The group was formed in 1977 by Irene Hilchie, a government employee who felt that she was being discriminated against in her job because she did not speak French.
The group's most famous member, however, was Jock V. Andrew, whose book Bilingual Today, French Tomorrow alleged that bilingualism was part of a government plot to make Canada a unilingually French country.
The group was most influential in the late 1980s, as it engaged in activities which contributed to the defeat of the Meech Lake Accord.
APEC claims to be not anti-French, but believes that tax money was being wastefully used in the promotion of official bilingualism in Canada.
In February 2000, the organization moved its head office to Toronto, and changed its name to Canadians Against Bilingualism Injustice (CABI).