The problem with your formulation is that those folks immigrated to Canada. If I spoke neither French nor English, and, was admitted to Canada, I would strive to learn English before French. That would be equally true even if I initially settled in Quebec.
This is eminently ridiculous. Canada is a bilingual nation. Immigrants to Quebec should be expected to learn French in the same way as immigrants to British Columbia should be expected to learn English.
Again, there is no such thing as "an immigrant to British Columbia." There are only immigrants to Canada. Any immigrant to any county ought to learn the local language. Since Canada is a bilingual nation, any immigrant to Canada ought to learn either English or French. I just happen to believe that learning English first has more utility to the immigrant, and is, thus, the rational choice.
Bob, what you have to understand is that Canada for the most part is supposed, under the terms of its own foundational laws, to actually take federalism seriously in the realm of language.
