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: 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, third quarter of 2023.

Description: Percentage and average percentage of employees required to be bilingual in English and French, by North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), business employment size, type of business, business activity and majority ownership, third quarter of 2023.

Description: Data on the mother tongue of the population of Canada and Canada outside Quebec, and of all provinces and territories, for Census years 1951 to 2021.

Description: Data on the first official language spoken by the population of Canada and Canada outside Quebec, and of all provinces and territories, for Census years 1971 to 2021.

Description: Data on the language spoken most often at home by the population of Canada and Canada outside Quebec, and of all provinces and territories, for Census years 1971 to 2021.

Description: Knowledge of Indigenous languages by single and multiple knowledge of languages responses, Indigenous identity, Indigenous mother tongue and age for the population in private households.

Description: Data on mother tongue by generation status, number of languages known, age and gender for the population in private households in Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations with parts.

Description: Data on knowledge of official languages by income statistics, highest certificate, diploma or degree, immigrant status and period of immigration, work activity during the reference year, age and gender for the population aged 15 years and over in private households in Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations with parts.

Description: Data on first official language spoken by mobility status 1 year ago, place of residence 1 year ago, immigrant status and period of immigration, age and gender for the population aged 1 year and over in private households of Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations with parts.

Description: Data on first official language spoken by mobility status 5 years ago, language used most often at work, occupation - National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2021, highest certificate, diploma or degree and age for the population aged 15 years and over who worked since 2020, in private households of Canada, provinces and territories and census metropolitan areas with parts.

Description:

This work is an updated version of a study published under the same title following the population censuses of 1991 and 1996. The text and tables have been adapted to reflect the more complete data from the 2001 Census, in which the usual questions on knowledge of languages, mother tongue, and language spoken 'most often' at home are supplemented by a question on languages spoken 'regularly' at home , and a two-part question on language use at work, that is, the language used 'most often,' and other languages used 'regularly,' in the workplace. This enrichment of the content has allowed us to expand our analysis while remaining true to the initial goal of presenting in a straightfoward manner basic statistics on the country's demolinguistic reality.

Description: This article compares the reading achievement of Canadian 15-year-olds enrolled in immersion and non-immersion programs in English-language school systems in the 10 provinces.

Description: French immersion programs were introduced into Canadian schools in the 1970s to encourage bilingualism across the country. Thirty years later, immersion programs are offered in every province. French-immersion students score significantly higher in reading achievement than non-immersion students. What accounts for this difference?

Description: This report examines the lower reading performance of students from French minority language schools in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario and Manitoba. It looks at a number of individual, family and community characteristics of students in French and English school systems.

Description: This report examines the reading skills 15-year-old immersion and non-immersion students in English-language school systems in the 10 provinces. It uses data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA).

Description:

This article examines how the educational profiles of francophones, anglophones and allophones have changed over the past 30 years, and the factors that have contributed to many of these changes.

Description:

This article examines the potential pool of healthcare practitioners who use French at work, as well as those who do not regularly use French in the workplace but who have knowledge of that language, and compares it with the French-speaking population.

Description:

The Canada e-Book is an online version of the Canada Year Book with texts, tables, charts and audio clips that present the country's economic and social trends. The Canada e-Book illustrates Canada and Canadians under four broad headings: The Land, The People, The Economy, and The State. You will find a wealth of information on topics including the human imprint on the environment, population and demography, health, education, household and family life, labour force, arts and leisure, industries, finance, government and justice. All Canadians will enjoy this useful reference that helps explain the social, economic and cultural forces that shape our nation.

Description:

The 2001 Census has made it possible, for the first time, to establish statistics on languages used at work. The analysis of these statistics aims to evaluate, for allophone immigrants in the labour market across the country, the use of English, French and non-official languages. Particular attention is paid to allophone immigrant workers and to anglophone and francophone workers in the province of Quebec, in order to establish whether English or French predominates on the job. The use of languages other than English or French by allophones in the metropolitan areas of Toronto, Montréal and Vancouver is also discussed. In addition, analysis will cover the use of French at work by francophones living outside Quebec. The use of French at work by persons employed in the area referred to as the "Communauté urbaine de Montréal" (i.e., the Montréal area) is compared with the use of French at home by persons residing in that same area.

This series includes a number of comprehensive articles that supplement the day-of-release information launched through The Daily. These catalogued articles provide an analytical perspective on the 2001 Census release topics. The number and length of these articles vary for each census release and are based on the 21 census release topics disseminated over 8 major release dates.

More focused articles were disseminated as major releases in The Dailyin the weeks following the official release of the data. Other more specialized articles were also announced in The Daily. The articles in the 2001 Census Analysis Series are available free of charge via the Internet.

Description:

This theme deals with Canadians'mother tongue and language spoken at home, as well as with their knowledge of English and French. Data from the 2001 Census show, despite an increasingly multilingual Canadian society, that linguistic duality persists. In addition, the theme covers the evolution of English-French bilingualism in the country, and does this for each of the groups that have either English, French or some language other than English or French, as their mother tongue. All of the analyses are done at the province' territory level; some of them are also done at the level of the census metropolitan area.

This series includes a number of comprehensive articles that supplement the day-of-release information launched through The Daily. These catalogued articles provide an analytical perspective on the 2001 Census release topics. The number and length of these articles vary for each census release and are based on the 21 census release topics disseminated over 8 major release dates.

More focused articles were disseminated as major releases in The Dailyin the weeks following the official release of the data. Other more specialized articles were also announced in The Daily. The articles in the 2001 Census Analysis Series are available free of charge via the Internet.

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.