TALQ of the town: Anglo-rights group QCGN rebrands

Montreal Gazette

2 days ago

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The Quebec Community Groups Network is becoming TALQ, a new name for an anglophone advocacy group that has grown more assertive in recent years and now wants to reach out to francophone Quebecers.
The old name 'doesn't reflect what we are today and where the community wants to go,' president Eva Ludvig told The Gazette last week as the organization prepared to announce its rebrand on Wednesday.
'We also realize how difficult it is for us to reach the majority here in Quebec — the francophone, monsieur et madame Tout-le-Monde.'
The new name 'dispels the 'us vs. them' perception,' she said. 'We celebrate the vibrancy of the English-speaking community in a profoundly French Quebec.'
TALQ (pronounced 'talk') is a standalone name and not an abbreviation, the organization says, though a tagline will also be used: 'Talking. Advocating. Living in Québec.'
The 'Q' at the end of TALQ is a nod to Quebec. The accent in the province's name — often omitted by English speakers — acknowledges Quebec's French identity.
The organization, which did not disclose the cost of the rebranding, is also replacing its orange logo with blue, a colour historically associated with Quebec.
The new name is 'English in origin, anchored in Quebec and proud of its bilingual spirit.'
Ludvig said the group will remain a strong voice for anglophones while seeking deeper engagement with the francophone majority. 'Talking is as much about being heard as it is about listening,' Ludvig said.
Trevor Ham, a consultant on the rebranding project, said the new name will help 'rejuvenate' the brand.
'QCGN is a mouthful, as is Quebec Community Groups Network,' he said.
TALQ is a 'conversation starter, it's bridging the gap, an outstretched hand,' Ham said.
'Conversation is something we all share. There's humanity behind conversation. You don't need to take up arms if you can sit down at a table and talk about things and have rational conversations.'
A federally funded nonprofit, the QCGN is celebrating its 30th anniversary. It was born in the wake of the October 1995 Quebec referendum.
Alliance Quebec, a prominent anglophone rights group, had fallen apart amid internal divisions. To fill the vacuum, several anglophone groups formed the QCGN.
It has long been a defender of anglophone rights. In 2014, for example, the organization warned that the Quebec Liberal government's health reform threatened access to English health services.
But its advocacy became more assertive after Premier François Legault came to power.
Before the 2018 election, Legault, a former Parti Québécois minister who promised not to hold a sovereignty referendum, wooed the anglophone community. Once he took power, many of his Coalition Avenir Québec's laws didn't sit well with English speakers.
From banning hijabs and other religious symbols among government employees (Bill 21), to abolishing school boards (Bill 40) and tightening language laws (Bill 96), anglophones felt ignored by the CAQ, Ludvig said.
That spurred the QCGN to take a harder line, aggressively denouncing CAQ government policies and defending anglophones' rights, school system and access to health and social services.
The more confrontational stance sparked internal turmoil, leading some groups and board members to quit the QCGN in 2019, complaining it was too Montreal-centric.
Ludvig, who became president in 2022, said before the CAQ came to power, Quebec was experiencing a period of 'linguistic peace.'. Since then, the Legault government has 'certainly made it more fragile.'
She said the organization has a duty to react to CAQ policies. At the same time, it 'tries to demonstrate that we are Quebecers who belong here, and that we are a community that is not apart.'
'We have our values, our history, but we share our history with the rest of Quebecers,' Ludvig said. 'It's often forgotten that together with other Quebecers, we've built this province, not only economically but culturally and in other ways.'
She said the anglo community has changed dramatically over 50 years, but myths remain entrenched, including tired clichés that portray the community as 'unilingual rich Westmounters.'
She wants to build bridges with francophones by emphasizing areas of agreement.
For example, on the CAQ government's new immigrant integration law, Ludvig said the QCGN shares concerns raised by former Parti Québécois ministers Louise Beaudoin and Louise Harel.
When the bill was introduced, the two ardent nationalists joined others arguing the law promotes an assimilationist approach by requiring immigrants to adhere to a 'common culture' and placing disproportionate responsibilities on them.
'We have common issues,' Ludvig said, 'but the focus seems to always be on how the community is different — that we're not part of Quebec, we're not real Quebecers — and that's not true.'
'That's where we want to go — (emphasizing) that we have a lot in common with all Quebecers. We need to focus on that rather than on differences or the divisions artificially created by politicians.'
The organization is also trying to engage individual Quebecers by opening membership to the general public.
About 150 individuals signed up, joining 48 organizational members, a list that includes Catholic Action Montreal, Gay and Grey Montreal, the Morrin Cultural Centre and YES Employment Services.
The Department of Canadian Heritage provides the QCGN's core funding — about $1.5 million annually. The federal support stems from the government's obligations under the Official Languages Act to language minority communities. Ottawa funds francophone groups in the rest of Canada.
About 1.3 million Quebecers — roughly 15 per cent of the population — speak English as their first official language, Statistics Canada says.
48 groups belong to QCGN
Forty-eight organizations are members of the QCGN:
Association of English Language Publishers of Quebec
Atwater Library
Avenues Montreal
Black Community Resource Centre
Blue Metropolis International Literary Festival
Canadian Parents for French
Catholic Action Montreal
Chez Doris
Coasters Association
La Fondation Place Coco
Contactivity Centre
DESTA Black Youth Network
English Parents' Committee Association of Quebec
English-Speaking Catholic Council
Family Resource Centre
Fondation Toldos Yakov Yosef
Gay and Grey Montreal
Hear Entendre Québec
Heritage Lower Saint Lawrence
Kabir Cultural Centre
LEARN Quebec
Literacy Quebec
Loyola High School
Morrin Cultural Centre
Phelps Helps
Project 10
Quebec 4-H Association
Quebec Anglophone Heritage Network
Quebec Association of Independent Schools
Quebec Board of Black Educators
Quebec Community Newspaper Association
Quebec Counselling Association
Quebec English-language Production Council
Quebec Farmers' Association
Quebec Federation of Home and School AssociationS
Quebec Music Educators Association
Queen Elizabeth Health Complex
Regional Association of West Quebecers
Repercussion Theatre
Saint Columba House
SEIZE
Seniors Action Quebec
South Shore Community Partners Network
The Concordian
Cote des Neiges Black Community Association
Townshippers Association
Tyndale St-Georges Community Centre
YES Employment Services