Just ahead of the upcoming Quebec provincial election, President Donald Trump dismissed claims of him interfering with French-speaking Canadians as baseless in a recent post on his Truth Social account. The issue was cited as a factor in the breakdown of trade talks between the U.S. and Canada. Prime Minister Mark Carney highlighted that certain U.S. demands could have had negative implications for the French language, including affecting subsidies for French-language media and requirements for bilingual product labeling.
During an event in Lévis, Quebec, Carney noted that American negotiators found the discoverability of French-Canadian content on streaming platforms to be a point of contention. He emphasized that finding such content is currently straightforward due to Quebec legislation promoting it.
Trump refuted the allegations of meddling with French-speaking Canadians in his social media post, attributing the claim to a ploy by Prime Minister Carney to regain political support in Quebec. Industry Minister Mélanie Joly responded by emphasizing the importance of sovereignty and national values.
Last year, Quebec passed Bill 109, known as “An Act to affirm the cultural sovereignty of Québec and to enact the Act respecting the discoverability of French-language cultural content in the digital environment,” which mandates streaming services to feature and facilitate access to French-language content. This law was enacted in December 2025. Quebec also enforces stringent regulations on product labeling, requiring translations into French with some exceptions, a measure that the U.S. government flagged as a trade concern earlier in 2025.