In Canada, linguistic intolerance was part of the culture of the English settlers. Twice before the time of the Confederation, English settlers attempted to pass laws forcing their language on their French neighbors. The French responded with an uprising in 1837 in a futile attempt to break free of the English rule. They could not achieve their objective by force of arms. But the desire for cultural and linguistic autonomy continued. French Canadians agreed to the Confederation because they were led to believe that French Quebec would be allowed t operate as a nation within a nation. The English offered this compromise rather than risk failure of the Confederation, but included the provision that the emerging western provinces would be English-speaking. The long-term effect was to continue a sense of separateness and autonomy among the French in Quebec.

             The accommodation was only a temporary. English-speaking Canadians continued to try to suppress French culture and land language. Illegal laws were passed in many of the provinces against teaching in French in schools (Conlogue, 27). Compounding the problem were the religious differences between traditionally Protestant English and the Catholic French. The Orange Order, a group dedicated to preserving the Protestant religion and the English way of life, had a strong hold in Canada in the early twentieth century and were against the French at every opportunity.

             The English majority also developed a romantic vision of the value of a national homeland for the ethnic minorities. This was rooted in the democratic ideals on which Canada is based. Among the more liberal English Canadians, there was a hope that a uniquely Canadian cultural identity could come from the integration of the French and English. As a step toward achieving this. They suggested bi-lingualism, the recognition of both French and English as official Canadian languages.