U.S. government among those concerned about Quebec's new French-language sign rules
Legal expert, Retail Council of Canada are both voicing concerns about cost
The Quebec provincial government "grossly underestimated" how much it will cost for businesses to adhere to new French-language law requirements for storefront signage, according to a Montreal legal expert.
The new regulations have even caught the attention of the U.S. government.
"Anecdotally, I know that these kinds of changes run in the tens of thousands of dollars per location, depending on the significance of the sign," said Alexandre Fallon, a lawyer who specializes in business compliance with Quebec's Charter of the French Language.
Quebec predicts it will cost businesses provincewide a mere $7 million to $15 million, but there is a long list of big box storefronts with dozens of locations that appear to be non-compliant and in need of either retrofitting or all new signs by the June 1, 2025 deadline.
"When you think about a large location, a big store for example, you will have the trademark at several places on the building. It's not one sign, it's potentially multiple signs," said Fallon.
Fallon isn't the only one concerned.
The Office of the United States Trade Representative, which is under the president's authority, issued a news release Wednesday saying senior advisor Cara Morrow met with Canada's deputy minister for international trade, Rob Stewart, to discuss, among other things, "concerns about trademark provisions of Quebec's Bill 96 and their potential implications for U.S. businesses, including small and medium-sized enterprises."
The new draft regulation, published in Quebec's Official Gazette on Jan. 10 requires non-French signs to be accompanied by French descriptions that are twice the size.
For example, if Canadian Tire has lettering that is three metres tall and 20 metres long, it would need a French description that is four metres by 30 metres.
The French descriptions could be one big word, or a series of smaller descriptions, but the aim is to ensure Quebec's official language is predominant on storefronts and signs.
Rules don't apply to stores named after people
According to the regulation as drafted, these rules apply to any wording that is not French.
Stores that are named after a person, like Tim Hortons, don't count, but there are several grey areas that CBC News is unclear about because government officials are unwilling to discuss specific cases.
For example, Walmart is derived from the founder's name, Sam Walton, and the word "mart," which means market in English.
Then there's Starbucks, which is based on a fictional character in Moby Dick.
Some stores, like Costco and Dollarama, have made up words for names. Costco combines "cost" and "company." As for Dollarama, spokesperson Lyla Radmanovich said the name is neither French nor English.
Either way, she added, "Dollarama is reviewing the new provisions and will ensure its compliance with the Charter of the French language."
When asked about these grey areas, a spokesperson for the Ministry of the French Language redirected questions to Quebec's language watchdog, the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF).
The OQLF issued a statement that explains the regulation, reminding CBC News that businesses are not expected to change their names as Kentucky Fried Chicken (Poulet Frit Kentucky or PFK), Giant Tiger (Tigre Géant) or Staples (Bureau en gros) have.
"As of June 1, 2025, French must appear clearly predominant when a trademark or company name is found in public signage," the statement says.
"To the extent that French occupies twice as much space in the same visual field, the company may choose to ensure clear predominance in several ways. For example, a company could choose to add display elements in French to those already existing."
Beyond that, the OQLF refused to comment on specific cases and stopped replying to emailed requests for clarity.
Retail Council of Canada concerned about cost
CBC News reached out to several big businesses like Canadian Tire, Walmart and Home Depot. They didn't reply, but Michel Rochette, president of the Quebec chapter of the Retail Council of Canada issued a statement — saying he speaks on behalf of most major retailers.
Rochette said the cost to businesses is the biggest concern.
"A series of meetings is planned with both our members and the OQLF over the coming weeks," he said.
"These new adjustments will not be without additional cost."
He said the council and its members are fully committed to the protection and promotion of French.
"They have adjusted several times over the past few years, in line with regulatory and legal changes regarding the French language," he said.
But these new costs come on top of four years of economic uncertainty, federal loan repayments and inflationary pressures, he said.
"Our priority will be to ensure that these new adjustments don't have negative side effects on the business climate in Quebec," Rochette said.
New rules create big costs for big companies
According to Fallon, the provincial estimate is likely what it will cost one big chain to comply. And there are many large chains operating dozens of locations in Quebec under English trademarks.
For example, in Quebec there are 620 Subways, 400 Dollaramas, 203 New Looks, 100 Canadian Tires, 71 Walmarts, 57 Winners and 22 Home Depots. Not to mention all the U-Hauls, UPS Stores, Bulk Barns, Linen Chests, Best Buys and many more.
It's not clear if acronyms with non-French meanings are compliant. For example, Dairy Queen, which has 59 Quebec locations, often has DQ as its storefront trademark.
"This is a very significant change," Fallon said. "The charter has not been amended to this degree since it was first adopted."
Fallon highlighted the challenges businesses face in the transition period, with less than a year and a half to comply.
Stores will have to study the law, design new storefronts, get approved under municipal zoning requirements, fabricate the signs and then install them all before the deadline, he said.
Many businesses will have to remove their existing signs completely and redo them because there just isn't enough space to add more words, Fallon said.
French Language Minister Jean-François Roberge provided interviews soon after the draft regulation was published.
He insisted the province's economy is strong and he does not expect the regulation to have a negative impact. There's a low unemployment rate, the economy is good and businesses want to be in Quebec, he said.
The most important thing for this government, he said, is "that 100 per cent of businesses respect that Quebec is the only state in North America where French is the only official language."
Businesses and individuals have a 45-day period to provide the ministry with written comments on the draft regulation, but Fallon said it's rare that there are major changes to regulations once they've reached this stage.
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