Montreal Canadiens right-wing Cole Caufield (13) celebrates a goal against the Boston Bruins in the third period of a game at the TD Garden on Dec. 1.Natalie Reid/Reuters
When Eric Webb’s first daughter was born, it was during the NHL playoffs in 2014. His hometown team, the Montreal Canadiens, was in the conference finals and while he missed the game to be at the hospital, he recalls how a hospital employee kept fans informed by announcing the scores over the PA system. “That person got in some trouble,” he says. “But that’s a really good indicator of how passionate people in Montreal get during the playoffs.”
In many cases, sports fandom in Quebec reaches across linguistic lines and draws in supporters from both the Francophone and Anglophone communities. Non-fluent French speakers like Webb will still tune in to French language broadcasts and follow French language media so that they can keep up with their teams.
“Many anglos, like my dad who had an elementary knowledge of written French, would still buy the Journal de Montréal tabloid newspaper to get all of his hockey news,” says Russell Clough, a bilingual mental health nurse who grew up in Montreal with a Francophone mother and an Anglophone father. “We’d watch games in either language, depending on what was available – TVA and TQS French during the week, Hockey Night in Canada on Saturdays.”
French language broadcasts are Clough’s preference despite the fact that he mostly speaks English at home with his family. “French broadcasting teams are local,” he says. “English are less so. It’s difficult to pinpoint, but French broadcasts have a more familial feel to them. Announcers will make references that only Quebecers would understand. There tends to be more joking around between the play-by-play. There’s also an unavoidable bias that makes the game more enjoyable to Habs fans.”
According to 2021 statistics, the level of bilingualism within Quebec is 46.4 per cent. But how fans engage with their teams often comes down to personal preference rather than linguistics.
Vincent Aubry is a Montreal DJ who began his career spinning sports arena anthems and high-energy Quebecois folk songs for the Expos. He continues to work in the industry alongside some of Quebec’s most popular teams. According to him, the best way to take in a game you can’t attend in person is over the radio. “The two broadcasters in French on 98.5, Dany [Dubé] and Martin [Maguire], the way they describe the game makes you feel like you’re there. You feel like you see everything. Everyone loves them.”
Occasionally, Aubry likes to take in an away broadcast in English – especially when the Habs are playing the Boston Bruins, a long-time rival. “Let’s say we’re playing Boston … it’s fun to see the perception of the other team and how they feel about us.”
Rivalries are a major uniting factor of French and English fans in Quebec. “I hate the Bruins,” says Webb. “They’re the ultimate rival of the Montreal Canadiens. Back in the day, there were fights in the stands. It was really intense with the Bruins.”
Aubry buys tickets for his 11-year-old every time the two clubs face off. “The rivalry is so fun,” he says. “When you get the chance to witness a strong rivalry like this one, it’s like Barcelona against Madrid or the Yankees against the Red Sox. We have one of the best rivalries in the whole world of sports. That’s a privilege that I appreciate every time.”
Bilingualism in Quebec remains a difficult subject. In 2024, the legislature voted unanimously against declaring the province bilingual. The year before, when the Montreal Alouettes won the Grey Cup, defensive back Marc-Antoine Dequoy publicly decried the lack of French language coverage and engagement in the CFL. Even the universally beloved Habs have been criticized by Quebec politicians for failing to install a French-speaking captain in the past 25 years.
Among sports spectators, however, the linguistic divide is blurry. “This is likely a reflection of the changing city,” says Clough, who also credits local bilingual sports podcasters as a factor bringing fans together. “Francophones and Anglophones don’t live in the same cultural silos as they used to [and] there are local sports figures who navigate both worlds.”
The way that Webb sees sports fandom in Quebec bringing people together is something that he’s proud to share with his daughter. On their way to a recent game, he says, “We got off the Metro wearing our Habs jerseys and someone getting on the Metro said, ‘Have a good game.’ I love my daughter seeing that because she gets to see people taking advantage of an opportunity to say something nice to somebody.
“During the playoffs, if you’re wearing anything with a Habs logo on it people will say ‘Go Habs’ and any language issues completely evaporate. It’s wonderful to have those moments where the political divide is removed because we’re all on the same team.”