Video of French speakers berating Montreal tourists goes viral

Harris Robin Kalash shot the video and hopes it will get people thinking about how to unify French and English speakers

It's unclear exactly what the motive was for the suspected shooter during Pauline Marois' victory speech Tuesday night, but the man was shouting in French with an accent, "The English are waking up."

Officers are also looking into the possibility that a Parti Quebecois member received threatening messages prior to the shooting.

[ Related: Police identify Richard Henry Bain as a suspect shooting ]

If it was motivated because the PQ has a separatist agenda, it would just be the latest incident in what has been an ongoing language battle.

Just days before the election, Harris Robin Kalash was walking home near the corner of Sherbrooke Street and Park Avenue in downtown Montreal when he noticed a French-speaking couple yelling at a group of men for speaking English in public. He thought it was just an ordinary fight, but when he heard what they were arguing about he decided to start filming. The video, which was uploaded Sunday, has gone viral and has more than 200,000 views.

Click here to watch the video, which contains coarse language.

"According to the shady looking guy in a hat people who live in Quebec must speak French and if they don't then it is an insult to their culture," Kalash wrote on YouTube.

One of the men speaking English says he is from another province.

"This guy is an outlier, one case out of many," wrote Kalash on YouTube. "We see crazy people every now and then but this guy happened to be recorded. Do not take this guy and use it as an image of a whole population."

[ Related: Three reasons why Charest lost in Quebec ]

Kalash doesn't want the video to further fuel the dispute, but wants people to see it and think of ways to unify the anglophones and francophones because he says that's what makes Quebec unique.

"It's really sad to see something like that in your community," he said.

The confrontation lasted about five minutes before the French-speaking couple got in a cab and left. No one was injured.

Quebec wanting to separate from Canada to preserve the culture and language is nothing new. Two referendums (1980 and 1995) have been held in Quebec asking residents to vote on the province pursuing a path toward sovereignty. The PQ brought forth both motions. While the answer was decidedly "No" in 1980, the "No" side only won by a single percentage point in 1995. With only 32 per cent of the popular vote in Tuesday's vote and a minority government, the PQs aren't expected to call a referendum any time soon.

However, Marois announced Wednesday she will introduce tougher language laws in the province.

(With files from CBC)