New Quebec Language Rules Require Store Signs to Be Two-Thirds in French

New Quebec Language Rules Require Store Signs to Be Two-Thirds in French
Shoppers walk down Montreal's Sainte-Catherine street on June 3, 2020. The Canadian Press/Paul Chiasson
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The Quebec government has published new rules requiring French to occupy most of the space on storefronts and outdoor commercial signs, part of a larger effort to protect the French language in the province.

New regulations published on June 26 say French has to be “markedly predominant” on public signs and commercial advertising, even where the business name is in English. In practice, that means stores like Canadian Tire, Best Buy and Second Cup will have to include generic terms or descriptions in French on their storefronts that take up twice as much space as the English brand name.