Élections Québec asked government to change French-language laws in 2023

Élections Québec knew it would not be allowed to send voter information in English over a year before the electoral campaign, The Canadian Press has learned.

The provincial election authority had tried to pressure the government to amend its language laws – even providing proposed wording – but the government refused, according to correspondence sent between April 2023 and June 2025.

The deadline for Élections Québec to finalize its voting reminder cards in English is rapidly approaching, with a court process underway to force the agency to mail information in English.

The provincial elections authority had to comply with 2022 language legislation making French the sole language of communication for public institutions. Earlier this month, it sent out unilingual voter documents for the first time in its history.

The agency’s director, Jean-François Blanchet, had told the government as early as April 2023 he worried the new rules would encroach on Charter rights and Élections Québec’s core mission.

Blanchet raised concerns around the right to vote, the right to representation, and the possibility that results could be contested in his correspondence with the French-language commissioner.

Over two years, the Élections Québec, the commissioner and the ministry of the French language corresponded and met several times to address the issue.

Ultimately, voter guides and information cards were only printed and mailed out in French. The guide includes a QR code to access information in English online.

Advocacy groups for anglophone rights denounced Elections Quebec’s decision to send unilingual documents, and a group of lawyers launched a legal challenge.

The case was heard last week and a decision is expected to come in shortly.

In court, Henrick Lavoie, the lawyer representing Élections Québec, said it might still be possible to send out a voting reminder card in English if the court issues an order to that effect by Sept. 16. The list of candidates is finalized at 2 p.m. on Sept. 17 and the agency had already planned to print out reminder cards to mail out after that deadline.

Here is a timeline of the conversations that led to the case.

About a month after Benoît Dubreuil became Quebec’s French-language commissioner in March 2023, Blanchet sent him an email requesting a meeting. In his letter dated April 6, 2023, Blanchet wrote that Élections Québec was working to ensure it met its responsibilities under the Charter of the French Language.

“This work raises questions that we would like to discuss, particularly in light of our institution’s mission, which is to ensure that all voters can exercise their right to vote,” wrote Blanchet.

Dubreuil’s assistant wrote back that same day to organize a meeting to brief Blanchet on the latest guidelines.

Subsequent correspondence indicates there were at least two meetings held in May, with Dubreuil and the heads of various government institutions, including Blanchet, in attendance.

Dubreuil suggested those who attended those meetings name a representative to form a working group on the implementation of the Charter of the French Language in their institutions.

The law says the commissioner of the French language “must support and assist the parliamentary institutions to which the state’s language policy applies in fulfilling their obligations,” wrote Dubreuil.

According to his agenda, the committee would also discuss possible exceptions to the rules.

Blanchet happily agreed and reiterated his concerns surrounding the right to vote and the right to representation.

“How can we reconcile the application of the provisions of the Charter of the French Language while ensuring that citizens can fully exercise their rights to vote or run for office?” he wrote.

While discussions were underway, a byelection was scheduled for Oct. 2, 2023, in the riding of Jean-Talon. Blanchet once again wrote to Dubreuil, telling him Élections Québec would use temporary provisions in the legislation that would allow it to mail bilingual documents.

“All voters must be able to understand the information they need to fully exercise those rights,” Blanchet wrote.

He added he hoped to discuss exempting Élections Québec from some provisions of the law to “balance the fulfilment of our mission with the provisions of the Charter of the French Language” in the coming months.

An adviser for the commissioner emailed the members of the working group, saying the ministry of the French language was seeking their input on draft legislation.

The ministry was looking to amend the language regulation for government agencies and had sent a form for them to fill out.

A few days later, Blanchet sent his form back to Dubreuil, which was mostly redacted in the documents obtained by The Canadian Press, to be forwarded to the ministry.

Blanchet had requested the ministry permanently exempt the elections agency from its laws forcing it to communicate in French only. A temporary provision allowing it to send bilingual documents was set to expire in June 2025, but was later extended.

Blanchet suggested the ministry amend its regulation to allow government agencies to deviate from the Charter of the French Language “to ensure respect for the right to vote and the right to run for office in a provincial, municipal, or school election or a referendum.”

Blanchet also requested a meeting with Jean-François Roberge, the minister of the French language. Later correspondence indicates the two spoke on March 11, 2025.

Blanchet reached out to Roberge directly, a few weeks after the government made public its amendments to the French-language laws. Those amendments would not exempt Élections Québec from having to issue all communications in French only.

The temporary provisions allowing it to send bilingual documents expired in December 2025 – after the Montreal municipal election and before the 2026 provincial election.

In his email, Blanchet said he anticipated “significant consequences” that could affect Quebec’s democracy. He worried that anglophones and allophones may not show up at the ballot “because of the extra efforts and steps they would have to take” to obtain and understand crucial information.

“Encouraging the public to exercise their right to vote is already a challenge,” he wrote.

He added that there could be legal challenges regarding the validity of the election as a result.

Blanchet received an answer from Roberge’s deputy ministers, saying he would not extend the temporary provisions allowing it to provide bilingual voter information.

“Elections can no longer be conducted in both French and English, as was previously the case,” wrote deputy minister Nathaly Marcoux. “This is a decision made by the legislature.”

She said the government and Élections Québec would continue discussions to find solutions that would respect French-language laws.

Élections Québec announced it would mail out voter information in French only, and that those eligible to receive English education and Indigenous people could contact the agency for English information.