Carney Says He Addressed ‘Struggle’ Of Francophones In Criticized Quebec City Speech

Prime Minister Mark Carney addressed but did not apologize Monday for the remarks he made last week in Quebec City during a speech that has been widely criticized by Quebec politicians.

“I began (my speech) by recognizing the struggle of francophones during the history of Canada. I mentioned and even stressed the efforts of some in our history to pursue a policy of assimilation (of francophones),” Carney told reporters during a press conference in Ottawa held to announce affordability measures.

“And I said it was because of the resilience of the francophone people that we created Canada. A Canada that recognized two founding peoples and, after a certain time, three founding peoples, including Indigenous Peoples.”

Carney made his comment after he was asked by a reporter whether he would apologize to Quebecers and francophones in Canada for his speech referencing the Battle of the Plains of Abraham that saw French forces fall to the British in 1759. During the speech, Carney referred to the site as a place of “accommodation” and “partnership.”

On Monday, Carney said that it was “a difficult history,” but over the course of time, the French language and culture, as well as Quebec institutions such as its civil code, had been maintained.

The prime minister’s speech has been criticized by the leaders of the Parti Québécois, Bloc Québécois and Coalition Avenir Québec cabinet Minister Jean-François Roberge as a revision of history that does not recognize the reality of the hardships suffered by the francophone population.

“It’s not the first time in our history that, faced with a sovereignty movement that’s growing in strength, that the federal (government) distorts our history and suddenly promises the end of the contempt it displays towards our democratic choices,” PQ Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon said on social media.