Websites in Quebec: does yours have to be in French?

Yes. If your business operates in Quebec, your website has to be available in French. You can also have it in English, and it is often a good idea, but the French version has to be at least as complete and as easy to find.

What the law says

Section 52 of the Charter of the French Language requires commercial publications to be in French. The Quebec government specifies that this includes those published on a website. Another language is allowed on one condition: a French version of comparable quality must exist and be just as accessible.

This is not theoretical. The Office québécois de la langue française enforces these rules, and the government publishes the businesses that are convicted. In several cases, the fine for a non-compliant website was $1,500.

In practice, for your website

French has to be there wherever there is English: the pages, of course, but also the menus, the buttons, the contact form and any documents to download. One forgotten "English only" page is enough to cause a problem.

Also avoid a second-rate French version, half translated or hidden behind a tiny flag. The law talks about comparable quality and accessibility: both languages have to be equal.

Done well, bilingual is an advantage

In Montreal, a good share of your customers search in English. A well-built bilingual website shows up in both languages on Google, with an address for each version.

At Repix Studio, every page exists in both languages, and visitors who switch from French to English stay on exactly the same spot. That is the case for the websites we built for SALT SXM Rentals and for Kaza, which serve French- and English-speaking customers.

Unsure about your case?

This article gives the broad strokes, not legal advice. For a specific situation, the Office québécois de la langue française answers businesses, and Éducaloi explains the rules in plain language.