Canada at a Glance, 2023
Indigenous languages
Statistics Canada data on Indigenous languages… in brief
The Indigenous Languages Act was passed in 2019 to preserve, promote and revitalize Indigenous languages in Canada and to support the efforts of Indigenous Peoples to reclaim, revitalize, maintain and strengthen their languages (Indigenous Languages Act, 2019). The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has declared 2022 to 2032 as the International Decade of Indigenous Languages to draw attention to the critical loss of Indigenous languages and the urgent need to preserve and promote them nationally and around the world (UNESCO, 2021).
Statistics Canada uses two main sources to publish data on Indigenous Peoples and Indigenous languages: the Census of Population, conducted every five years, and the Indigenous Peoples Survey (IPS), conducted in the year following each Census of Population. Data from the 2022 IPS will be released in 2024. We thank all the Indigenous communities we work in partnership with, and all those involved in this research.
Did you know?
- In 2021, approximately 237,420Note Indigenous people (13.1%) in Canada reported speaking an Indigenous language well enough to conduct a conversation, down by 10,750 (-4.3%) from 2016. This is the first decline since comparable data were collected in 1991.Note
- In Canada, 40,000 workers used an Indigenous language regularly at work. Around half of workers who knew an Indigenous language spoke it regularly at work.Note
Data table for Chart 14
| Off reserve | On reserve | |
|---|---|---|
| percent | ||
| Canada | 8.0 | 39.8 |
| British Columbia | 4.2 | 18.1 |
| Alberta | 11.2 | 41.2 |
| Saskatchewan | 16.2 | 37.7 |
| Manitoba | 12.1 | 39.1 |
| Ontario | 5.0 | 34.1 |
| Quebec | 7.0 | 78.6 |
| New Brunswick | 4.5 | 35.0 |
| Nova Scotia | 4.3 | 50.3 |
| Prince Edward Island | 2.4 | 15.4 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 1.0 | 62.4 |
| Source: Statistics Canada, Census of Population, 2021. | ||
Data table for Chart 15
| Inuit Nunangat Region | 0 to 14 years | 65 years and older |
|---|---|---|
| percent | ||
| Inuit Nunangat | 75 | 87 |
| Nunatsiavut | 5 | 28 |
| Nunavik | 98 | 100 |
| Nunavut | 74 | 98 |
| Inuvialuit region | 8 | 51 |
| Outside Inuit Nunangat | 8 | 9 |
| Source: Statistics Canada, Census of Population, 2021. | ||
Data table for Chart 16
| Atlantic Canada | Quebec | Ontario | Manitoba | Saskatchewan | Alberta | British Columbia | Northwest Territories | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| number of Métis able to speak an Indigenous language | ||||||||
| Cree languages | 10 | 65 | 110 | 240 | 1,550 | 2,260 | 315 | 85 |
| Michif | 20 | 10 | 110 | 255 | 675 | 200 | 205 | 10 |
| Dene | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 905 | 35 | 25 | 70 |
| Ojibway languages | 0 | 10 | 340 | 320 | 20 | 25 | 110 | 10 |
| Other Indigenous languages | 50 | 300 | 70 | 35 | 30 | 55 | 80 | 95 |
| Source: Statistics Canada, Census of Population, 2021. | ||||||||
Sources
Indigenous languages across Canada
Number of students in Indigenous language programs, public elementary and secondary schools, by program type
Speaking of work: Languages of work across Canada
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