¹ This study proceeds from the conviction that discussions of the relations between the French and English in Quebec have been confined too much to the problems of acculturation. In general the relations between ethnic groups have been studied in terms of the taking over of culture traits, matters of spatial succession, and occupational specialization. Less attention has been paid to place or position in the institutional relations within the economic structure.

² National Resources Committee, The Structure of the American Economy, part I, Basic Characteristics (Washington, D.C., 1939), pp. 153, 155.Google Scholar

³ In Montreal the French constitute 60.8 per cent of the population, as compared with 79.0 per cent in the province, and 28.2 per cent in the Dominion. Montreal is the great meeting place for the French and English in business affairs. Here, if anywhere, we would see the extent to which the French have entered into the control of nation-wide corporations. As the largest city in Canada, Montreal transacts a great deal of business for its million consumers; it is also the headquarters city of the region and shares with Toronto the headquarters of most large corporations.

⁴ While it is not the purpose of this article to deal with more than contemporary statistics of certain phases of the relationship between the French and English in Montreal, and while certain obvious conclusions can be derived from the data presented, we should keep in mind the history of the colonial pattern of military conquest, and of the commercial, industrial, and financial development of the country, and the roles played by the French and English. The French were the “native” population in Quebec; the English the “invaders,” taking full advantage of their conquest by developing the as yet unexploited labour power and resources of the region. Cf. Creighton, D. G., The Commercial Empire of the St. Lawrence (Toronto, 1937)Google Scholar; Hughes, E. C., “Industry and the Rural System in Quebec” (Canadian Journal of Economics and Political Science, vol. IV, 08 1938, p. 341–9)CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Hughes, E. C., “Position and Status in a Quebec Industrial Town” (American Sociological Review, vol. III, 10, 1938, pp. 709–17).CrossRefGoogle Scholar

⁵ Roy, William J., “The French-English Division of Labor in Quebec” (M.A. Thesis, McGill University, 1935).Google Scholar

⁶ Jamieson, Stuart M., “French and English in the Institutional Structure of Montreal: A Study of Division of Labour” (M.A. Thesis, McGill University, 1938).Google Scholar

⁷ In Quebec the population is predominantly French-Catholic or English-Protestant. There are, of course, marginal groups but this “ethnic” distinction is the major one involving both language and religion.

⁸ This number constitutes one-sixth of the total gainfully employed in manufacturing industries in Montreal.

⁹ In the total population of the city these nationalities are found in the proportions 26:61:13, respectively.

¹⁰ Roy, , French-English Division of Labor, p. 137 Google Scholar and Appendix, Table 41-C, p. 31.

¹¹ Ibid., p. 92 and chap. VIII.

¹² In view of the trend towards centralization in modern industry, it is to be expected that the small firm will be bought out by the large one. Small units with local control are combined with larger units with more distant control. This process is affecting both French and English firms. As the majority of large firms are English, the process of centralization would seem to indicate the passing of French control.

¹³ Roy, French-English Division of Labor.

¹⁴ Jamieson, , French and English in the Institutional Structure of Montreal, p. 69.Google Scholar

¹⁵ Ibid., p. 72.

¹⁶ Ibid., p. 74 ff.

¹⁷ Ibid.

¹⁸ The Dun and Bradstreet Directory lists nearly all merchandising firms by city or town. This list includes firms engaged in the production, processing, wholesale, and retail distribution of goods, and the servicing of merchandise.

¹⁹ We divided the merchandising firms into four main groups: (1) production, processing, etc.; (2) wholesale, commodity, brokers, manufacturer's agents, etc.; (3) retail trade; (4) miscellaneous services. The latter includes a wide range Of services from large construction companies, to various sized printing, trucking, garages, and laundry establishments.

²⁰ Estimated pecuniary strength is the index given (in dollars) along with the credit rating in the Dun and Bradstreet Directory. There were twenty-one ratings of financial strength which we reduced to five. The original groups ranged from under $500 to over $1,000,000.

²¹ “Nationality” is used here as a convenient term to describe apparent ethnic affiliation. In designating the nationality of the firm, we do not mean to discount the possibility of another nationality having some control over it, either through a directorship, owning part of the means of production or some other way. It has been noted that certain large French firms have one or more English directors, and that certain English firms have French directors. We have already noted that an American company produces and rents machinery for making boots and shoes. It may be objected that we use the term “ownership” loosely, in view of the fact that the stock of corporations may be widely distributed. In answer, we remind the reader that it has been amply shown in various studies, that the group who own a very small proportion of the total stock of a company may effectively act as if they owned the company. In making our tabulation nationality was assumed in the following manner: (a) from the name of the firm—that is, a firm with a French name would be considered French by the general population. For the individual familiar with the French and English names in the province, this is not too difficult. (b) In addition to name, the address of the firm is usually written in French or English according to the nationality of the owner. The term English includes British, English-Canadian, American, and Jewish. It might have been profitable to separate the Jewish from the other firms in this group, but the task of tabulating over 16,000 made it impossible, as time did not permit checking such a list against other sources of information. French means French Canadian, but might include a few from France. “Others” includes names that were Greek, Chinese, etc., and certain doubtful cases. As the “Other” category makes up but 7 per cent of the total number listed, and as two-thirds of this 7 per cent were in the lowest size grouping, possible errors are not too significant.

²² In order to make our estimate more precise we used the twenty-one original E.P.S. groups in our computation. We then regrouped the twenty-one products so that the E.P.S. groups would correspond to the five used in this paper.

²³ The term estimated pecuniary strength seems to correspond to liquid assets. It has been pointed out in the Structure of American Economy that “the possessor of liquid assets is in a position to buy action from others” and sometimes the mere possession without actual expenditure can influence the action of others, “though for the most part the controls derived from liquid assets depend on the expenditure of liquid assets in the market” (p. 155).

²⁴ Structure of American Economy, p. 158.

²⁵ Mr. Jamieson in Appendix A of his thesis gives us some indication of the number of directorates held by English and French in certain types of business or industry. From this table we have compiled the one below showing the nationality of the directors in firms of a given type.

²⁶ Large manufacturing corporations produce a larger proportion of the total value added by the manufacturing than their proportion of the total man power employed. This reflects to some extent the large volume of capital per unit of man power which they employ as compared with smaller companies (Structure of American Economy, p. 102).

²⁷ Ibid., chap, IX, “The Structure of Controls.”

²⁸ Cf. ibid; L. G. Reynolds, The Control of Competition in Canada (Cambridge, Mass., 1940).