New poll shows English-speaking Montrealers most likely to drink to excess
Another linguistic divide: poll commissioned by Éduc'alcool shows Quebec has 3 distinct drinking cultures
A new poll suggests that among Montrealers, while more francophones drink, anglophones tend to drink more heavily.
Nearly half — 46 per cent — of the 150 anglophone Montrealers surveyed report having consumed alcohol in excess at least once in the past year, where excess is defined as five drinks or more in one sitting.
In comparison, only 39 per cent of the 150 francophone Montrealers and 27 per cent of the 150 allophone Montrealers polled reported the same.
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Éduc'alcool commissioned a poll examining the three linguistic communities following a 2015 poll that hinted towards different consumption habits between francophones and the rest of the population.
In 2015, the sample size was too small, says Hubert Sacy, general manager of Éduc'Alcool, to draw a definitive conclusion.
The new poll surveyed 450 Montrealers, and the results clearly show three distinct approaches divided by linguistic communities when it comes to the consumption of alcohol.
Anglophones drink twice as often as allophones
Anglophones drink almost two times per week, while francophones tend to drink about 1.5 times a week. Allophones drink once a week only.
But Sacy said the numbers show all groups are drinking too much.
"It's not an anglophone-only issue," said Sacy.
Still, he admits that English-speaking culture occasionally glamourizes drinking.
"English-speaking countries — the U.K., Scotland, Ireland, Australia, the United States — are in a culture of heavy drinking between the ages of 15 and 23, 24, and sometimes later," he said.
Soucy said money is a factor — the more money you have, the more likely you are to drink alcohol.
"Statistics show that allophones have less money than francophones, and francophones on average have less money than anglophones on the island of Montreal," Sacy said.
"Therefore it makes a lot of sense to say that those who have more money drink more often than those who have less money."
The study also found more anglophones drinking and driving than francophone and allophone Montrealers.
Of the anglophone Montrealers polled, 15 per cent said they got behind the wheel with a blood alcohol level that was over the legal limit, compared to four per cent of francophones and two per cent of allophones.
'Everybody drinks the same': AA volunteer
Bill Wexler, a volunteer with Alcoholics Anonymous in Montreal, has his doubts about the new survey, which he called "sensationalism."
"It's drawing [attention] away from the real problem of drinking all over the map," he said.
"I don't think there's any group that's more powerfully binge-drinking than anybody else ... everybody drinks the same."
With files from Naveet Pall and CBC Montreal's Daybreak