Will we ever see a Unilingual Prime Minster in Canada?

[the_only_turek_fan]

This has been on my mind lately.

With the barriers being broken down south I am wondering if we will ever break one here in Canada?

Will we see a English only or French only PM in Canada.

I don’t think race is the same barrier that language is and I am not suggesting that unilingual people in this country have faced hardship they way black people did in the United States. So I really don’t want this to go down that road.

However, do you think the Canadian political system discriminates against people who only speak one language?

I would guess that 60-70% of the country fall in this category. More?

[blender]

No

[Funkhouser]

Nope

[Bunk]

Wrong section.

[Canada 02]

was Joe Clark bilingual? Was Kim Campbell?

edit, apparently Lester Pearson could not speak French

[calgaryred]

I thought you had to speak both languages, its hard to debate in the house of commons when questions are asked in a language you dont know.

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[Harry Lime]

The way that it is currently probably locks a decent amount of people out of running for high level office. Even becoming passably fluent, you won't go very far if natural speakers think that you sound like a babbling baby.

[Maritime Q-Scout]

I'd think no.

Generally, a party leader (at least CPC and Liberal) will have spent time as an MP, and preferably a high ranking cabinet (or shadow cabinet) position.

Given the availability of ESL for MPs combined with the ability to practice in either English or French in the National Capitol Region it both makes sense that the leader would be fluent, and nonsensical not to learn.

[Ozy_Flame]

I will say yes, when technology allows immediate on-demand translation that is able to pick up on liguistic-specific intonations and cues, and is able to overlay the speakers native tongue.

That said, I don't think politically it would go well for popular support. Shows a lack of commitment to voters if you can't bother to learn.

[troutman]

https://www.macleans.ca/news/canada/...tical-reality/

Harper the politician realized what Harper the egghead didn’t: French is necessary if you want to lead the country.

There is no such unwritten rule that a leadership candidate speak both official languages; rather, the ability to speak English and French is a political reality, which is a far more compelling reason for any would-be politician in this country.

A 2016 Neilsen poll suggested that 86 per cent of Canadians actually believe the prime minister should be bilingual. Apparently we’re an aspirational bunch. We aren’t all bilingual, far from it, but we believe our prime minister should be.

Like poutine and pond hockey, leaders speaking French poorly has become an enduring Canadian cliché. As Harper demonstrated, getting better at it has become part of the job.

[Northendzone]

A uniligual PM?? Yes, but only if they speak french

[N-E-B]

No, and we shouldn’t. The ability to speak both languages and communicate with every person in this country is critical.

[BoLevi]

Chretien couldnt speak either language apparently.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by BoLevi

Chretien couldnt speak either language apparently.

[PepsiFree]

Will we ever see one? No.

Is the political system discriminatory to unilingual people? No.

Learning a second language, specifically one taught in schools, spoken by many people in the country, and that appears on almost all products and labels, is simply a requirement for anyone leading a bilingual country.

[FlamesAddiction]

It’s difficult to get any meaningful federal government job without being bilingual, so I am going to say it likely won’t happen again for a PM. How can you tell the accountant and secretary that they need to be bilingual, but then say the PM doesn’t need to be? Public schools really need to do a better job producing bilingual citizens in Canada.

Never mind just language and race barrier, Canadian politics is dominated by anyone with British and French heritage. It’s not just that you have to be white, but you have to be the right kind of white.

[the_only_turek_fan]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

Will we ever see one? No.

Is the political system discriminatory to unilingual people? No.

Learning a second language, specifically one taught in schools, spoken by many people in the country, and that appears on almost all products and labels, is simply a requirement for anyone leading a bilingual country.

The opportunity to learn French is not available to all.

What about those from rural communities?

What about new Canadians?

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by the_only_turek_fan

The opportunity to learn French is not available to all.

What about those from rural communities?

What about new Canadians?

Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't French available to all students at some point in their schooling? Even Rural Schools?

Also, what about New Canadians? They can learn French, or English, or neither I guess, they have the freedom to do what they wish (if they can deal with the consequences, like not being PM or getting a licence) in Canada which is probably what brought them here.

[CaptainCrunch]

Not a chance for a long time, though I think we're seeing a decline in Quebec's population of purely french speaking people

[bc-chris]

Originally Posted by the_only_turek_fan

The opportunity to learn French is not available to all.

What about those from rural communities?

What about new Canadians?

might be a dumb question, but is the pm allowed to be an immigrant?



in the u.s. don't you have to be born there?? i remember discussion about what schwarzenegger would do after being governor and that he couldn't run for president becuz he wasn't born in the u.s.