Children eligible for instruction in the minority official language, 2021

Release date: December 15, 2022
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Infographic: Children eligible for instruction in the minority official language, 2021
Description: Children eligible for instruction in the minority official language, 2021

In 2021, New Brunswick (36.0%), Quebec (18.1%), Yukon (14.1%) and Ontario (12.6%) had the highest proportions of children under 18 years who are eligible for instruction in the minority official language.



Table 1 Children eligible born in 2003 or later, provinces and territories, 2021
Table summary
This table displays the results of Eligible children born in 2003 or later Number of eligible children and Percentage of eligible children (appearing as column headers).
Number of eligible children Percentage of eligible children
Canada 897,000 12.2%
Canada outside Quebec 593,000 10.5%
Newfoundland and Labrador 3,000 3.5%
Prince Edward Island 2,900 9.8%
Nova Scotia 17,000 10.0%
New Brunswick 49,000 36.0%
Quebec 304,000 18.1%
Ontario 350,000 12.6%
Manitoba 30,000 10.1%
Saskatchewan 16,000 5.8%
Alberta 67,000 6.9%
British Columbia 56,000 6.3%
Yukon 1,200 14.1%
Northwest Territories 1,100 10.9%
Nunavut 530 3.7%

In 2021 in Canada, more than 215,000 eligible children were preschoolers and 682,000 eligible children were school-aged.



Table 2 Children eligible for instruction in the minority official language, by age group,Table 2 Note 1 Quebec and Canada outside Quebec, 2021
Table summary
This table displays the results of Children eligible for instruction in the minority official language. The information is grouped by Age group (appearing as row headers), Quebec and Canada outside Quebec (appearing as column headers).
Age group Quebec Canada outside Quebec
0 to 4 years 73,755 141,260
5 to 11 years 122,230 246,585
12 to 17 years 107,850 205,525
Note 1

Age refers to the child’s age on December 31, 2020. Preschoolers refer to children 0 to 4 years of age, and school-aged children are between the ages of 5 and 17.

Return to note 1 referrer

In Canada, 87% of children eligible for instruction in the minority official language were living within 10 kilometres of a minority official language school.

Percentage of eligible children in urban areas

Lived within 5 km:

81%

Lived within 15 km:

96%

Percentage of eligible children in rural areas

Lived within 5 km:

30%

Lived within 15 km:

71%

Note: Eligibility for instruction in the minority official language indicates whether persons are eligible for instruction at the primary and secondary levels, in English in Quebec or in French in Canada outside Quebec, pursuant to the criteria set out in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, except Canadian citizenship.

Sources: Statistics Canada, Census of Population, 2021, and Official Language Minority School Database, 2022.

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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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Catalogue no. 11-627-M

Frequency: Occasional

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