A new poll suggests the binge-drinking habits of Montrealers are divided along linguistic lines.
The survey commissioned for Educ'alcool by polling firm CROP indicates English-speaking Montrealers are more likely to drink to excess than their francophone counterparts, with allophones consuming even less alcohol.
Nearly half of the anglophones surveyed (46 percent) admitted to binge drinking in the past year, while about 15 percent admitted to driving while drunk.
39 percent of Montreal francophones admitted to drinking more than five alcoholic beverages in one sitting in the past year, while 27 percent of allophones admitted to the same behaviour.
Meanwhile there were more teetotallers among the Montreal allo and anglo communities: 35 percent of allophones said they had not imbibed any alcohol in the past year, compared to 17 percent of anglophones and 13 percent of francophones.
Educ'alcool had commissioned a study in 2015 that demonstrated stark differences between the communities.
CEO Hubert Sacy said tripling the number of those surveyed this year has revealed three very distinct groups when it comes to drinking habits.
"In the Anglo Saxon countries of origin, people drink less often but more on one occasion, where in the Latin countries, people drink more often but smaller quantities," said Sacy.
That binge drinking can lead to health problems, and Sacy said it is a drain on Canada's health system.
According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, alcohol causes more hospitalizations than heart attacks, with 77,000 hospitalizations due to alchol alone in 2015-2016.
Sacy said he hopes publicizing how people drink will convince people to change their habits.
"It's better to drink small amounts more regularly than large amounts every now and then because this is the best way of having benefits of alcohol consumption without having too much risk," said Sacy.
