Language legislation

I. The language of commerce and business

(a) Servicing and informing clients

Section 5 of the Language Charter states that consumers of goods and services have a right to be informed and served in French. Any enterprise that offers goods or services to consumers must respect that right.

Section 50.2 adds that an enterprise that offers goods or services to a public other than consumers must inform and serve it in French. By virtue of sections 89 and 91 of the Language Charter, French and another language may be used together when servicing and informing such clients. When this is done through written means, the French version must be displayed at least as prominently as every other language.

Section 21.11 specifies that services rendered by a legal person or an enterprise for an agency of the civil administration must be in French. Additionally, if the services obtained by the agency are intended for the public, the agency shall require the service provider to comply with the provisions of the Language Charter applicable to the agency itself⁴.

Section 57 specifically provides that invoices, receipts, acquittances and other documents of the same nature must be in French. By virtue of sections 89 and 91 of the Language Charter, they may be in French and in another language as well, provided that the French version is displayed at least as prominently as every other language and that the terms of the French version are at least as favourable as those of the other versions.

(b) Contracts

The Language Charter requires certain contracts to be in French only; others may be in French and in another language; some may be in another language only.

By virtue of section 21, any contract (including related sub-contracts) entered into with the civil administration, i.e. the government, government departments and agencies, municipal and school bodies (metropolitan communities, transit authorities, municipalities, municipal boroughs, school service centres, etc.) and health and social services⁵, must be exclusively in French. Related written documents must also be in the French language⁶. Exceptionally, loan contracts may be drawn up both in French and in another language. The same applies to financial instruments and contracts whose object is the management of financial risks, including currency exchange or interest rate exchange agreements, contracts for the purchase or sale of options, or futures contracts.

The requirements of section 21 apply equally to all written documents sent to enter into or related to contracts with the civil administration⁷. However, written documents sent to an agency of the civil administration by a legal person or enterprise to obtain a permit, authorization, subsidy or other form of financial assistance that is not listed in section 21, must be drawn up exclusively in French⁸.

Section 55 states that contracts of adhesion (i.e. contracts pre-determined by one party) must first be provided to the adhering party in French.⁹ The parties to such a contract may subsequently elect to be bound only by a version drawn up in another language if such is the express wish of the adhering party.¹⁰ Section 27.3 of the Regulation respecting the language of commerce and business, which came into force on July 11, 2024, clarifies, for the purposes of Section 55 of the Language Charter, which documents are considered “documents related to a contract of adhesion”, how to meet the requirement to issue a French version of a contract of adhesion that is entered into by telephone, an or by a technological means, and which version prevails in the case of discrepancies between the French-language contract and the version in another language.

Individual employment contracts must be drawn up in French. However, they may be drafted exclusively in a language other than French at the express wish of the parties. If an employment contract is a contract of adhesion, the employee will only be bound by a version in another language if, after examining the French version, that is the express wish of the parties.

Any party which suffers from the fact that a contract or contractual provision contravenes the Language Charter may apply for the contract or contractual provision to be annulled. Provisions of a contract that contravene the Language Charter may only be invoked against the author, but not by the author.

(c) Commercial advertising

Section 58 of the Language Charter provides that, subject to the exceptions provided for by the regulations, public signs and posters and commercial advertising must be in French. They may also be in French and in another language provided that French is markedly predominant.

The expression “markedly predominant” is currently defined by the Regulation defining the scope of the expression “markedly predominant” for the purposes of the Charter of the French Language¹¹. However, certain amendments to the Regulation respecting the language of commerce and business coming into force on June 1, 2025 will replace the Regulation defining the scope of the expression “markedly predominant” for the purposes of the Charter of the French Language, which will be revoked at that time.

In public signs and posters and in posted commercial advertising that are both in French and in another language, French is markedly predominant where the text in French has a much greater visual impact than the text in the other language. The regulation goes on to provide where the text in French will be deemed to have a much greater visual impact:

The Regulation respecting the language of commerce and business¹² provides for certain cases or circumstances where public signs and posters and commercial advertising must be in French only, where French need not be predominant or where such signs, posters and advertising may be in another language only. The most relevant examples of these exceptions are the following:

• A firm’s commercial advertising, displayed on billboards, on signs or posters, or on any other medium having an area of 16 square meters or more and visible from any public highway, must be exclusively in French unless the advertising is displayed on the very premises of an establishment of the firm.
• A firm’s commercial advertising on or in any public means of transportation and on or in the accesses thereto, including bus shelters, must be exclusively in French.
• Public signs and posters displayed on or in a vehicle regularly used to transport passengers or merchandise, both in Quebec and outside of Quebec, may be both in French and in another language provided that French appears at least as prominently.
• Public signs and posters and commercial advertising concerning an event intended for an international audience or an event in which the majority of the participants come from outside Quebec, where directly related to the nature and recognized purpose of the event, may be both in French and in another language provided that French appears at least as prominently.
• Public signs and posters and commercial advertising concerning a convention, conference, fair or exhibition intended solely for a specialized or limited audience may, during the event, be exclusively in the language other than French.
• A public sign or poster bearing directions for the use of a device permanently installed in a public place may be both in French and in another language provided that French appears at least as prominently.
• On public signs and posters and in commercial advertising, the name of a firm established exclusively outside Quebec as well as a registered trademark under the Trademarks Act¹³ (unless a French version has been registered), may appear exclusively in a language other than  French.  However, where such a trademark is displayed only in a language other than French on public signs and posters visible from outside the premises, French must be markedly predominant elsewhere on the sign.¹⁴

It is to be noted that section 58 (which requires public signs and posters and commercial advertising to be in French) does not apply to advertising carried in news media that publish in a language other than French.

Furthermore, section 58.1 of the Language Charter, which will come into force on June 1, 2025, provides that despite section 58, on public signs and posters and in commercial advertising, a trademark may be drawn up, even partially, only in a language other than French, provided the trademark is registered within the meaning of the Trademarks Act (R.S.C. 1985, c. T-13) and no corresponding French version appears in the register kept according to that Act. However, on public signs and posters visible from outside premises, French must be markedly predominant where such a trademark appears in a language other than French.

(d) Commercial publications

Section 52 of the Language Charter provides that catalogues, brochures, folders, commercial directories and other publications of the same nature, regardless of the medium used, must be in French. By virtue of sections 89 and 91 of the Language Charter, they may also be bilingual, provided that the French version is displayed at least as prominently and provides for terms at least as favourable as the other language.

The Regulation respecting the language of commerce and business permits catalogues, brochures, folders, commercial directories, and other like publications to be exclusively in a language other than French, provided that the material presentation of the French version is available under no less favourable conditions of accessibility and quality as the version in the other language.

The Regulation respecting the language of commerce and business also permits the firm name of a business established exclusively outside Quebec as well as a registered¹⁵ trademark under the Trademarks Act (unless a French version has been registered) to appear in a language other than French in catalogues, brochures, folders, commercial directories, and other like publications.

Other exceptions are provided in this regulation, which concern, for example, cultural or educational products, as well as catalogues, brochures, etc., relating to a convention, conference, fair or exhibition intended solely for a specialized or limited audience.

(e) Websites, social media, online advertising and e-commerce

The aforementioned obligations also apply to online activities and publications. However, not all websites and social media pages accessible in the province of Quebec need to follow the requirements of the Language Charter. Only businesses which (i) have an establishment in Quebec and (ii) offer products and services to Quebec consumers must ensure that their online commercial content follows the requirements of the Language Charter. 

In practice, this means that such a business must ensure that:

• French must be predominant in any social media posts or advertising which may be directed at Quebec consumers, except where exceptions permit otherwise (see the previous section on commercial advertising). 
• A French version of any official website must be available, the content of which must be no less complete or favourable than what is provided in any other language. However, the website of the French Language Office specifies that only the products and services that are sold to consumers in Quebec need to be announced in French.
• Where consumers may communicate directly with the business, Quebec consumers must have the option to do so in French. Any consumer which communicates in French must be answered in French. An answer may be provided in another language, only where the consumer first communicated with the business in another language.

(f) Inscriptions on products

Section 51 of the Language Charter provides that every inscription on a product, on its container, on its wrapping or on any document or object supplied with the product, including directions for use and warranty certificates, must be in French. Translation of the inscription in one or more languages is permitted provided that the translation is not given greater prominence and does not provide more favourable terms than the French version. If the documents referred to in section 51 are required by any act, order-in-council or government regulation, they may be excepted from the rule enunciated in that section, provided that the languages in which they are drafted are the subject of a federal-provincial, interprovincial or international agreement (section 56).

The Regulation respecting the language of commerce and business provides for certain exceptions to the application of section 51. For example, section 3 of this regulation provides that an inscription on a product (including an inscription on its container or wrapping or on a leaflet, brochure or card supplied with it, including the directions for use and the warranty certificates) may be exclusively in a language other than French in the following cases:

• the product is intended for a market outside Quebec;
• the inscription appears on a container used in interprovincial or international transportation of merchandise;
• the product is from outside Quebec, has not yet been marketed in Quebec and is being exhibited at a convention, conference, fair or exhibition;
• the product is from outside Quebec, is intended for incorporation into a finished product or for use in a manufacturing, processing or repair operation and is not offered in Quebec for retail sale;
• the product is from outside Quebec and is in limited use in Quebec and no equivalent substitute presented in French is available in Quebec; or
• the product is from outside Quebec and the inscription is engraved, baked or inlaid in the product itself, riveted or welded to it or embossed on it, in a permanent manner. However, inscriptions concerning safety must be written in French and appear on the product or accompany it in a permanent manner.

Section 7 of this regulation also provides that the name of a firm established exclusively outside Quebec and a registered trademark under the Trademarks Act (unless a French version has been registered) may be inscribed on a product exclusively in a language other than French. The provision regarding trademarks will be replaced as of June 1, 2025 with a new section 7.1 providing that if no corresponding French version appears in the register kept under the Trademarks Act, a recognized trademark within the meaning of that Act may be drawn up, even partially, on a product only in a language other than French. However, if a generic term or description of the product is included in the trademark, it must appear in French on the product or on a medium permanently attached to the product.

The regulation also provides for certain exceptions concerning, for example, inscriptions on cultural or educational products, products from outside Quebec to be used for medical, pharmaceutical or scientific purposes, and other types of products, such as tires, toys and games, non-promotional greeting cards, appointment books or calendars.

(g) Firm names

Sections 63 and 64 of the Language Charter provide that the name of an enterprise must be in French and that, to obtain juridical personality, it is necessary to have a name in French. These sections also apply to names entered by way of declaration in the register instituted in accordance with the Act respecting the legal publicity of enterprises.¹⁶ 

Businesses incorporated outside Quebec without a French name which register to do business in Quebec must register another name in French. However, section 67 provides that “[f]amily names, place names, expressions formed by the artificial combination of letters, syllables or figures and expressions taken from other languages may appear in the names of enterprises to specify them”. Therefore, such words are permitted to be used as part of a business name and do not disqualify them from being considered French. However, section 27 of the Regulation respecting the language of commerce and business adds that where a business name includes an expression taken from a language other than French which is a specific term (i.e. the term used to distinguish the business from other businesses), that expression must be accompanied by a generic term in French. The example frequently given is “Les Cafés Second Cup”, where “Second Cup” is the specific term and “Les Cafés” is the generic term. Such a name is considered to be a French business name.

Section 68 of the Language Charter further states that the French name of an enterprise may be accompanied with a version of the name in a language other than French provided that the French version of the name appears at least as prominently. The Language Charter further provides that in public signs and posters and in commercial advertising, using only a version of the name in a language other than French is permitted to the extent that section 58 of the Language Charter and the regulations enacted thereunder permit the using of only another language in such signs and posters and in such advertising. In addition, the Language Charter permits the use of a version of the name in a language other than French in texts or documents drafted only in such language.

II. The language of labour relations

(a) General principles

Section 4 of the Language Charter states that workers have a right to carry on their activities in French. This is a fundamental language right. The Language Charter imposes obligations and prohibitions on all employers, regardless of the size of their business.

(b) Written communications and documentation

Written communications with all or part of the staff, a worker in particular or an association of workers representing all or part of the staff must be in French. However, the employer may communicate in writing with a worker exclusively in a language other than French if the latter has so requested. This obligation applies even after termination of the employment relationship.

The following documents must also be in French :

• published offers of employment, transfer or promotion;
• employment application forms;
• documents relating to conditions of employment;
• training documents; and
• employment contracts that are not adhesion contracts (see section I(b) above for further details on contracts).

By virtue of sections 89 and 91 of the Language Charter, the previous documents may also be bilingual, provided that the French version is displayed at least as prominently and provides for terms at least as favourable.

Furthermore, offers of employment that are published both in French in and in other languages must be published simultaneously and using transmission means of the same nature and reaching a target public of a proportionally comparable size.

• assess the actual language needs associated with the duties to be performed;
• make sure that the language knowledge of other staff members are insufficient to permit performance of those duties; and
• restrict as much as possible the number of positions involving duties whose performance requires knowledge or a specific level of knowledge of a language other than French. 

Employers who decide to impose such a language requirement must, when posting an offer to fill the position, indicate the reasons for the requirement.

(d) Harassment

Employers are required to take reasonable means to prevent and put an end to discrimination or harassment of an employee because that employee has no or little command of a language other than French or because the employee has demanded that their right to work in French be respected.

III. Francization of business firms

The Language Charter contains, in Chapter V of Title II (sections 135 to 154), a series of provisions dealing with francization of businesses that vary depending on the number of employees in the firm within the province of Quebec.

(a) Francization committee and program

(b) Section 139 of the Language Charter provides that an enterprise which employs 25 persons or more for a period of six months must register with the French Language Office within six months of the end of that period.¹⁷ For that purpose, the enterprise shall inform the French Language Office of the number of persons it employs and provide it with general information on its legal status and its functional structure and on the nature of its activities. The French Language Office shall then issue a certificate of registration to the enterprise. Within three months of the date on which the certificate of registration is issued, the enterprise shall transmit an analysis of its linguistic situation to the French Language Office. 

If the French Language Office considers, after examining the analysis of the enterprise’s linguistic situation, that the use of French is generalized at all levels of the enterprise in accordance with the terms of section 141 (cited below), it shall issue a francization certificate. If, however, the French Language Office considers that the use of French is not generalized at all levels of the enterprise, it shall notify the enterprise that it must adopt a francization program. It can also order the establishment of a francization committee of four or six members; in that case, the sections discussed below pertaining to francization programs would be applicable with the necessary modifications. Enterprises employing more than 100 persons must always have a francization committee which will be responsible for drafting the aforementioned linguistic analysis.

Half of the members of the francization committee and of every subcommittee shall be representatives of the workers of the enterprise. The other half of the committee shall be designated by management. Workers’ representatives on the francization committee may, without loss of pay, absent themselves from work for the time required to attend meetings of the committee and to perform any committee task. 

The enterprise shall provide its staff and the French Language Office with a list of the members of the francization committee and every subcommittee, and any changes to such list. The management of the enterprise shall also allow the committee to participate in the activities intended to inform the personnel on the implementation of any francization program or on the progression of the use of French in the enterprise.

The francization committee must meet at least once every six months and shall see to the drafting of the minutes for each of its meetings. Every member of the committee who endorses the minutes shall sign them; the minutes shall then be sent to the management of the enterprise and to the French Language Office. A member of the French Language Office’s staff may attend any meeting of the committee.

The francization committee has the mandate to analyze the language situation in the firm and report on it to management. Said linguistic analysis is then transmitted to the French Language Office. Upon review of the linguistic analysis prepared by the francization committee, if the French Language Office is of the opinion that the use of French language is generalized at all levels of the firm according to section 141 of the Language Charter, it will issue a francization certificate (section 140). Where a francization certificate is issued to the enterprise, the committee must ensure that the use of French remains generalized at all levels of the enterprise according to the terms of section 141.

If however, the French Language Office considers that the use of French is not generalized at all levels of the firm, it will notify the firm that it must adopt a francization program as prescribed by section 141. This program has to be developed by the francization committee, where one exists, and must be submitted to the French Language Office within three months of receipt of the notification and must be approved by the French Language Office.

After having approved the francization program of an enterprise, the French Language Office shall issue an attestation of implementation in respect of the program. The enterprise must comply with the elements and stages of its program and keep its personnel informed of the implementation thereof. In addition, the enterprise must submit reports on the implementation of its program to the French Language Office every 12 months. The enterprise must also disseminate information about its francization program and the reports on its implementation among its personnel.

Once the implementation is complete and the French Language Office considers that the use of French is generalized at all levels of the firm, it will issue a francization certificate (section 145). 

When a firm has been granted a francization certificate, it is required to ensure that the use of French remains generalized at all levels according to the terms of section 141 of the Language Charter. This obligation is a continuous one and businesses must submit a report on the progress of their use of French to the French Language Office every three years (section 146). The francization committee shall see to the drafting of the three-year report. Where the French Language Office considers that the use of French is no longer generalized at all levels of the enterprise, it shall order the enterprise to develop and implement an action plan to remedy the situation.

Finally, it is important to note that if an enterprise employing 25 or more persons does not have a certificate of registration, has not provided an analysis of the language situation or has no attestation of implementation of a francization program or certificate, then the civil administration cannot enter into a contract with such enterprise or grant it a subsidy¹⁸.

(c) Exceptions allowing the use of another language

(d) Section 142 of the Language Charter provides that a francization program must take into account the situation of persons who are near retirement or of persons who have long records of service with the firm, the relations of the firm outside Quebec, the particular case of head offices and research centres established in Quebec by enterprises whose activities extend outside Quebec, and the line of business of the enterprise. In enterprises producing cultural goods having a language content, a francization program must also take into account the particular situation of production units whose work is directly related to such language content.

Section 144 further provides that special agreements can be entered into between head offices and research centres and the French Language Office to allow the use of English as the language of operation. Section 144 states specifically that:

The Regulation of the Office québécois de la langue française respecting the definition of the term "head office" and the recognition of head offices eligible for special agreements with the Office,¹⁹ defines “head office” in a restrictive fashion, as being limited to certain types of positions held by physical persons (it does not refer to the whole establishment):

Section 3 of the Regulation specifying the scope of terms and expressions in section 144 of the Charter of the French language and facilitating the application of the Charter,²⁰ provides for “special agreements” with the French Language Office.

As can be seen from the above provisions, an agreement with the French Language Office in respect of “head office” personnel can only be reached provided that certain prerequisite conditions are met and provided that the company has completed the analysis of its linguistic situation. It must be negotiated between the French Language Office and the company. Under the Regulation of the Office québécois de la langue française respecting the definition of the term "head office" and the recognition of head offices eligible for special agreements with the Office,²¹ “Head office” personnel is defined as being limited to those persons who hold positions where they are responsible on a pan-Canadian or international scale for the activities of overall management, of management of staff departments or of service departments for the whole business firm. Researchers as well as persons who are assigned to the management, conception and implementation of research and development activities are also included as “head office” personnel. In the case of enterprises that have been established in Quebec for less than three years, such an agreement with the French Language Office can only be reached provided the following prerequisite conditions are met:

• the head office must be established in Quebec by a business firm whose activity extends beyond Quebec;
• more than 50% of its average gross income for the period prior to its request to the French Language Office must accrue directly or indirectly from outside Quebec; and
• the enterprise must have completed the analysis of its linguistic situation.

IV. Consequences in cases of non compliance with the Language Charter

The French Language Office has jurisdiction to examine matters relating to instances of non-compliance with the Language Charter and it may, on its own initiative or following the filing of a complaint, make inspections and inquiries. The French Language Office has the right to access data contained in electronic devices and computer systems that are on the premises of a business.

If the French Language Office becomes aware of a failure to comply with the Language Charter, it may, by virtue of section 177, order the author of the failure either to comply with it or to cease contravening it, within the time that it specifies. A business targeted by such an order has 30 days to contest it before the Administrative Tribunal of Quebec, which may quash or confirm the order.

By virtue of section 205 of the Language Charter, non-compliance with an order issued by the French Language Office is a penal offence for which a corporation may be liable to a fine of $3,000 to $30,000. Corporations may be liable to additional fines of $10,000 to $250,000 if any reprisal is taken against a person who communicated with the French Language Office about a potential breach of the Language Charter or cooperated with an investigation of the French Language Office, or if any threat of reprisal was made in order to dissuade a person from communicating or cooperating with it.

The minimum and maximum fines are doubled for a second offence and tripled for a subsequent offence. If an offence continues for more than one day, it constitutes a separate offence for each day it continues. The minimum and maximum fines will also double when the offence is committed by a corporation’s director or upper management. Furthermore, absent proof of due diligence, directors of a corporation will be presumed liable for a corporation’s offence.

The French Language Office may also apply to the Superior Court of Quebec for an injunction relating to an alleged breach of the Language Charter. The Court may notably, on an application by the French Language Office, order the removal or destruction, within eight days after the date on which the order takes effect, of any poster, sign, advertisement or billboard that contravenes the Language Charter at the expense of the person to whom the order is directed.

Finally, the French Language Office will forward to Quebec’s labour board, the Commission des normes de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST), complaints relating to (i) reprisals taken against exclusively French-speaking employees; (ii) discrimination or harassment against employees in the workplace for having limited fluency in a language other than French or for demanding respect of a fundamental right; and (iii) the imposition of a requirement to know a language other than French in order to keep or obtain a position.