v. — French relations
to make accessible in English and French.
Type: 4. Culturally Significant — One of the earliest attestations of the term is attributed to Canadian professor and senate member Eugene Forsey. In a speech, Forsey advocated for the use of English and French in the federal civil service to avoid Quebec separation (see the 1964 quotation). The term's dissemination, if not coinage, runs parallel to the creation of the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism in 1963. At this time, many laws were passed at both the federal and provincial level with the aim of improving acccess to French-language services in Canada. These policies were particularly significant in areas where francophones were in the majority.
See also COD-2, s.v. "bilingualize", which is marked "Cdn", Gage-3, s.v. "bilingualize", which is marked "Cdn", and OED-3, s.v. "bilingualize" (1), which is marked "Canad.".