Earlier quoted context omitted.
Montreal companies have absolutely no problem hiring programmers who don't speak French (I'm the sole anglophone at my company, and they found me). The real losers end up being the native Quebecers. There are really good programmers here working for pennies because they don't know enough English to move to or contract for companies in the Bay Area or NYC. This is true for a lot of other knowledge/creative professiona…
Anglophones having highest incomes in Quebec is an old myth. In fact, a recent report from Statistics Canada (StatsCan) shows that English-speakers have a lower median income than francophones with the same qualifications.[1] Furthermore, I highly doubt that the fact "you could be working in NYC if you wanted to" has any influence on your salary. Finally, even if what you stated was true regarding francization, it wo…
"The majority of migrants to Quebec are English-speaking – 33 per cent of the anglophone population is made up of immigrants, compared to only 7 per cent of the French-speaking population – and inflows of foreign migrants contribute to higher poverty rates among anglophones."
"A wealthy minority exists within the anglophone community, skewing their average income data upwards"
It is this Westmount/West Island wealthy minority I'm referring to when I say you should look at occupation and income levels.
There's no surprise blue-collar francophones earn more - that was the whole impetus behind the Quiet Revolution.
Programmer salaries in NYC are about three times what they are in Montreal, while the cost of living is only about twice as high. Salaries in the US have a very real effect on Canadian ones - it's so easy to get a NAFTA visa that the US and Canada basically share a labor market of programmers.