Canada is sending the improper message to the world through the use of British English, consultants say | EUROtoday

A gaggle of language consultants has written to Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney asking him to cease utilizing British spellings in official paperwork so as to protect nationwide satisfaction.

In an open letter printed final week, six linguists and editors warned that the usage of spellings reminiscent of “utilisation” and “catalyse” in current authorities communications risked creating “confusion” and undermining the nation’s combating spirit at a time of diplomatic disruption.

Canadian English, which has been customary in official missives for many years, makes use of a mix of British-style spellings and American-style spellings, relying on the phrase, plus phrases from Quebecois French and indigenous languages.

But the letter stated Carney’s authorities had not too long ago used particular British spellings that aren’t the norm in Canada, placing it out of step with unusual utilization.

“Canadian spelling is used widely and fairly consistently in Canada — in book and magazine publishing, in newspapers and other media, and in the federal and provincial governments and their legislatures,” the letter says.

“If governments start to use other systems for spelling, this could lead to confusion about which spelling is Canadian….

“Canadian English spelling should proceed for use in all communications and publications within the federal authorities. It’s a matter of our nationwide historical past, id and satisfaction. These days, it’s the best option to take an ‘elbows up’ stance.”

Since January, “elbows up” has become the rallying cry of Canadians hoping to resist President Donald Trump’s diplomatic and economic threats against a country that was long considered among the staunchest of U.S. allies.

The phrase has cropped up in protests, on social media, and in politicians’ speeches, while the Canadian government has moved to reduce its reliance on the U.S. for trade and military procurement.

On Friday, the Canadian English Dictionary named “elbows up” its runner-up for the word of the year. It was only beaten by “maplewashing” — that is, making something (such as a consumer product) seem more Canadian than it is.

Last week’s letter was signed by Kaitlin Littlechild, president of the editors’ trade association Editors Canada, and John Chew, editor in chief of the Canadian English Dictionary, as well as leading academic linguists such as the University of Toronto’s J.K. Chambers and the Memorial University of Newfoundland’s Sandra Clarke.

Carney, who grew up in Alberta, Canada, has spent his career working at financial institutions across the world, including seven years in the U.K. as the governor of the Bank of England, Britain’s equivalent of the Federal Reserve.

After taking over as prime minister from Justin Trudeau in March 2025, he won a shock election victory on the back of widespread anger over Trump’s threats to annex Canada.

Stefan Dollinger, a professor of linguistics at the University of British Columbia who signed the letter, told The Independent that he did not know why Carney’s administration had recently started to use British spellings.

“There appears to have been a misunderstanding or a data hole with some within the Prime Minister’s Office. We have no idea, however we witness their linguistic output,” he said.

“Canadian authorities establishments have for many years used Canadian utilization conventions, and all we ask is to return to that observe.”

The Independent has reached out to the Prime Minister’s Office for comment.

The letter explains: “Canadian English developed by means of loyalist settlement after the American Revolutionary War, subsequent waves of English, Scottish, Welsh and Irish immigration, and from European and world contexts…

“[It] is unique among the varieties of English around the world because it is historically influenced by its geographic proximity to the U.S. but has features distinctive from U.S. English and U.K. English.”

Prof J.Okay. Chambers instructed The Independent that there’s “some leeway” in Canadian spelling, however described Carney’s Anglicisms as “pretentious” and “non-Canadian”.

“As you know, the Prime Minister spent seven years as governor of the Bank of England. He obviously picked up some pretensions while he was there,” Chambers stated.

“I suspect Carney became acutely aware of the spelling discrepancies in his England days. He apparently thinks they are ‘upper class’, and if so that is the attitude that came into Canada with the influx of two million Brits from 1815 to about 1865.

“That is once we Canadians realized to say ‘zed’ for the final letter of the alphabet as an alternative of ‘zee,’ the North American customary till then. Now [‘zed’ is] a shibboleth in Canadian pronunciation.”