Linguistic History of Canada
Historical Documents
In these pages, you will find legal documents of great historic value, some of which helped shape language laws in Canada and, consequently, the status of English and French. Except for the Manitoba Act, 1870, all of these texts are now obsolete or repealed, but they are worth consulting because they reflect a key period in Canadian history.
For each of the following documents, you can view remarks, the linguistic significance, linguistic provisions, and the full text.
| Year | Title | Affected Legal Entities |
|---|---|---|
| 1763 | Treaty of Paris [†] | France and Great Britain |
| 1763 | Royal Proclamation [†] | Great Britain and Province of Quebec |
| 1774 | Quebec Act [†] | Great Britain and Province of Quebec |
| 1791 | Constitution Act, 1791 [†] | Great Britain and Upper Canada/Lower Canada |
| 1840 | Union Act [†] | Great Britain and United Canada |
| 1848 | Great Britain and United Canada | |
| 1870 | Manitoba Act (in force) | Canada and Manitoba |
| 1877 | Northwest Territories Act [†] | Canada and NWT |
| 1890 | Official Language Act [†] | Manitoba |
| 1896 | Laurier-Greenway Compromise [†] | Manitoba |
| 1910 | Lavergne Law [†] | Quebec |
| 1912 | Regulation 17 [†] | Ontario |
| 1969 | Official Languages Act [†] | Canadian federal government |
| 1969 | Official Languages of New Brunswick Act [†] | New Brunswick |
| 1969 | Act to Promote the French Language in Quebec [†] | Quebec |
| 1974 | Official Language Act [†] | Quebec |