Why Quebec’s Bill 96 demands a product strategy rethink

When most product leaders hear about Quebec’s Bill 96, their first instinct is to reach for Google Translate and call it a day. But if you’re treating Quebec’s strengthened language laws as just another compliance checkbox, you’re missing a significant product strategy opportunity.

Bill 96, which came into force in 2022, represents a comprehensive overhaul that extends language requirements deep into digital experiences, customer communications, and even AI-powered features. More importantly, it’s forcing companies to confront a fundamental question: are we building products that truly serve diverse linguistic communities, or are we just translating our way out of legal trouble?

What is Bill 96?

Bill 96, formally known as An Act respecting French, the official and common language of Québec, was adopted by Quebec’s National Assembly on May 24, 2022, and received royal assent on June 1, 2022. This comprehensive legislation significantly strengthened Quebec’s Charter of the French Language, extending far beyond traditional signage requirements into the digital realm.

Under Bill 96, digital content—including websites, social media posts, newsletters, and even app copy—is now categorized as “commercial publications.” This means the same French-language standards that once applied only to print brochures now apply to every aspect of your digital presence aimed at Quebec consumers.

The law’s scope is remarkably broad. It requires businesses to use French in all internal and external communications, offer all goods and services in French, and maintain specific ratios of French-speaking employees. For product teams, this translates to French requirements for user interfaces, error messages, customer support documentation, onboarding flows, and even AI-generated content.

Businesses that don’t comply with Bill 96 could face fines of up to $100,000. But more importantly for PMMs, the law represents a fundamental shift in how we need to think about product localization in an increasingly multilingual digital landscape.

If you think Bill 96 is just about slapping French labels on English interfaces, think again. It’s an overhaul that extends language requirements deep into digital experiences, customer communications, and even AI-powered features. More importantly, it’s forcing companies to confront a fundamental question: are we building products that truly serve diverse linguistic communities, or are we just translating our way out of legal trouble?

The French-first advantage

Here’s what most PMMs don’t realize: designing with French as a primary consideration from day one not only helps you comply with Quebec law but also makes your entire product better. French text typically runs 15-20% longer than English, which means French-first design naturally creates more generous spacing, clearer information hierarchy, and more scannable interfaces.

Companies that have embraced this approach report unexpected benefits. When you design for French first, you’re essentially stress-testing your information architecture against a language that demands clarity and precision. The expanded design patterns needed to accommodate longer French text naturally force you to prioritize essential information and eliminate clutter, often resulting in cleaner, more scannable interfaces that perform better across all languages.

Beyond Quebec: The global francophone opportunity

Quebec’s 8.5 million residents represent just the tip of the francophone iceberg. There are over 280 million French speakers worldwide, with significant concentrations in some of the world’s fastest-growing economies. France obviously, but also Belgium, Switzerland, and increasingly important African markets like Senegal, Ivory Coast, and Morocco.

When you build product experiences that genuinely work in French—not just translated English—you’re positioning yourself for these broader markets. The nuances matter here. Quebec French has its own technical vocabulary and cultural contexts that, when properly addressed, signal to users that you understand their world rather than just tolerating their language.

Rethinking your content strategy

Bill 96’s expanded scope means traditional content localization strategies are no longer sufficient. The law now covers everything from error messages to onboarding sequences, and it requires businesses to demonstrate that French versions aren’t just available but genuinely equivalent in functionality and user experience.

This pushes PMMs to think beyond word-for-word translation toward cultural adaptation. Consider how your product’s value proposition translates not just linguistically but culturally. Quebec’s business culture emphasizes relationship-building and community connection in ways that might require fundamentally different messaging approaches, not just different words.

The technical implications are equally significant. Your product’s voice and tone guidelines need French-specific versions. Your customer support workflows need to account for linguistic preferences. Even your analytics and user research methodologies need to capture the nuanced ways French-speaking users might interact with your product differently.

The competitive moat

While your competitors are scrambling to retrofit their existing products with translated interfaces, you have an opportunity to build something genuinely differentiated. French-first design thinking can become a competitive advantage that extends far beyond compliance.

Consider notification systems. English notifications can be quite terse—”Payment failed” gets the point across. But French communication norms often require more context and courtesy. Designing for these expectations from the start creates notification experiences that feel more human and helpful, regardless of language.

The same principle applies to onboarding flows, feature introductions, and even pricing pages. When you design with French linguistic and cultural patterns in mind, you often end up with experiences that are more thoughtful and user-centered across the board.

Implementation without overwhelm

The key to making this strategic shift without derailing your existing roadmap is to start with your highest-impact touchpoints. User onboarding, checkout flows, and customer support interactions typically offer the biggest bang for your localization buck.

Build French considerations into your design system from the ground up. Create component specifications that account for text expansion, establish clear guidelines for French voice and tone, and ensure your design team understands the cultural context behind language choices.

Most importantly, involve French-speaking users in your research and testing from the earliest stages. Quebec users can provide insights that benefit your entire product strategy, not just your French-language implementation.

Moving forward

Bill 96 isn’t going away, and neither is the global trend toward digital sovereignty and cultural preservation in product design. The companies that will thrive are those that view these requirements not as constraints but as catalysts for building more inclusive, thoughtful, and ultimately successful products.

The question isn’t whether you can afford to take Quebec’s language laws seriously. It’s whether you can afford not to see them as the product strategy opportunity they really are. Your competitors are still thinking in terms of translation. You have the chance to think in terms of transformation.