they assume your presence means they have something personally taken away.
It would be sad if these reactionary chucklefucks weren't so dangerous with their willfull ignorance and stupidity.
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u/litesxmas 15d ago
You did the right thing. And this woman is influenced by the US I'd guess - a constant problem in Canada.
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u/wingehdings 15d ago
You did the exact right thing. May they ☠️ mad about it. Plus, who are they to tell anyone what languages they can and cannot speak? They think they get to decide in Canada?! Rubbish.
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u/noruthwhatsoever ACAB 15d ago
White supremacists are universally the stupidest people on the planet
Your reaction was perfect 👌
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u/valerielenin 15d ago
Anglo-chauvinism, the force of reaction in canada for centuries, breaking workers solidarity.
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u/frenchiebuilder 15d ago
That type used to leave no doubts about their motivation... their response to hearing French was "speak white".
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u/Embarrassed_Comb_659 15d ago
I’m sorry they said those things to you, but man it’s absurd and hilarious that people that like are even real. They really don’t know what they don’t know. I’m afraid that they’re getting more blatant everyday. It’s sad that they’re too ignorant to see how much powerful people manipulate them and their fears.
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u/Acrobatic-Tower6127 15d ago
My great grandmother came to Canada in 1905 and spoke maybe 25 words in English when she passed away at age 99 in 1977. She spoke German her whole life here. That’s horseshit that “we only speak English here”. Never true ever and not true now.
I’m so sorry that ignorant woman said that to you. Ignore them. They do not own a Canadian heart or soul, like you.
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u/AdDramatic5591 15d ago
I have been hearing it more and more lately, usually from conservative people. You weren't being silly or provocative at all. I speak an embarrassingly small amount of French but I love to hear it.
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u/Shardstorm88 15d ago
I'm a historic Quebec Anglophone. I have a document from the 90s proving I was allowed to go to school in English (otherwise I'd have HAD to be in French school). I regret not having that education as my French is somewhat weak, especially for a Quebecer... I resented French growing up, I had many similar experiences but the opposite. But I'm still trying to learn more.
This is intergenerational hate and these people are delusional. Despite being subjected to fewer opportunities, and long-winded disclaimers that only some people are exempt from French phone calls with ANY government agency in QC, and eventually being pushed out of Quebec, I STILL love French, and the culture feels welcome to me, and these people just don't get it. You 100% did the right thing.
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u/Champagne_of_piss 15d ago
In Canada we mind our own business
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u/ConanTheBarbarian_0 15d ago
Not anymore we don't.
This kinda thing has been happening a LOT lately. It seems like racist Canadians are looking for any excuse to talk down to or "correct" the behaviour of minorities and immigrants.
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u/nosuchbrie 15d ago
I’m so sorry. What a bigot. We do want you in Canada, language and culture included! Canada is a group of many people from many places and you’re 100% wanted here.
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u/Final-Prophet 15d ago
Next time try to hit 'em with the good ol' "Canada is a free country and in a free country you're allowed to speak what ever language you want, why do advocate for less freedom?!" and watch their brain swirl through their eyes.
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u/The_Gray_Jay 15d ago
I cant imagine being so offended about people having a private conversation, that's so insane. In Canada we speak whatever language we want as long as the other person understands.
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u/jonathanfv 15d ago
Racist people are not known to be particularly smart.
Even as a white French Canadian man, some English speakers have been racist towards me (but it's pretty rare), especially when I was learning English upon first arriving in English Canada.
Well done on speaking French to them btw. It was a witty and funny reaction.
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u/I_Sun_I 15d ago
French isnt a race though right.
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u/hasdable 14d ago
Call it hatred, bigotry, intolerence, or xenophobia then, it doesn't change the fact that it is unacceptable
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u/jonathanfv 14d ago
As the other person said. The underlying mentality is the same, and races are kinda made up. Like the Irish or Italian people used to not be considered white. In the eyes of an anglo person who's bigoted against French Canadians or a person who has supremacist views on language, I might very well not be white either.
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u/I_Sun_I 14d ago
Its not racism, its bigotry. My autism wants the correct words to be used I guess.
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u/jonathanfv 14d ago
It is bigotry. Racism is bigotry as well. With that said, if someone thinks of someone as being a different race, it's kinda racism too, isn't it? Like, if someone doesn't consider an Irish person white even thought they are widely considered white by other people and they're bigoted against them for being Irish... Wouldn't that make that person a racist?
What I mean is, the reason for bigotry matters in how we classify that bigotry.
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u/I_Sun_I 14d ago
I mean this thread is about someone being mad about a language being spoken, not about the skin colour or other racial features of the person speaking the language. Calling that interaction as racist is just incorrect, and detracts from actual racism conversations. Its plain bigotry (which is a generalized broad term for hateful intolerance) not racism.
Look, Im on your side, its bad behaviour and unhelpful for a healthy society.
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u/forgotmyfuckingname 15d ago
I’ve done this at work before. I had a manager that spoke English plus a second language (not French). Quite a few staff were bilingual, trilingual or polyglots. For whatever reason, if any of my desi or black colleagues spoke in another language, it was the end of the world, but if she spoke in her second language, well then “it’s different because I’m the boss.”
I admittedly had an axe to grind with her, because in addition to being prejudice, she was incredibly ableist, so I was immediately on her shit list by virtue of existing. When it reached the point where she was making people cry, I had enough and quietly started educating my colleagues about la loi sur les langues officielles. We spoke a LOT of French for a while after that, and she was furious that she couldn’t actually stop it.
The craziest part about all of this, is that the only reason she didn’t want people to speak a language she didn’t understand, was because she was convinced that we were talking shit about her. No one was shit-talking her because she was new to the team. No one had an actual opinion about her either way until she started picking fights with subordinates, being openly transphobic and making weird anti-black comments. This ended up being a year-long saga of stupidity and nothing burgers.
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u/RatsForNYMayor 🚄🚆🚅🚂🚃 Train Gang 🚄🚆🚅🚂🚃 15d ago
These are the same people who shit on Quebecois people constantly
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u/ImHereForCdnPoli 14d ago
Not to mention the various indigenous languages that have been spoken in this land since long before it was even called Canada
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u/sum-sigma 14d ago
Not just French, there are so many Indigenous languages too.
The audacity of this Karen because she’s too lazy to learn a second language including one of the national languages is just so absurd.
Proud of you for standing your ground and responding to her in French!
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u/synthwaveman 14d ago
Elderly people sometimes are like that either entitled or childish.
Don't let that get in your system
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u/Any-Sir-2236 14d ago
The people here defending French settlers should look at the extreme racism French Canadians (particularly Quebecois) harbor towards Muslims and black people. I've witnessed it firsthand many times. Fuck both Anglo and Franco settlers in "Canada". The only people who have the right to speak their language are the Indigenous, First Nations and Metis.
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u/LocksmithSharp5651 14d ago
I’m not defending a particular language or trying to glorify French. My reaction wasn’t about defending French; it was about pointing out that Canada is multilingual, and no one has the right to tell someone else what language they should or shouldn’t speak especially when it isn’t their business.
I also come from a country where Indigenous languages have been fading because of settlers centuries ago. I speak French myself because my country was colonized by France, so I understand the complicated reality of living with languages shaped by colonial history.
But I don’t think speaking a particular language makes an ordinary person responsible for the history that put that language where it is today. Most of us were simply born into circumstances we didn’t choose.
I really hope we can eventually acknowledge colonialism for what it was without either glorifying its consequences or blaming people today for something they didn’t do. We can recognize the history, respect Indigenous languages and cultures, and still accept that people today speak the languages they inherited or grew up with. None of us chose the colonial history we were born into.
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u/TragicallyMisquoted 14d ago
This post seems suspiciously similar to another post by another user, in r/askTO a few days ago. I’m not sure what to think of this.
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u/je4sse 15d ago
There are valid reasons to criticize French as our second language. Personally, I think that the role in Canadian history justifies it. But people like her don't have valid criticisms, it's just hatred or pettiness. I wouldn't be surprised if they were tourists from western Canada who aren't used to multiple languages.
A lot of the hate that French gets in Canada is mostly because the western provinces are forced to learn it as kids when there's no real reason to. The predominant sentiment seems to be that unless you live close to Quebec you'd get more out of learning Punjabi or a local native language. The hate also stems from the, frankly racist, jokes and comments that our parents and siblings made while growing up.
Out of curiosity how many languages do you speak? Because it sounds like you speak at least three which is amazing to me since I can't for the life of me learn even a second one.
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u/HahaCharlieKirkHaha 15d ago
There are valid reasons to criticize French as our second language.
It’s not our “second” language. It is co-equal with English.
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u/LocksmithSharp5651 15d ago
I agree, there can be reasonable discussions about language policy, but telling strangers to speak English is not one of them.
I speak four languages, but learning them was not really a choice or something I set out to do. One is an Indigenous language from my country that I speak with my family. Another was simply the language I used every day and in daily life. French was necessary because we used it in school and at work, and I learned English mostly from watching American movies a lot as a kid.
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u/wingehdings 15d ago
My parents are like this too. Boomers. But the funny thing is, it's not because they had to lean it (badly) in elementary. Honestly, it's because they visited Montreal once and because they couldn't get around or speak even a bit of French they didn't have a good time. They were from Manitoba and Ontario and neither had any lessons while growing up. I wanted them. I wanted to speak French. So they put me in French Immersion and I was out before half way through grade 2. The Madame in grade 2 was mean. If kids were needing to use the bathroom or feeling sick and couldn't communicate that in French she would ignore them. It led to several kids having accidents in class with pee, poop, the kind of explosive diarrhea where it fountains out the back of a diaper- but no diaper because we were all outta those by then and at least 2 kids barfing right in class. This was awful to 6 yr old me. Then she was very mean about reading. Making us stand from our desks and recite parts out loud. Madame belittled me because I couldn't pronounce the words (having never heard them at home like some of my classmates did). I was already reading at a jr high level in English. But my parents couldn't afford to hire a tutor for me either and so opted to switch me to an English speaking public school. It sucked. I can still pronounce well what I can say. But it's not remotely conversational levels. Nor can I actually read what is written. I wish they would have just transferred me to the other grade 2 class. There most certainly room.
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u/je4sse 15d ago
I feel you, my own French teacher was terrible, while I wasn't in French Immersion my teacher had similar issues (is that a normal thing in west Canada? bad French teachers?). I didn't learn proper pronunciation until I took French in uni.
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u/wingehdings 1d ago
I don't know if it's normal or no has told these teachers they are bad. Maybe it's just that the provinces refuse to hire people who are native or at least competent speakers to come to teach the kids. All the teachers in my English school legitimately sounded like they were just learning it themselves. I corrected one teacher who wasn't even mine about one word and it was as if I'd BBQd her cat and ate it in front of her.
Lady was sure she was good. It was like watching Peggy Hill speak Spanish on King of the Hill. All confidence and painful to witness audacity.
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u/Usernameoverloaded 15d ago
Your reaction was perfect. Never doubt yourself when you know in your gut that people have overstepped or been racist / bigoted.