Pierre Trudeau Quotes

I'm against the idea of force-feeding all of Canada on two languages.

I did hold the language laws of Quebec up to ridicule because they are officious and ridiculous.

Citizens of Canada of whom any child has received or is receiving primary or secondary school instruction in English or French in Canada, have the right to have all their children receive primary and secondary school instruction in the same language.

English and French are the official languages of Canada and have equality of status and equal rights and privileges as to their use in all institutions of the Parliament and government of Canada.

You know, even growing up going to school, I had teachers that were against bilingual teaching. I never understood that. My parents always had me speak Spanish first knowing I was going to speak English in school.

Make no mistake. Canada is not a bilingual country. In fact it is less bilingual today than it has ever been.

Insist on one language. English for all Americans.

One of the biggest problems is - you know, I've got some Hispanic friends - is that a lot of those folks that don't know English, is primarily because they don't even know Spanish. They don't even know their own language.

Language is at the root of Quebec nationalism.

When California passes a law saying that English is the official language, it can only mean one thing: That English is no longer the official language.

Language is an instrument of development and struggle. Different nations have different languages. The interests of the proletariat of all Russia demand that the proletarians of the different nationalities inhabiting Russia shall have full right to use the language in which it is easiest for them to receive education, in which they can best oppose their enemies at meetings or in public, state and other institutions. That language is the native language.

Bilingualism is a great asset for any individual, but it has perilous consequences for a nation.

You can't be an American if you don't speak English. Our public schools should be mandated to teach all children in English.

After all, enforced national bilingualism in this country isn't mere policy. It has attained the status of a religion. It's a dogma which one is supposed to accept without question.

I am not anti-English, and I never was.

Most Arab Israelis speak Hebrew, but not the other way around. It's about time that changed.

Attempting to build a language wall around Quebec is precisely the wrong policy to follow. It will keep out of Quebec exactly what we need to attract by way of talent and capital; it will drive our best - francophones as well as allophones and anglophones, with their talents and capital - to leave Quebec.

The expenditure of county funds for the purpose of utilizing any language other than English, or promoting any culture other than that of the United States is prohibited.

The gift of a common tongue is a priceless inheritance and it may well some day become the foundation of a common citizenship.

For the benefit of those who are not bilingual, I will now continue in English.

English should be acknowledged once and for all as the official language of the United States.

Requiring this kneeling down of all languages before French is sheer linguistic imperialism.

It is asked of me that I give my first speech in this house in a language [English] other than my mother tongue [French.] …. Even if I knew English as intimately as I knew French, I would still give my first speech in the language of my French Canadian compatriots

It is a blessing for an individual to be bilingual, but it is a curse for a society to be bilingual… A society must be able to talk amongst itself.

English-speaking Canada, far from stifling Quebec, has acted...as a committed partner, a buffer, shielding its culture from the rest of an English-speaking continent that Quebecers perceive as a threatening force.