Serving the Eastern Townships English-speaking Community since 1979.
The English-speaking community has deep roots in the historical Eastern Townships. In fact, the Eastern Townships is one of the few regions of Quebec where the first European settlers were not from France . Starting in the 1780s, successive waves of settlers included first Loyalists, then New Englanders looking for good land, and finally Irish, Scottish and English immigrants. In 1861, the Eastern Townships population was 58% English speaking—almost 90,000 people, more than in any other region of Quebec , including Montreal (Rudin, 1985). Over the years since then, the French-speaking population has grown, while successive emigrations have reduced the number of English-speaking Townshippers.
In the 1970s, this decline accelerated. Between 1971 and 2001, the number of English-speaking Townshippers dropped almost 30%. As the English-speaking population declined, so too did the community’s influence and visibility. The founding of Townshippers’ Association in 1979 was a creative response to this situation, identifying mutual concerns among English speakers and promoting their interests.
Today, the Townships English-speaking community numbers approximately 41,000 people, about 6% of the total population (Statistics Canada, 2001). It is scattered throughout the territory of 16,000 square kilometres, stretching from Philipsburg in the west to Lac Mégantic in the east, and from Inverness and Thetford Mines in the north to Stanstead in the south.
A demographic study by William Floch and Jan Warnke (March 2004) based on Statistics Canada data (2001, 1996) paints a revealing portrait:
The Eastern Townships English-speaking community is “missing its middle,” according to William Floch, and the situation isn’t improving. His remark referred to English speakers aged 15 to 44, who are proportionally fewer in number and show socio-economic weaknesses in terms of employment, education, and income, compared to their French-speaking cohorts and older English speakers.
The findings were part of an analysis of 1996 and 2001 Census Canada statistics that Floch presented in a keynote address at a recent Community Development Symposium in Lennoxville organized by Townshippers’ Association and the Eastern Townships CEDEC. Floch is Director of Policy and Research for the Development of Official-Language Communities Support Program of Canadian Heritage.
“This creates a bi-modal population. On the one hand, you have a very young population with poor prospects while, on the other hand, you have an aging population with a high level of income and security,” explained Floch. “This demonstrates socio-economic weakness…a missing middle, so-to-speak, that affects community development.”
Floch’s presentation, “The Evolving Demographic Context of the Anglophone Communities in the Eastern Townships,” raised collective eyebrows as it painted a startling picture of the region’s English-speaking community.
His research reiterated that the Townships English-speaking community is diminishing. In just five years, its population dropped by nearly 3000 while the French-speaking population increased by 13,000. This is attributable to out-migration among young people, and results in a substantially higher proportion of older people.
“Fifty percent more English speaking people are over the age of 65, compared to French speakers,” Floch said. “Unless counterbalanced by net migration and youth retention, the population will continue to decline.”
Floch also provided evidence that Townships English speakers, once more educated and financially secure on average than their French-speaking counterparts, is now at a disadvantage. English-speaking youth in the Townships are 27% more likely to not graduate from high school than French-speaking youth. Young English speaking Townshippers are also more likely to dropout than English speakers elsewhere in the province.
Floch’s research also showed that the unemployment rate among Townships English speakers is, on average, 11% higher than for French speakers in the region. For those aged 15 to 24, it is 31% higher and those aged 25 to 44 it is 18% higher.
Younger and middle aged Townships English speakers also have a lower average income than French speakers. Overall, 7% more English speakers have an income of less than $20,000, and 13% fewer English speakers have an income of $20,000 to $50,000. Moreover, substantially more English speakers than French speakers in the Townships are not in the labour force due to poor employment prospects and unpaid labour such as home care.
“That’s why Townshippers’ Association is undertaking such initiatives as Topportunity,” said Peter Quilliams, president of the Association. “Our aim is to highlight the economic opportunity that exists already, and encourage and enable young people to reach out and grasp it. At the same time, we want to foster the development of greater opportunity for members of the English-speaking minority in the Townships.”
Following is the demographic portrait by William Floch and Jan Warnke: