How important is it to be able to speak some French in Montreal and Toronto? I'll be staying downtown.

It isn't important at all.
In Montreal, you will hear French spoken, but you won't have any trouble. Just about everyone speaks English.

In Toronto, you won't even hear French spoken. It's an English speaking city.

Many Montrealers are bilingual, so you can get away with speaking English only, although it wouldn't hurt to learn some basics like "Bonjour", "Merci", "Au revoir". You don't need to speak French in Toronto. Everyone speaks English in hotels, restaurants, shops.

It would only be polite to attempt some basic French words in Montreal, as suggested.

I grew up in, and still live near, Toronto. Most people in this region speak little, if any, French. I know many people who visit Montreal for fun or business and speak little or essentionally no French (although most regular business travellers would attempt to learn a few words and phrases), so you'll be fine in the downtown area. As mentioned, it might be considered polite to use the occasional "bonjour" or "merci" in Montreal, but they probably get lots of vistors and tourists who don't do this.

Downtown Montreal and points west generally speaking as some have already stated, in shops and restos, you'll find the population by and large bilingual French/English (although some unilingual English or French-speakers are scattered in the mix). Downtown near McGill to me especially feels like one of the more anglophone (bilingual anglophone) parts of the city. However, if you wander far enough east off tourist-beaten-paths (e.g., eastern reaches of the Plateau Mont-Royal) or to certain communities on the South Shore or Laval, you may encounter unilingual francophones, even in stores and restaurants. Even occasionally in the west (NDG-Cote des Neiges area), one will run across an occasional unilingual francophone (such as my ex-landlady).

Even in these situations, plenty of people visit countries where they don't know the language spoken most comfortably by the majority of its citizenry, getting by when language fails with pointing, smiling and a good attitude. However, IMO learning some of the language (in this case Quebec French) can make for a more enriching and eye-opening trip.

Best wishes, DAN

One of the charms of Montreal for me was that I could speak French and if the folks on the other end couldn't bear how bad it was, they switched to English

French matters in Montreal if you are driving -- but all you need to know is north south east and west (nord, sud, est, oeust) so you can pick the right exits.

Other than that, in most areas visitors can be found, there will be lots of people who can understand you, and reply in, English.

Menus are usually in two languages.

Toronto, as explained already, is pretty much non-French.

BAK

I've been trying to learn some French for our summer trip to Montreal this year, but I do wonder about the difference in Quebec French. I haven't seen any books or CDs that really deal with it. I'm more concerned about understanding what people may say to me. I already know I'll sound awful in my pronounciation.

I've listened online to the CBC from Montreal. I have been able to understand some words here and there, but in reality that won't help much. I know there will be plenty of people using English, but I would enjoy a little conversing in French if at all possible--as basic as it may be.

How different is the Quebec dialect from what one might learn in somethig like French for Dummies?

@ MI2Montreal07

Not important but the courtesy will be highly appreciated. With around 5 Million french speaking individuals in a sea of over 350 Million english speaking individuals (rest of Canada and USA), we tend to appreciate efforts in that sense!!!

@ Mlanoue,

Québec French is to France French what US English is to UK English. Some words variation but the difference is in the accent. Of course, across regions you will find different accents but since you will probably limit your visit to Montreal and potentially Québec city, you will not have to deal with those regional accents.

At worse, you will find we speak faster and don't articulate as much as Parisians.

My father was from France, and although we lived in Ontario, he (and when we were young, the family) travelled to Montreal and other parts of Quebec regularly.

Quebecers did not seem to have much problem understanding his "Parisienne" french. He did however occasionaly find himself challenged - it's not really different "dialect" but there are unique Quebec slangs and accents.

Although there are a number of local "slangs" and colloquialisms, Quebec people also know the more "formal" terms. Once people understand that French is not your first language, they might be less inclined to use "slangy" expressions.

Quebecois isn't a dialect, it's just an accent, peppered with regional slangs. Much like Australians have a thick accent to North American ears - we speak the same language, although our slang might be a bit different. It generally doesn't halt communication.

I once met a lady from Paris who had immigrated to Quebec and she said it took her 6 months to understand anything that was being said outside Montreal. Do try to say something in French when you are there. Even if it is just "Bon jour", it leaves a favourable impression.

"I once met a lady from Paris who had immigrated to Quebec and she said it took her 6 months to understand anything that was being said outside Montreal."

In that case, she must had a hard time understanding anyone from outside Paris since, for example, the Beauce accent in Québec is identical to the Beauce accent in France!!!!

In my opinion, she was difficult.