MONTREAL - Almost half of all anglophone Quebecers are considering moving out of the province as a result of language tensions raised by the September 4 election of the Parti Quebecois, according to a Leger Poll released Saturday morning.
The poll suggested that 44 percent of anglophones and 33 percent of allophones have thinking of moving out of Quebec following the election victory of Pauline Marois and the PQ.
The poll also revealed that a large majority of Quebecers want Premier Pauline Marois to make an effort to calm language tensions.
It noted that 73 percent of francophones want the new premier to meet with leaders from anglophone population, while 79 percent of anglos would like such a meeting, according to the poll.
A paltry 14 percent of anglophones reported that they believe that Marois will respect their rights, while 25 percent of allophones believe the same.
Meanwhile, 57 percent of all Quebecers worry about language tensions rising, a number which includes 84 percent of anglophones, 76 percent of allophones and 52 percent of francophones.
Two thirds of those interviewed replied that they were worried about the economic climate, a total which includes 62 percent of francophones and 81 percent of anglophones.
A strong majority of anglophones feel that the government should not extend language laws, as 82 percent of anglophones and 78 percent of allophones expressed opposition of any such change, while only 39 percent of francophones opposed the extension of Bill 101.
However 55 percent of francophones were in favour of extending Bill 101, while a mere 10 percent of anglos and seven percent of allophones took such a position.
The pollsters interviewed 596 francophones, 194 anglophones and 46 allophones between September 5 and 7.
The survey was commissioned by The Gazette, Le Devoir, the Quebec Community Groups Network and the Association for Canadian Studies and has a margin of error of 3.5 per cent, 19 times out of 20.
