>l, 



36 EUKAL LIFE IN CANADA 



> 



over 50;,000 children taught in French in the bilingual 

 and the purely French schools of the Province. Mr. 

 Frank Yeigh, the well-known publicist, informs us in 

 " Facts about Canada " that they have the preponderant 

 vote in fifteen counties; Father Le Bel claims that in 

 twenty-two their vote is the decisive factor. Mr Yeigh 

 estimates that by the end of this century they will num- 

 ber six millions in Ontario. Here in these beautiful 

 Muskoka groves — if the present tendencies remain un- 

 checked — before two generations shall have passed, 

 French, save on the lips of tourists, will be the only 

 language heard. In ISTew Brunswick the French popu- 

 lation now numbers 90,000, or more than one-fourth of 

 the po'pulation. In Prince Edward Island, while the 

 total popvilation decreased by nine and a half thousand, 

 the French people increased by over four thousand. 

 This problem, then, is not a Quebec problem, but Cana- 

 dian. It is one of the greatest, if not the greatest, be- 

 fore any English-speaking nation to-day. 



The first and fundamental dimension of the problem 

 is physical — the numerical diminution of the popula- 

 lon. But the rural loss is not only quantitative ; it is 

 qualitative as well. The second dimension is social, 

 and is measured by the strain on all social institutions 

 and relations. \ Farm homes in Canada are farther apart 

 than anywhere' else in the worl;g[. Leaving out of consi- 

 deration such districts as Algoma West, with 1.29 to the 

 square mile, and Algoma East, with 0.91, we have in 

 Ontario counties such as Lennox and Addington, 14.4 ; 

 South Renfrew, 14.1; ISTorth Lanark, 13.9; Frontenac, 

 13.1; Peterborough, 13.2; Victoria, 9.22. In all these 

 cases the towns are included. The rural population of 

 the United States is 15 to the square mile, and even 



