Languages

Description: This publication brings together and analyzes a wide range of data sources in order to provide information on various aspects of Canadian society, including labour, income, education, social, and demographic issues, that affect the lives of Canadians.

Description: This thematic series groups different statistical products related to ethnicity, languages, and immigration. It features analytical documents of varying scopes, such as population profiles, reference materials, data products (including tables and factsheets), among other document types.

Description: Release published in The Daily – Statistics Canada’s official release bulletin

Description: This study provides an overview of how minority official languages are integrated into child care services across Canada, using data from three sources. Data from the 2022 Survey on the Official Language Minority Population (SOLMP) provides information on the participation in minority official language child care among children eligible for instruction in the minority official language and their educational pathways from early childhood to primary school. Data from the 2022 Canadian Survey on the Provision of Child Care Services (CSPCCS) is used to highlight the use of minority official languages within child care facilities, while data from the 2021 Census of Population offers insights into language use among child care workers.

Description: Official language of daycare and reasons for attending, by elementary school language and type of program, age group and gender, for Canada, Quebec, Canada outside Quebec, by provinces and select regions, among sub-populations of children in a minority official language situation, 2022.

Description: Preference for daycare in the minority official language, by elementary school language and type of program, age group and gender, for Canada, Quebec, Canada outside Quebec, by provinces and select regions, among sub-populations of children in a minority official language situation, 2022.

Description: Frequency of using the minority official language in public, by language in which the person is most at ease to speak, ease of using the minority language in the community, official languages spoken at home, gender, age group and immigrant status, among adults in the official language minority population, 2022.

Description: Language spoken in public in various situations, by official language in which the person is most at ease to speak, official languages spoken at home, gender, age and immigrant status, among adults in the official language minority population, 2022.

Description: This interactive dashboard allows users to visualize the breakdown of speakers of some of the most frequent languages spoken in Canada in 2021 by age group, generation status, place of residence and languages spoken at home.

Description: Infographic displaying poverty rates for French/English bilingual populations by mother tongue and region of residence.

Description:

This table is part of the topic "Language Composition of Canada," which presents 2001 Census data on the language composition of Canada, by mother tongue and other variables, as well as on languages spoken at home and knowledge of English, French and non-official languages. These data were collected for a sample comprising 20% of the Canadian population.

It is possible to subscribe to all the day-of-release bundles. Refer to Catalogue No. 97F0023XCB for more information.

This table is available FREE on the Internet, Catalogue No. 97F0007XIE2001050.

Description: This 2001 Census profile shows labour force activity, class of worker, occupation, industry, place of work, mode of transportation, language of work and unpaid work variables.

The profiles provide a statistical overview of various geographic areas based on a large number of detailed variables. Groups of variables, referred to as electronic components of profiles, was made available in each of the eight major releases. Together they form a complete profile.

The profiles are part of the census standard data products, which are data tables extracted from the 2001 Census database.

They contain statistical information about all population, household, dwelling and family characteristics.

Description:

Using 2001 Census data, this profile provides a statistical overview of the labour force activity, class of worker, occupation, industry, place of work, mode of transportation, language of work and unpaid work variables for census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations.

On each of the days of release, profile component data will be available for particular topics at the Canada, province/territory, census division and census subdivision levels. Profile component data for all other standard areas, including census metropolitan areas, census agglomerations, census tracts, federal electoral districts (based on the 1996 Representation Order), dissemination areas and forward sortation areas, will be available approximately four weeks after the initial release.

In the census product line, groups of variables, such as this one, are referred to as electronic components of profiles. These are made available in each of the eight major releases of variables of the census cycle. Together, they will form a complete cumulative profile of all the variables for each level of geography, plus one cumulative profile for the dissolved census subdivisions.

Description:

Using 2001 Census data, this profile provides a statistical overview of the labour force activity, class of worker, occupation, industry, place of work, mode of transportation, language of work and unpaid work variables for census metropolitan areas, tracted census agglomerations and census tracts.

On each of the days of release, profile component data will be available for particular topics at the Canada, province/territory, census division and census subdivision levels. Profile component data for all other standard areas, including census metropolitan areas, census agglomerations, census tracts, federal electoral districts (based on the 1996 Representation Order), dissemination areas and forward sortation areas, will be available approximately four weeks after the initial release.

In the census product line, groups of variables, such as this one, are referred to as electronic components of profiles. These are made available in each of the eight major releases of variables of the census cycle. Together, they will form a complete cumulative profile of all the variables for each level of geography, plus one cumulative profile for the dissolved census subdivisions.

Description:

Using 2001 Census data, this profile provides a statistical overview of the labour force activity, class of worker, occupation, industry, place of work, mode of transportation, language of work and unpaid work variables for census metropolitan areas, census agglomerations and census subdivisions.

On each of the days of release, profile component data will be available for particular topics at the Canada, province/territory, census division and census subdivision levels. Profile component data for all other standard areas, including census metropolitan areas, census agglomerations, census tracts, federal electoral districts (based on the 1996 Representation Order), dissemination areas and forward sortation areas, will be available approximately four weeks after the initial release.

In the census product line, groups of variables, such as this one, are referred to as electronic components of profiles. These are made available in each of the eight major releases of variables of the census cycle. Together, they will form a complete cumulative profile of all the variables for each level of geography, plus one cumulative profile for the dissolved census subdivisions.

Description:

Using 2001 Census data, this profile provides a statistical overview of the labour force activity, class of worker, occupation, industry, place of work, mode of transportation, language of work and unpaid work variables for Canada, provinces, territories and federal electoral districts (by 1996 Representation Order).

On each of the days of release, profile component data will be available for particular topics at the Canada, province/territory, census division and census subdivision levels. Profile component data for all other standard areas, including census metropolitan areas, census agglomerations, census tracts, federal electoral districts (based on the 1996 Representation Order), dissemination areas and forward sortation areas, will be available approximately four weeks after the initial release.

In the census product line, groups of variables, such as this one, are referred to as electronic components of profiles. These are made available in each of the eight major releases of variables of the census cycle. Together, they will form a complete cumulative profile of all the variables for each level of geography, plus one cumulative profile for the dissolved census subdivisions.

Description:

Using 2001 Census data, this profile provides a statistical overview of the labour force activity, class of worker, occupation, industry, place of work, mode of transportation, language of work and unpaid work variables for designated places.

On each of the days of release, profile component data will be available for particular topics at the Canada, province/territory, census division and census subdivision levels. Profile component data for all other standard areas, including census metropolitan areas, census agglomerations, census tracts, federal electoral districts (based on the 1996 Representation Order), dissemination areas and forward sortation areas, will be available approximately four weeks after the initial release.

In the census product line, groups of variables, such as this one, are referred to as electronic components of profiles. These are made available in each of the eight major releases of variables of the census cycle. Together, they will form a complete cumulative profile of all the variables for each level of geography, plus one cumulative profile for the dissolved census subdivisions.

Description:

Using 2001 Census data, this profile provides a statistical overview of the labour force activity, class of worker, occupation, industry, place of work, mode of transportation, language of work and unpaid work variables for urban areas. On each of the days of release, profile component data will be available for particular topics at the Canada, province/territory, census division and census subdivision levels. Profile component data for all other standard areas, including census metropolitan areas, census agglomerations, census tracts, federal electoral districts (based on the 1996 Representation Order), dissemination areas and forward sortation areas, will be available approximately four weeks after the initial release.In the census product line, groups of variables, such as this one, are referred to as electronic components of profiles. These are made available in each of the eight major releases of variables of the census cycle. Together, they will form a complete cumulative profile of all the variables for each level of geography, plus one cumulative profile for the dissolved census subdivisions.

Description:

This table is part of the topic "Language Composition of Canada," which presents 2001 Census data on the language composition of Canada, by mother tongue and other variables, as well as on languages spoken at home and knowledge of English, French and non-official languages. These data were collected for a sample comprising 20% of the Canadian population.

It is possible to subscribe to all the day-of-release bundles. Refer to Catalogue No. 97F0023XCB for more information.

This table is available FREE on the Internet, Catalogue No. 97F0007XIE2001045.

Description:

Using 2001 Census data, this day-of-release profile provides a statistical overview of the labour force activity, class of worker, occupation, industry, place of work, mode of transportation, language of work and unpaid work variables for Canada, provinces, territories, census divisions and census subdivisions.

On each of the days of release, profile component data will be available for particular topics at the Canada, province/territory, census division and census subdivision levels. Profile component data for all other standard areas, including census metropolitan areas, census agglomerations, census tracts, federal electoral districts (based on the 1996 Representation Order), dissemination areas and forward sortation areas, will be available approximately four weeks after the initial release.

In the census product line, groups of variables, such as this one, are referred to as electronic components of profiles. These are made available in each of the eight major releases of variables of the census cycle. Together, they will form a complete cumulative profile of all the variables for each level of geography, plus one cumulative profile for the dissolved census subdivisions.

Description:

This demolinguistic portrait of the French-speaking population in Saskatchewan was undertaken with the financial support of Canadian Heritage's Official Languages Secretariat, Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC) and the Department of Justice Canada. It is the sixth of a series of portraits of official-language minorities in Canada, prepared by Statistics Canada's Language Statistics Section.

Description: This article summarizes the results of the Programme for International Student Assessment 2009 for students in minority-language school systems in the seven provinces that reported data for both their English- and French-language school systems (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta and British Columbia). The minority-language student population consists of Anglophone students in Quebec and Francophone students outside of Quebec.

Description: PISA is a collaborative effort among member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and is designed to provide policy-oriented indicators of the skills and knowledge of 15-year-old students. PISA data shed light on a range of factors that contribute to successful students, schools and education systems. This report summarises the results from PISA 2009 for students in the minority-language school systems in Canada within the 7 provinces that reported data for both their English and French language school systems (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Alberta and British Columbia). The purpose of the following analyses was to develop a profile of minority-language students in Canada (French outside of Quebec, English in Quebec) and the schools they attend.

Description:

This demolinguistic portrait of the French-speaking population in New Brunswick was undertaken with the financial support of Canadian Heritage's Official Languages Secretariat, Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC) and the Department of Justice Canada. It is the fifth of a series of portraits of official-language minorities in Canada, prepared by Statistics Canada's Language Statistics Section.

Description:

Background Notes This demolinguistic portrait of the French-speaking population in British Columbia was undertaken with the financial support of Canadian Heritage's Official Languages Secretariat, Human Resources and Social Development Canada (HRSDC) and Justice Canada. It is the fourth of a series of portraits of official-language minorities in Canada, prepared by Statistics Canada's Language Statistics Section.

Data sources This portrait of the French-speaking population in British Columbia contains information drawn from Canadian censuses from 1951 to 2006 and the Survey on the Vitality of Official-Language Minorities (SVOLM) conducted in 2006 by Statistics Canada.

Census: The census data contained in this report are drawn from the long census questionnaire, completed by 20% of households and including 61 questions of which 7 are language-related.

Survey on the Vitality of Official-Language Minorities (SVOLM): This is a cross-sectional sample survey. Respondents to the (SVOLM) are selected from the sample of persons who completed the long questionnaire in the 2006 Census.

Description:

This paper examines the extent of transmission of immigrant languages between 1981 and 2006. It compares immigrant mothers having a non-official mother tongue and their children born in Canada using a cross-sectional approach. Then a longitudinal approach is used to compare immigrant mothers in 1981 with their second-generation daughters in 2006. The article is based on census data from 1981 and 2006.

Description:

This demolinguistic portrait of the French-speaking population in Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut was undertaken with the financial support of Canadian Heritage's Official Languages Secretariat, Human Resources and Social Development Canada and Justice Canada. It is one of eleven such portraits of official-language minorities in Canada, prepared by the Statistics Canada's Language Statistics Section.

This study paints a general statistical portrait of the official-language minority in Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut based on data from the Census of Population and the Survey on the Vitality of Official-language Minorities in Canada, conducted in 2006. The purpose of such a portrait is to present a set of characteristics, behaviours and perceptions of the official-language minority population, exploiting the analytical opportunities contained in the data.

Description:

This demolinguistic portrait of the English-speaking population in Quebec was undertaken with the financial support of Canadian Heritage's Official Languages Secretariat, Human Resources and Social Development Canada and Justice Canada. It is one of eleven such portraits of official-language minorities in Canada, prepared by the Statistics Canada's Language Statistics Section.

This study paints a general statistical portrait of the official-language minority in Quebec based on data from the Census of Population and the Survey on the Vitality of Official-language Minorities in Canada, conducted in 2006. The purpose of such a portrait is to present a set of characteristics, behaviours and perceptions of the official-language minority population, exploiting the analytical opportunities contained in the data.

Description:

This study analyses data from the 2006 Aboriginal Children's Survey to identify some of the characteristics associated with the ability to understand an Aboriginal language among off-reserve First Nations children aged 2 to 5. More specifically, it examines the extent to which the home, the extended family, child care settings, and the broader community can contribute to the transmission of Aboriginal languages to young First Nations children living off reserve.

Description:

This document of fact sheets provides an Aboriginal language profile of Métis, Inuit, and off-reserve First Nations children under the age of six in Canada. The 2006 Aboriginal Children's Survey is used to provide broad indicators of young Aboriginal children's experiences with Aboriginal languages. Data include their ability to speak and understand an Aboriginal language, and their exposure to Aboriginal languages at home and in the community. Family characteristics associated with Aboriginal language knowledge are also presented. Finally, the hopes and expectations of parents regarding their children's acquisition of an Aboriginal language are described.

Description: The Survey on the Official Language Minority Population (SOLMP) user guide contains a description of the survey, along with survey concepts and definitions and an overview of the content development. The target and survey populations, the sample design and sample size are described in the Methodology section, while the Data Collection module provides the collection period and instrument, modes of collection, collection and communications strategies and response rates.

Updates to the guide include descriptions of the survey data processing, survey error and weighting, and guidelines for tabulations and analysis. Appendices will provide a listing of questions and variables which changed between the current and previous occasions of the survey, as well as various primers on the survey methodology.

Description: This fact sheet offers a summary of content changes for the 2026 Census specific to the following topics: languages and language of instruction. The tested changes for each topic are explained, along with the resulting approach for 2026.

Description: The Survey on the Official Language Minority Population (SOLMP) user guide contains a description of the survey, along with survey concepts and definitions and an overview of the content development. The target and survey populations, the sample design and sample size are described in the Methodology section. Finally, in the Data Collection module, the collection period and instrument, modes of collection, collection and communications strategies and response rates are provided.

Description: This report presents the results of a study on the estimated number of children eligible for instruction in the minority official language, pursuant to section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, who were classified as ineligible in the 2021 Census because relationships between family members living at different addresses could not be established within this data source. Using other data sources, including previous censuses and administrative data (such as vital statistics and tax data), we were able to establish these family relationships within the 2021 Census. This report presents the methods and data sources used first, then the results by selected regions and age groups.

Description: This video will help you understand the concept of first official language spoken. It explores the usefulness and relevance of the first official language spoken and how it is developed, disseminated and analyzed. You will also learn how the concept of first official language spoken takes into account knowledge of both official languages, mother tongue and language spoken most often at home.

Description: This video will help you understand the question about languages spoken at home and the main concepts and variables that flow from them. You will also learn to understand the differences between the concepts of all languages spoken regularly at home, languages spoken most often at home and other languages spoken regularly at home. It will also help you understand the changes that have been made to the question of languages spoken at home since the last census.

Description: This video will explain the concept of minority official language. It provides information on the new census questions regarding instruction in the minority official language, eligibility for education in minority official language and the usefulness of data on language of instruction for planning purposes.

Description:

This reference guide provides information to help users effectively use and interpret language data from the 2021 Census. This guide contains definitions and explanations of concepts, questions, classifications, data quality and comparability with other sources for this topic.

Description: This reference guide provides information to help users effectively use and interpret instruction in the minority official language data from the 2021 Census. This guide contains definitions and explanations of concepts, questions, classifications, data quality and comparability with other sources for this topic.

Description: This video provides basic information on the census questions on languages used at work and the main concepts and variables derived from them. It explains the concepts of languages used at work, language used most often at work and other languages used regularly at work. It also helps you understand the changes to the questions since the last census and the impact on historical comparability of this data.