Bilingual districts were recommended by the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism to help resolve Canada's sociolinguistic tensions. The "cornerstone" of the Commission's 150 recommendations and federal language policy, these administrative enclaves were intended to provide symbolic recognition of minority homelands and delineate where federal, provincial, and municipal public services should be made available in both official languages. In the first systematic study of the subject, Daniel Bourgeois traces the complex path that led to the demise of the plan in 1976, following...

Bilingual districts were recommended by the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism to help resolve Canada's sociolinguistic tensions. The "cornerstone" of the Commission's 150 recommendations and federal language policy, these administrative enclaves were intended to provide symbolic recognition of minority homelands and delineate where federal, provincial, and municipal public services should be made available in both official languages. In the first systematic study of the subject, Daniel Bourgeois traces the complex path that led to the demise of the plan in 1976, following...