If you run a business in Montreal, you’ve probably wondered whether your website legally needs to be in French. In most cases, the answer is yes. Here’s a plain-language summary. It isn’t legal advice, so check with the Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) or a lawyer for your specific situation.
What the law says
According to Éducaloi, Quebec’s non-profit legal information organization, every enterprise that operates in Quebec and offers goods or services here must respect Quebec consumers’ right to be served in French, and that includes its website. An English version is allowed, as long as a French version of comparable quality is also available. (Source: Éducaloi (opens in a new tab))
What happens if you don’t comply
The OQLF can act after a complaint or an inspection and order a business to comply. For violations after June 2022, fines range from $3,000 to $30,000, and they double for a repeat offence.
It’s also good for business
Compliance aside, many of your future clients search in French. A search like “conception de site web Montréal” won’t find an English-only site. A properly built bilingual website lets you show up in both languages and speak to every client in the language they prefer.
How to do a bilingual website properly
- Separate pages for each language, such as /fr/ for French, not a single page with both languages mixed together.
- Real translation, not machine output pasted in. “Comparable quality” matters to the law and to your clients.
- Hreflang tags, which tell Google that each page has a version in the other language, so it shows the right one.
- A visible language switch on every page.
- French-language SEO: French titles, descriptions and keywords, not translated English ones.
Every website we build follows these rules. Learn more about our Montreal web design services or get a free website audit.