Were Immigrant Kids Barred from Quebec's French Catholic Schools? | The Walrus

"Her father had lived in Paris before emigrating, and the family spoke only French and Italian in their Montreal home. They were also Catholic. "It seemed only natural for me to enrol in French Catholic school," she says. But at the registrar's office, they were rejected. The reason: ""Vous êtes des immigrants. Il faut aller à l'école anglaise."" ("You are immigrants. You must go to English school.")"

"For George Contaxakis, rejection came just as swiftly. He emigrated to Quebec from Egypt in 1962. His parents, who spoke Greek, Arabic, and English, tried to sign him up at Collège Français, around the corner from where they lived. "A few minutes after I was placed in a grade six class," says Contaxakis, "the principal walked in, pointed at me, and asked, 'Are you Catholic?' I said, 'No, I'm Orthodox.' He said, 'You're not allowed to be here,' and escorted me out.""

"The same message awaited families of other faiths. Miriam Zylberstein arrived in 1951 from Russia, by way of Paris and Poland. When her father tried to register her in grade three, he was told that, as a Jew, she would have to go to an English Protestant school. These exclusions weren't simply strokes of bad luck; they reveal what appears to be a larger impulse to protect francophone identity. Deemed outside the French Canadian fold, immigrant children risked diluting the fragile project of cultural survival."

Immigrant families in 1950s–1960s Quebec faced systematic exclusion from French Catholic schools because of perceived immigrant status or non‑Catholic faith. French‑ and Italian‑speaking Catholic families, Greek Orthodox, Jewish, and other newcomer households were redirected to English or Protestant schools. Children experienced severe adjustment problems, grade reassignments, and rejection at registration. School officials enforced religious and cultural boundaries that prioritized protection of francophone identity over inclusive enrollment. These practices aimed to prevent perceived dilution of French Canadian culture and resulted in lasting educational displacement and cultural consequences for immigrant children and their families.

Read at The Walrus