More than one language in the bag: The rate of English–French bilingualism is increasing in Quebec and decreasing outside Quebec

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Release date: August 17, 2022
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Infographic: More than one language in the bag: The rate of English–French bilingualism is increasing in Quebec and decreasing outside Quebec
Description: More than one language in the bag: The rate of English–French bilingualism is increasing in Quebec and decreasing outside Quebec

6.6 million people could conduct a conversation in English and French in 2021

The rate of English–French bilingualism in Canada in 2021 (18.0%) is relatively stable compared with 2001 (17.7%).

4 out of 5 bilingual people live in Quebec (59.2%) and Ontario (23.1%).

Recent trend: The rate of English–French bilingualism is increasing in Quebec and decreasing outside Quebec


Table 1
Table summary
This table displays the results of Table 1. The information is grouped by Year (appearing as row headers), Geography (appearing as column headers).
Year Geography
Canada Quebec Canada outside Quebec
1971 13.4% 27.6% 8.0%
1981 15.3% 32.4% 9.1%
1991 16.3% 35.4% 9.8%
2001 17.7% 40.8% 10.3%
2011 17.5% 42.6% 9.7%
2021 18.0% 46.4% 9.5%

Changes in the rate of bilingualism differ by mother tongue


Table 2
Table summary
This table displays the results of Table 2. The information is grouped by Mother tongue (appearing as row headers), English–French bilingualism rate (appearing as column headers).
Mother tongue English–French bilingualism rate
2001 2021
French only 43.4% 47.6%
English only 9.0% 9.0%
Neither English nor French 11.8% 11.5%

English–French bilingualism rate by age group


Table 3
Table summary
This table displays the results of Table 3. The information is grouped by Age group (appearing as row headers), Proportion of bilingualism (appearing as column headers).
Age group Proportion of bilingualism
15 to 24 years 25.2%
25 to 64 years  19.2%
65 years and older 13.7%

Quebec

Proportion of English–French bilingual people

Mother tongue:

  • French only: 4/10
  • English only: 7/10
  • Neither English nor French: 5/10

  • Island of Montréal, Laval and Outaouais: 6/10
  • Rest of Quebec: 4/10

English–French bilingualism in Canada by province or territory in 2021


Table 4
Table summary
This table displays the results of Table 4. The information is grouped by Geography (appearing as row headers), Percentage of bilingualism (appearing as column headers).
Geography Percentage of bilingualism
Canada 18.0%
Quebec 46.4%
New Brunswick 34.0%
Yukon 14.2%
Prince Edward Island 12.7%
Ontario 10.8%
Northwest Territories 10.6%
Nova Scotia 10.3%
Manitoba 8.3%
British Columbia 6.6%
Alberta 6.1%
Newfoundland and Labrador 5.1%
Saskatchewan 4.7%
Nunavut 3.8%

New Brunswick

More than half of the population in northern and southeastern New Brunswick could conduct a conversation in English and in French at the time of the 2021 Census.


Table 5
Table summary
This table displays the results of Table 5. The information is grouped by Region (appearing as row headers), Percentage of bilingualism (appearing as column headers).
Region Percentage of bilingualism
North 52.2%
Southeast 53.2%
Rest of the province 18.3%

Ontario

In Ontario, 1.5 million people were able to conduct a conversation in English and French, mainly in the economic regions of Ottawa (495,000), Toronto (482,000) and the Northeast (160,000).

Among those whose mother tongue was not French, the bilingualism rate was 7.4%.

Nearly 9 in 10 Ontarians whose mother tongue was French were bilingual (English and French).

Two-thirds of English–French bilingual people did not have French as their mother tongue.

For more information, please consult The Daily:
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/220817/dq220817a-eng.htm

Source: Statistics Canada, Census of Population, 2021.

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Published by authority of the Minister responsible for Statistics Canada.

© His Majesty the King in Right of Canada, as represented by the Minister of Industry, 2022

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