Canadian language experts are calling on Prime Minister Mark Carney to ditch British spelling in official documents and utilise Canadian spelling instead.
Canadian English has been the standard in government communications for decades. But eagle-eyed linguists and editors have spotted British spellings — like “globalisation” and “catalyse” — in documents from the Carney government, including the budget.
In an open letter, they asked Carney to stick to Canadian English, writing that it is “a matter of our national history, identity and pride”.
They note that Canadian English is unique because it borrows influence from both the US and the UK due to geography and history.
It also includes “Canadianisms” that are unique to the country’s lexicon, like the use of the word “toque” to describe a winter hat, or “washroom” instead of the American bathroom or the British loo.
A big distinction between Canadian and British spelling is the use of the letter ‘z’ versus ‘s’ in words like analyse. But Canadian English takes from British English in other ways, like using ‘ou’ in colour, rather than the American ‘color’.
Other British terms, however, are never used, like tyre for ‘tire’.
In the letter, dated 11 December and shared with BBC News, the linguists wrote that Canadian English is recognised and widely used in Canada, arguing that “if governments start to use other systems for spelling, this could lead to confusion about which spelling is Canadian.”
They add that using Canadian English is “the simplest way to take an ‘elbows up’ stance”, referencing an ice hockey term that Carney has used to describe Canada’s defiance in the face of US tariffs and 51st state jabs from President Donald Trump.
The letter was sent by Editors Canada and signed by four professors of linguistics at various Canadian universities, along with the editor-in-chief of the Canadian English Dictionary.
The BBC has reached out to Carney’s office for comment.
One of the signatories, Professor Stefan Dollinger at the University of British Columbia, said he and others feel strongly about the issue “because language expresses identity”.
“It seems kind of counter-productive that the Prime Minister’s Office would now walk the clock back by half-a-century or more,” Prof Dollinger told the BBC, noting how Canada’s language has evolved from its past as a British colony.
There were at least two notable uses of British English by Carney’s office, said Kaitlin Littlechild, president of Editors Canada.
The first was the Carney government’s budget, released in November. The second is an October news release from the prime minister’s office after a working visit to Washington, DC, where Carney met Trump.
Ms Littlechild said it is difficult to decipher whether it is a “misunderstanding” or a “targeted directive”.
JK Chambers, a prominent Canadian linguist at the University of Toronto and another signatory, noted that Carney spent many years of his adult life in the UK, including seven years as governor of the Bank of England.
“He obviously picked up some pretensions while he was there,” Prof Chambers said via email, but added: “So far, bless him, he has not resorted to ‘gaol’ for ‘jail.’”
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