French among health care workers in Canada outside Quebec, 2021
Release date: March 19, 2025
Description: French among health care workers in Canada outside Quebec, 2021
Section 1
In 2021, among the 1.5 million health care workers in Canada outside Quebec, 157,000 knew French,Note 1 up from 142,000 in 2016.
Despite this increase in number, the proportion of workers who knew French edged down from 10.9% in 2016 to 10.6% in 2021.
1.4%: Percentage of health care workers who primarily used French at work
Section 2: Map of Canada
| Region | Knew French | Used French regularly at work |
|---|---|---|
| Canada outside Québec | 10.6% | 3.8% |
| Atlantic (excluding New Brunswick) | 9.8% | 1.7% |
| New Brunswick | 49.0% | 39.3% |
| Ontario | 11.6% | 4.6% |
| Ottawa | 38.7% | 26.5% |
| Northeastern Ontario | 33.0% | 21.1% |
| Western provinces | 7.0% | 0.8% |
| Territories | 13.1% | 2.5% |
Section 3
In 2021, 4.9% of health care workers aged 15 to 24 used French at work…
… while among those aged 55 and over, 3.4% used it at work.
Section 4
The proportion of health care workers who knew or used French regularly at work varied by occupation.
| Occupation | Knew French | Used French regularly at work |
|---|---|---|
| General practitioners and family physicians | 18.9% | 5.7% |
| Dentists | 12.1% | 3.7% |
| Pharmacists | 10.8% | 3.4% |
| Psychologists | 19.5% | 6.3% |
| Registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses | 10.0% | 3.9% |
| Paramedical occupations | 13.4% | 5.3% |
| Nurse aides, health care aides and patient service associates | 7.2% | 3.3% |
Source: Statistics Canada, Census of Population, 2016 and 2021.
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