<P> French has been a language of government in the part of Canada that is today Quebec, with limited interruptions, since the arrival of the first French settlers in Canada in 1604 (Acadians) and in 1608 in Quebec, and has been entrenched in the Constitution of Canada since 1867 . English has been a language of government in each of the provinces since their inception as British colonies . </P> <P> Institutional bilingualism in various forms therefore predates the Canadian Confederation in 1867 . However, for many years English occupied a de facto privileged position, and French was not fully equal . The two languages have gradually achieved a greater level of equality in most of the provinces, and full equality at the federal level . In the 1970s French in Quebec became the province's official language . </P> <P> English and French have had limited constitutional protection since 1867 . Section 133 of the Constitution Act, 1867 guarantees that both languages may be used in the Parliament of Canada, in its journals and records, and in court proceedings in any court established by the Parliament of Canada . The section also mandates that all Acts of the Parliament of Canada be printed and published in both languages . Guarantees for the equal status of the two official languages are provided in sections 16--23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which became law in 1982 . Sections 16--19 guarantee the equal status of both languages in Parliament, in all federal government institutions, and in federal courts . These sections also mandate that all statutes, records and journals of Parliament be published in both languages, with the English and French versions both holding equal status before the courts . Section 20 guarantees the right of the Canadian public to communicate in English and French with any central government office or with regional offices where there is "a significant demand for communication with and services from that office". Significant demand is not defined in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms . One of the purposes of the Official Languages Act of 1988 was to remedy this omission . </P> <P> The Charter of Rights and Freedoms includes similar constitutional obligations making New Brunswick the only officially bilingual province in Canada . </P>

When did french become canada's second language