Toward a Better Understanding of the Sport Practices of Francophone and Anglophone Canadians

The SSJ has recently published commentaries by Laberge and Girardin (1992) and McAll (1992), on our analyses of sport practices among Anglophone and Francophone Canadians, that obscure more than they clarify. The comments contain problems of misunderstanding and misrepresentations and put forward a nonviable theoretical interpretation of Francophone/Anglophone differences in leisure sport participation. They also recommend a problematic research strategy for the area of study. We briefly spell out some of the problems involved in the two sets of comments. We also present additional data for the late 1980s that further call into question the commentators’ interpretation.