n. — French relations
the ability to communicate in both English and French fluently.
Type: 4. Culturally Significant — While the general definition of bilingual is 'the ability to speak or write fluently in two languages', in Canada the term is generally applied to the ability to communicate in both English and French (see the 1944 and 1984 quotations). See also bilingualize and bilingual. It is noteworthy that the concept is not always viewed positively in Canada, either historically (see the 1889, 1906 and 1910 quotations) or culturally. For instance, in the context of the perceived threat against French in an English-dominant country and continent (see, e.g. the 1976 quotation), bilingualism is considered as a first step towards the loss of French. Conversely, bilingualism is a feature of Canadianness of long-standing and viewed positively in official government discourse and by many Canadians (see, e.g. the 2008 quotation).
See also COD-2, which is described as "esp. (in Canada) English and French", Gage-1, s.v. "bilingualism" (2), which is marked "Cdn.", ITP Nelson, s.v. "bilingualism" (2 & 3), which is described as "in Canada".