Translation Services in Quebec City for Immigration, Education, Life, Business, and Government

A certified translation is an official translation created by a professional translator (often, a certified translator in their country). It is usually verified by a seal or signature, making it acceptable for use by government agencies, courts, educational institutions, or employers.

In some situations, a translation must be completed and stamped by a certified Canadian translator who is a member of a provincial association such as ATIO, OTTIAQ, or STIBC. While most government offices do not require this stricter level of certification, some licensing agencies or professional boards do.

For some organizations, a translation can be certified by a representative of a professional translation agency on that agency’s letterhead, complete with contact information.

Another alternative is to have the translations verified by a Canadian Commissioner for Taking Oaths (Commissioner for Taking Affidavits), who can certify the translator’s signature on the affidavit (written oath attesting to the completeness and correctness of the translation).

Another form is a notarized translation, which is typically required for use outside of Canada. Certain embassies and consulates request that translations be notarized by a Canadian Notary Public. This additional step ensures legal recognition abroad and confirms that the translation was correctly validated.

Finally, non-certified translations are frequently chosen by commercial clients who do not want official documentation. These translations are done by the same expert linguists, but without formal certification, so they are appropriate for websites, marketing materials, or internal usage.

We can help in both situations.

When documents need to be utilized abroad, a typical Canadian certified translation may not be sufficient. Many foreign organizations, including embassies, consulates, and government offices, require that translations be notarized or accompanied by an apostille.

A notarized translation is one in which a Notary Public in Canada officially attests to the legitimacy of the translation. In such circumstances, the notarized translation ensures that the work was done by a qualified professional and that the certification is legally binding.

An apostille is another type of legalization, which has been simplified in Canada since the country joined the Hague Apostille Convention in 2024. This approach allows Canadian papers to be authenticated in a single, streamlined process, making them valid in all Hague Apostille Convention member states.

Check this page for details.

By the way, for countries that are not signatories to the Hague Apostille Convention, the process may still include complete consular legalization, which requires the document to travel through numerous offices, including the destination country's consulate or embassy.

Machine translation uses powerful software to process enormous amounts of material quickly. It is ideal for internal use or when speed is critical, and the output can be edited and verified by a human for quality.

In contrast, human translation is totally performed by a skilled human linguist. At our agency, native-speaking translators with several years of full-time translation expertise deliver what we refer to as the "Gold Standard" service. These translations are entirely manual, resulting in accurate, fluent, and error-free results that capture not just the words but also the intended meaning and tone of the source work.

For clients seeking the highest level of accuracy, our "VIP" service package includes a manual translation by one specialist, followed by a second round of review and revision by another senior translator.

In practice, the aim of the document determines whether to use machine-assisted or totally human translation. If you require speed and efficiency in internal communication, machine translation with light post-editing (MTPE) may suffice. However, for external distribution, official documents, or sensitive topics, human translation is usually preferred.

All of these have their role in the language industry, but are completely different services:

• Transcription or subtitling is the process of transforming speech from audio or video into written text—and optionally translating and putting subtitles right into the video.
• Translation focuses on translating written texts between languages.
• Interpretation (Not explicitly detailed on the website because we don’t provide this service) often refers to live, spoken (oral) translation in real time.
• Localization is the process of adapting content (such as websites, marketing materials, or apps) to meet the target language and cultural conventions, regulations, and audience expectations in a specific region—for example, by converting tone, idioms, date formats, or graphics.

Yes. Adaptations for Canada should take into account Canadian language conventions.

We provide translations that are specifically customized into Quebec French rather than European French, in order to adhere to provincial linguistic standards and cultural context.

As with French, our approach to cultural accuracy guarantees that the English language is suited to the Canadian context in accordance with the Canadian English Style Guide.

Absolutely.

We provide experienced advice to businesses in Quebec who want to comply with the French Language Charter. This includes assisting with:

• Registration with the Office Québécois de la Langue Française (OQLF).
• Forming a Francization Committee.
• Obtaining a francization certificate requires meeting employee threshold deadlines (25+ or 100+ employees).

With our assistance, your company can avoid significant fines for noncompliance with Quebec legislation.