Reports of our hostility to people who don't speak perfect French are greatly exagerated.
Ask my sister-in-law who's lived here about 12-15 years and still doesn't speak much French because everyone busts out their baby English every time they hear her accent.
I mean, we have our nutters, same as everywhere else. And there is general expectation that, if you're gonna work with the public in some capacity, you ought to know French since, you know...
But beyond that? Politicians bang on about it because the boomers are very into language politics, and boomers vote more than any other generation. So that's all that is. (And, even then, my sister-in-law who doesn't speak much French? My boomer "French is our language" parents are the first ones to slip into English when talking to her.) Not everyone is fluent in English, but I imagine it's the same as if you go in any country in Europe or Asia. Some people speak better English than others.
I wouldn't be surprised to find out that culture was the biggest industry in Quebec. We do have our own TV shows and movies. We also have a plethora of authors, playwrights, singer-songwriters, etc. In French and in English. I mean, I'm reading Martha Wainwright's autobiography right now. She grew up right here in Montreal.
All of that to say, if you want to visit, you should. If you visit Montreal, I'd recommend coming any season other than winter. It's darn cold in winter.
But there are loads of other parts of Quebec that deserve to be seen, too. Many of which I need to discover myself!