Languages

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: Based on results from the 2022 Survey on the Official Language Minority Population, this research note provides contextual information on the combined reporting of English and French in the Census of Population language questions. It answers common questions on the interpretation of some language concepts, such as knowledge of official languages, mother tongue, language spoken at home, and first official language spoken.

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

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 report draws on data from the 2021 Census of Population, alongside previous census cycles to clarify the characteristics of the “silent speakers” of Indigenous languages in Canada. This term refers to those who have an Indigenous mother tongue that they still understand but can no longer speak well enough to conduct a conversation. Silent speakers thus represent a valuable reservoir of cultural and linguistic knowledge. By examining census data across multiple years, this study aims to illuminate the demographic makeup, geographic distribution, and long-term trends of this pivotal group.

Description: This report draws on data from the 2021 Census of Population, alongside previous census cycles to identify changes over time in the linguistic profile of Indigenous language speakers living in a Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) or Census Agglomeration (CA). In addition, supplementary statistics using the 2022 Indigenous Peoples Survey, which asks questions on the importance of Indigenous languages, were also included. Finally, 12 CMAs and CAs were selected for focused analysis, in order to highlight the specific linguistic communities in these areas.

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

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: Proportion of centre-based, licensed home-based and unlicensed home-based child care providers, by the languages spoken with children and parents by employees, Territories.

Description: Data on use of English and French at work by healthcare professionals living in private households, by occupation and first official language spoken.

Description: Data on knowledge of official languages, first official language spoken, age and gender for employed healthcare professionals in private households, 2006 to 2021.

Description: Use of the minority official language to obtain services or information from municipal, provincial and territorial, and federal government employees by age group and gender, Canada, Quebec, Canada outside Quebec, by select provinces and regions, among adults in the official language minority population, 2022.

Description: Frequency of health care or services obtained in the community in the minority official language by age group and gender, Canada, Quebec, Canada outside Quebec, by select provinces and regions, among adults in the official language minority population who consider it important to receive health services in the minority official language, 2022.

Description: Main language of instruction at the post-secondary level, by level of study, by age group and gender, Canada, Quebec, Canada outside Quebec, by select provinces and regions, among adults in the official language minority population, 2022.

Description: All Indigenous languages spoken at home by single and multiple responses of language spoken at home, Indigenous identity, Indigenous language spoken at home and age for the population in private households.

Description: Data on knowledge of languages by generation status, mother tongue, age and gender for the population in private households of Canada, provinces and territories and economic regions.

Description: Data on knowledge of languages by immigration status and period of immigration, all languages spoken at home and age for the population in private households of Canada, provinces and territories and economic regions.

Description: Languages used by the business or organization in providing services or performing activities over the last 12 months, by North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), business employment size, type of business, business activity and majority ownership, fourth quarter of 2024.

Description:

This publication provides a general picture of francophone literacy in Canada and discusses literacy in the context of language transfers to English. It also looks at the process of producing literacy and the literacy training of francophones, while attempting to sort out the impacts that various social and cultural factors have on literacy.

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This article focuses exclusively on Canadians who reported their home language to be either English or French, regardless of province of residence. Throughout this article different proxies are used to describe the patterns in culture participation by language.

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This special study, conducted on behalf of Treasury Board Secretariat, was designed to collect information on the use of both official languages at work in the bilingual regions of Québec. The 2,100 federal employees contacted for the study were asked about their communications with their headquarters, and with central agencies. Communications through various media, such as telephone, e-mail and fax, were examined, as well as draft documents and participation in meetings.

Description:

The international Adult Literacy Survey of 1994 is an important source of information about the literacy levels of Canadians as well as the factors that can explain the disparities between certain sub-populations. The current study shows and tries to explain some of the disparities between Francophones and Anglophones in Canada.

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This article looks at the evolution of heritage languages in the last half of the 20th century, with a focus on their transmission from one generation to the next.

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This article explores Canada's Aboriginal languages, identifying those which are flourishing and those which are in danger of disappearing.

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This article examines the literacy profiles of anglophones and francophones, in terms of such variables as education, age and reading habits.

Description: This fact sheet presents a data ecosystem comprised of a set of data sources that, together, provide information on children eligible for instruction in the minority official language.

Description: This video will explain why and how census collects data on language and its importance and relevance for governments, researchers and community groups. It provides an understanding of how data on mother tongue is collected, how mother tongue variables are created and how they are disseminated and analyzed. In addition, the video explains the concept of single and multiple responses and the three ways of dealing with multiple responses, that is, separate treatment, inclusion and distribution.

Description: This video will allow you to identify the census questionnaire questions on knowledge of official and non-official languages. It will also allow you to understand how variables on knowledge of official and non-official languages are created and how they are disseminated and analyzed.

Description: This fact sheet offers a concise overview of updated—new or modified—content for the 2021 Census of Population that is specific to the theme of immigration, ethnocultural diversity and languages in Canada, which includes the following topics: immigration and citizenship, place of birth of person/parents, ethnic or cultural origins, population groups, religion, language, and minority language educational rights. The changes considered for these topics are explained, along with the resulting approach for 2021.

Description: This document deals with the addition of questions to the 2021 Census questionnaire about minority language educational rights. Section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees certain educational rights to French-speaking minorities outside Quebec and English-speaking minorities in Quebec. This document presents a detailed description of the activities and analyses carried out by Statistics Canada to meet the need for data on this population.

Description: This guide focuses on the following topic: Language. It provides information that enables users to effectively use, apply and interpret data from the 2016 Census. Each guide contains definitions and explanations on census concepts, talks about changes made to the 2016 Census, data quality and historical comparability, as well as comparison with other data sources. Additional information will be included for specific variables to help general users better understand the concepts and questions used in the census.

Updated on November 29, 2017 to include information on language of work.

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The Language of work Release and concepts overview provides an overview of the concepts, definitions and key measures used in the 2016 Census of Population Language of work release, as well as the products which will be available on release day and later.

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The Language Release and concepts overview provides an overview of the concepts, definitions and key measures used in the 2016 Census of Population Language release, as well as the products which will be available on release day and later.

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The main objective of this document is to raise awareness among Statistics Canada data users of the different sources of language data available at Statistics Canada. Along with the census, surveys with an important sample of official-language minority groups and/or with information on languages are listed by themes. Users will find a description of the survey and its target population, sample sizes (total and according to available linguistic characteristics), available language variables based on questions asked, date of the first release, year for which the data is available and a direct internet link to additional information on the various surveys.

Description:

The National Household Survey (NHS) Dictionary is a reference document which contains detailed definitions of concepts, universes, variables, and geographic terms used in the NHS. By referring to the NHS Dictionary, both beginner and intermediate data users will gain a better understanding of the data.