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    Portrait of Official Language Minorities in Canada - Francophones in Saskatchewan

    Section 3 Factors influencing the evolution of the French-mother-tongue population

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    How the language groups in a given province or region evolve depends on the combined effect of different factors: on the one hand, the determinants of natural increase—fertility and mortality—and on the other hand, internal and international migration. An additional factor is intergenerational linguistic continuity, that is, the mother-to-child transmission of the mother tongue.1 An additional factor will be described in this section, namely intragenerational linguistic continuity, or its obverse, language transfer or substitution. The latter, while it has no direct bearing on how a language group evolves in the short term, can nevertheless have a major long-term influence, in that the language predominantly used in the home is generally the one transmitted to the children.

    This section will mainly focus on the French-mother-tongue group in Saskatchewan. However, some of the analysis, particularly on interprovincial migration and international immigration, will also cover the population with French as the first official language spoken.

    3.1 Fertility

    In Canada, during the first half of the twentieth century, differences in fertility between language groups partly accounted for the growth or maintenance of the population of some groups in relation to others.

    Data drawn from the censuses show that the fertility rate of Francophone women declined so steeply that over a period of 30 years (1956-1961 to 1981-1986), the average number of children per woman went from 5.43 to 2.13 (see Table 3.1). There was also a drop in fertility among women with English as their mother tongue, but it was slightly less dramatic, going from 4.20 to 2.03 during the same period. During the periods 1986 to 1991 and 1991 to 1996, the total fertility rate of Francophone women picked up while that of Anglophone women stabilized. Since then, while the rate for Francophone women fell below the level of two children per woman and then climbed back to 2.03 (period 2001 to 2006), the rate for Anglophone women continued its decline that began in the period 1951 to 1956, reaching 1.86 in the period 2001-2006.

    Demographers have determined that in the current conditions of low mortality, the replacement level corresponds to a rate of 2.1, that is, 2,100 children per 1,000 women. As Table 3.1 shows, the fertility level of Francophone women has fallen below this replacement level since the period from 1996 to 2001, while for Anglophone women this phenomenon occurred much earlier, during the period from 1981 to 1986. For women with an "other" mother-tongue, the total fertility rate remained above the replacement level during the period from 2001 to 2006.

    Since the period from 1981 to 1986, the fertility rate of women with a mother tongue other than English or French has exceeded that of their Francophone counterparts. In this regard, however, caution is warranted when examining the effect of a higher total fertility rate for "other"-mother-tongue women. This phenomenon does not necessarily translate into an increase in this group's population compared to the others. As will be seen further on, the transmission of another to children—generally the community's majority language is a significant phenomenon.

    Table 3.1 Total fertility rate by mother tongue, Saskatchewan, 1956 to 2006

    3.2 Transmission of mother tongue and the effect of exogamy

    Although the total fertility rate provides useful information on the number of births within different mother-tongue groups, it does not shed light on the mother tongue transmitted to children. The tendency to transmit a language to one's children varies according to a number of factors; one of the most important of these is the geographic concentration of the population comprising a given language group. This geographic concentration factor also influences the propensity to form an exogamous couple, that is, a couple in which the spouses2 do not have the same mother tongue. Also, the lower the geographic concentration or relative weight of a language group in a given community, the lower the propensity of parents to transmit the minority language. In the 2006 Census, the proportion of children in Saskatchewan living in a family with at least one French-mother-tongue parent to whom French was transmitted as a mother tongue was 21%.

    Between 1971 and 2006, the proportion of children from a French-English exogamous family among all families with at least one French-mother-tongue parent increased in Saskatchewan, going from 40% to 81% (see Chart 3.1). Conversely, the share of children living in an endogamous family with both parents having French as their mother tongue declined substantially, from 40% in 1971 to 14% in 2006. By the same token, the proportion of children with one French-speaking parent and one allophone parent also decreased, going from 20% in 1971 to 5% in 2006.

    During the same period, the proportion of French-English exogamous couples among all couples with one French-mother-tongue spouse increased strongly, going from 40% to 71%. Thus, the proportion of endogamous couples in which both spouses had French as a mother tongue and the proportion of French-"other"-language exogamous couples fell between 1971 and 2006, going from 40% to 19% and from 19% to 10%, respectively.

    Chart 3.1 Proportion of children under 18 years of age living in a family where at least one parent is of French-mother tongue, by mother tongue of parents, Saskatchewan, 1971 and 2006

    Because of the increase in the proportion of French-English exogamous couples between 1971 and 2006, one might expect to see a decrease in the rate of transmission of the minority language (in this case, French) to children. But though French had been passed on to 4% of the children under 18 years of age of French-English exogamous couples in 1971, the proportion was 8% in 2006 (see Chart 3.2). There was also an increase in the transmission of French to the children of French-"other"-language exogamous couples, from 12% to 27% during the same period. It would appear that one factor explaining this rise was an increase in the number of children attending French-language schools.

    Chart 3.2 also shows that among Francophone endogamous couples, the transmission of French to children under 18 years of age remained fairly stable, going from 78% in 1971 to 81% in 2006.

    Chart 3.2 Mother tongue of children under 18 years of age by mother tongue of parents, Saskatchewan, 1971 and 2006

    Between 1971 and 2006, there was an increase in the rate of transmission of French to the children of French-English exogamous couples. This increase is larger among families in which the mother, rather than the father, is the French-mother-tongue parent. Thus, the census data show that the rate of transmission of French by French-mother-tongue mothers to their children rose sharply, from 4% in 1971 to 15% in 2006, whereas the rate for French-mother-tongue fathers went from 4% to 7% over the same period.

    One might expect that this increase in the transmission of French would be due in part to an increase in the knowledge of French among non-Francophone spouses of Francophones. But in the case of Saskatchewan, while French was more often transmitted to children in 2006 than it was in 1971, the proportion of spouses with a mother tongue other than French who could conduct a conversation in French and English exhibited an uneven pattern depending on the couple's language combination (see table 3.2). While 11% of Anglophone male spouses with a Francophone female spouse reported being able to conduct a conversation in French in 1971, the proportion in 2006 was 6%. There was a similar decrease among male and female spouses with a mother tongue other than French or English. Among the latter, between 4% and 6% were able to conduct a conversation in French in 2006, whereas the corresponding proportions were 8% and 11% in 1971.

    Only English-speaking women with a French-speaking male spouse were proportionally more likely to report being able to conduct a conversation in French in 2006 (11%) than in 1971 (7%). Furthermore, they had the highest rate of French-English bilingualism of all non Francophone spouses in exogamous unions.

    Table 3.2 Proportion of spouses with a mother tongue other than French who can conduct a conversation in both English and French, by the couple's language combination, Saskatchewan, 1971 and 2006

    It is also worth noting that in 1971, 3.8% of French-mother-tongue female spouses living with an English-speaking male spouse spoke French most often at home, compared to 2.5% of French-mother-tongue male spouses living with an English-speaking female spouse. Thirty-five years later, in 2006, the proportions were 5.8% and 3.1%, respectively.

    3.3 Age structure

    It is instructive to examine how the age structure of Saskatchewan's Francophone population has evolved, so as to reveal part of that population's demographic history while providing an indication of its future course. Between 1971 and 2006, this evolution was basically the result of a decreased fertility rate of Francophone women, negative net interprovincial migration of the French-mother-tongue population, decreased international immigration and increased life expectancy. Added to all these phenomena is a weak or moderate transmission to children of French as a mother tongue. As noted above, at the time of the 2006 Census, French was passed on as a mother tongue to slightly more than one child in five under age 18 of a couple with at least one French-mother-tongue spouse.

    Chart 3.3 shows how the age structure of Saskatchewan's French-mother-tongue population has changed over time. As already noted, between 1971 and 2006, this language group saw its numbers decrease by 47%, from 31,800 to 16,800 persons. All cohorts under age 65 saw their numbers decline, owing to negative net interprovincial migration, the decreased fertility of Francophone women, and Francophone parents not passing on French to their children. Conversely, there was a slight increase in the number of persons aged 65 and over because of the aging of the population and longer life expectancy.

    In 2006, the number of children under 5 years of age (330) was smaller than the number of adults aged 25 to 29 years (595)—the average age of childbearing—with a ratio of 0.55. By comparison, in 1971 the corresponding ratio was 0.80 (1,470/1,840). Also, as Chart 3.3 shows, the baby boom generation (born between 1946 and 1966), which corresponded in 1971 to the age cohorts from 5–9 years to 20–24 years (10,125), is much larger than the age cohorts 35 years later, from 40–44 years to 55–59 years (6,105). This is due in part to the negative net interprovincial migration of the French-mother-tongue group in Saskatchewan.

    Chart 3.3 Age structure of the French mother tongue population, Saskatchewan, 1971 and 2006

    All things being otherwise equal, the low numbers of the youngest cohorts in 2006, combined with the fact that over the coming decades, a number of cohorts will reach age 65, will result in an age structure that reflects considerable aging of the French-mother-tongue population in Saskatchewan. Indeed, already in 2006, the proportion of Francophones aged 65 and over is nearly five times higher than the proportion under 15 years.

    While the aging of the French-mother-tongue population is mainly due to a low fertility rate and a steady increase in life expectancy, it can be assumed that it also results from non-transmission of French as a mother tongue to children. As noted above, the rate of intergenerational transmission of French in families composed of
    French-English exogamous couples is low, although it increased between 1971 and 2006 (see Chart 3.1). It was instead predominantly English (89%) that was transmitted to the children of these exogamous couples in 2006.

    Overall during this period, the Francophone population was not favoured by intergenerational linguistic continuity. This phenomenon is measured by determining the ratio of the number of French-mother-tongue children under 5 years of age to the number of children whose mother has French as her mother tongue.3 In Saskatchewan, this ratio, or index, stood at 0.53 in 2006, up from 0.46 in 1971. It is useful to note that "[a] language group emerges at the top of the mother tongue transmission process when the index is higher than 1.[…] Conversely, transfers are unfavourable to a mother tongue when the index is less than 1." (Lachapelle and Lepage, 2011, page 86). In the case of Saskatchewan, while this index rose, intergenerational transmission remained unfavourable to the French-mother-tongue population in that this intergenerational continuity index was less than 1.4

    The steep drop in births exhibited by the French-mother-tongue group in the past 35 years is not unique to this language group. Chart 3.4 shows the age structure of the main mother-tongue groups in 2006. While the relative share of cohorts under 45 years of age within the English-mother-tongue group is greater than in the other two groups, the consequences of a fertility rate below the replacement level are also apparent among persons under 15 years of age in this language group. But unlike the French-mother-tongue and "other"-mother-tongue groups, the Anglophone group benefited from the contribution of intergenerational linguistic mobility from the other two groups.

    It should also be noted that the over-representation of the French-mother-tongue group within the cohorts aged 45 and over (except for the 75-to-84 cohort) reflects the aging of the population, which is more pronounced in this language group than in the other two.

    Chart 3.4 Age structure of French, English and Other mother tongue populations, Saskatchewan, 2006 (rate per 1,000)

    3.4 Language transfers or intragenerational linguistic mobility

    Language transfers, also sometimes called language shifts, refer to the phenomenon where the main language used at home differs from the individual's mother tongue. This language mobility phenomenon has no direct bearing on the evolution of language groups defined according to mother tongue. However, insofar as the language that dominates in the home is generally the one that is passed on to the children, it has a long-term influence on the future of language groups. Also, when the criterion used to define language groups is the first official language spoken, the language spoken most often at home has a direct bearing on the numbers within the Francophone group. For example, according to this criterion, persons who have knowledge of both official languages and who have either French and English or an "other" language as a mother tongue are part of the French-speaking group if they speak French most often at home.5

    From census to census, there has been a rise in language transfer rates among French-mother-tongue persons in Saskatchewan (see Table 3.3). Thus, in 1971, 52% of Saskatchewan Francophones with French as a mother tongue reported using another language, usually English, most often at home. Thirty-five years later, 75% of French-mother-tongue persons reported speaking a language other than French most often at home. The proportion of language transfers among English-mother-tongue persons, which was almost nil, remained stable at 0.7% in 1971 and 0.2% in 2006. Among "other"-mother-tongue persons, language transfers declined slightly over the past 35 years, going from 65% in 1971 to 59% in 2006.

    Table 3.3 Rate of language transfer by mother tongue, Saskatchewan, 1971 to 2006

    A linguistic continuity index can also be used as a corollary to the language transfer rate. This index is the ratio of the number of persons with a given home language to the number of persons with the corresponding mother tongue. A language group emerges at the top of the mother tongue transmission process when the index is higher than 1. Conversely, transfers are unfavourable to a language group when the index is less than 1.

    According to the statistics in Table 3.4, the French-mother-tongue group saw its linguistic continuity index go from 0.50 to 0.26 between 1971 and 2006. The Anglophone group also saw its linguistic continuity index decline, going from 1.22 in 1971 to 1.10 in 2006. The decline in the linguistic continuity index may be explained in part by the decreasing population of both these language groups in Saskatchewan between 1971 and 2006. As for the "other"-mother-tongue group, its linguistic continuity index remained almost unchanged, at 0.37 in 1971 and 0.41 in 2006.

    Table 3.4 Population by mother tongue, language spoken most often at home and linguistic continuity index, Saskatchewan, 1971 and 2006

    The continuity index of 0.26 for the French-mother-tongue group takes into account the fact that in Saskatchewan, 100 persons have an "other" mother tongue and speak French most often at home (Table 3.5). It also takes into account that more than 240 persons with English as their mother tongue have French as their main home language.

    Table 3.5 Population by mother tongue and language spoken most often at home, Saskatchewan, 2006

    Because the main home language of individuals may differ from their mother tongue, the concept of language transfer has often been seen as indicating the abandonment of one's mother tongue. But since 2001, the Canadian census has included a question on languages other than the main language that are spoken on a regular basis at home. Although it may be difficult to judge how respondents interpret this new question, qualitative tests conducted on respondents as well as the results from the Survey on the Vitality of Official-Language Minorities have shown that respondents usually consider it to refer to the daily use of that language.

    Based on the census results for this question, a distinction can be made between partial and complete language transfer. As a corollary to this distinction, there is a need to nuance the concept of linguistic continuity, since using one's mother tongue on a regular basis at home cannot automatically be interpreted as linguistic discontinuity.

    In 2006, more than 3,800 Saskatchewanians spoke French as the only main language at home, while more than 900 persons reported speaking this language most often in combination with English or another language (see Table 3.6). Thus, 0.5% of Saskatchewanians reported having French as their main home language. Data from the 2006 Census also show that 7,945 persons reported speaking French on a regular basis at home, although it was not their main home language (see Table 3.7). In short, French was spoken most often or on a regular basis at home by 1.3% of the province's population, or approximately 12,700 persons.

    Table 3.6 Population by mother tongue, language spoken most often at home and other languages spoken regularly at home, Saskatchewan, 2006

    Table 3.7 Number and proportion of persons with French as mother tongue, first official language spoken, language spoken most often at home and language spoken regularly at home, Saskatchewan, 2006

    One can use information on the regular use of French as a secondary language in the home to distinguish complete language transfers from partial language transfers. Thus, based on single responses to the question on the first language learned and still understood at the time of the 2006 Census (usually called the mother tongue), it emerges that for Saskatchewan as a whole, 55% of persons with French as their mother tongue do not use French at least regularly at home (complete transfer), whereas 19% use it on a regular basis (partial transfer) (see Table 3.8). Consequently, French is the main home language for 26% of all Francophones. It is also worth noting that in Saskatchewan, Francophones who make a language transfer almost invariably transfer to English.

    The rates for complete and partial language transfers are known to vary by age group (see Table 3.8). In Saskatchewan, 2006 Census statistics show that the older Francophones are, the more likely they are to have made a complete language transfer, except for persons aged 65 and over, who are closer in their linguistic behaviour to those aged 35 to 54. Francophones aged 55 to 64 are more inclined to use a language other than French at home (66%) than those in other age groups, whereas those under 15 years of age are less likely to do so (12%). For partial language transfers, Francophones aged 15 to 34 have the highest rates (between 27% and 29%). As for the complete transfer rate for this group of Francophones, it varies between 28% and 43% according to age group. The table shows that among Francophones aged 15 to 34, French is the main home language for 30% to 43%.

    Table 3.8 Rate of complete and partial language transfers of Francophones by age group, Saskatchewan, 2006

    Exogamy is often associated with language transfer for Francophones outside Quebec. Indeed, 92% of Saskatchewan Francophones who live in an exogamous union with an English-mother-tongue spouse speak English most often at home. However, data drawn from the 2006 Survey of the Vitality of Official-Language Minorities (SVOLM) serve to better document the link between exogamy and language transfer among Francophones. Those data show that for more than half of Saskatchewan Francophones, language transfer took place well before a union was formed with an Anglophone spouse: approximately 86% of Francophones who live in an exogamous situation began to speak English most often at home before age 21, and 58% did so before age 15. Among Franco-Saskatchewanians aged 25 to 44—those likely to have young children—the corresponding proportions were 83% and 61%, respectively. Thus, it is not only exogamy that has a direct bearing on whether a Francophone speaks English most often at home. In fact, these results suggest that living in a highly minority situation increases the use of the majority language in daily activities and influences the main language of Francophones in the medium term and ultimately affects the propensity to choose an English-speaking spouse. In any event, the relationship between exogamy and home language definitely operates in both directions.

    Data drawn from the SVOLM shed light on the association that tends to be established between language transfer and anglicization. The survey includes a question on respondents' main language, that is, the language in which they are most at ease in speaking. The data show that 33% of the population for whom French is the first official language spoken have either French (17%) or both official languages (16%) as main languages.

    Overall in Saskatchewan, the proportion of Francophones who report speaking English most often at home (complete and partial language transfers) is larger than the proportion who report being more at ease in English than in French.6 Thus, 75% of Franco-Saskatchewanians report speaking English7 most often at home, while 67% report being more at ease in English than in French.

    3.5 Use of French in the public sphere

    Statistics from the Census of Population shed light on the use of languages both in the private sphere (at home) and in the workplace, as we will see in the section dealing with the labour force. But what do we know about the use of English and French by Saskatchewan Francophones in domains of interaction other than in the home?

    The Survey of the Vitality of Official-Language Minorities (SVOLM) includes a number of questions on the use of languages in various domains in the public sphere such as stores, health care institutions (which will be examined in detail in the next section), volunteer activities, social support, community or sports activities, etc. Some survey questions also deal with domains on the borderline between private and public spheres, such as the language spoken with friends outside the home or the language in which various media are "consumed."

    An examination of language practices in various domains of the public and private spheres reveals that in Saskatchewan, the population whose first official language spoken is French uses mainly English in both spheres (see Chart 3.5). The use of English as the predominant language (mainly or only) in the home was reported by 71%; 18% speak mainly or only French there. The use of English is most widespread in oral interactions that take place in institutions and stores, where 96% of the French FOLS population use it predominantly (mainly or only), including 74% who use it exclusively.

    Beyond language choices at home and in institutions and stores, the extent to which English is used predominantly (mainly or only) within immediate networks, at work and with friends is roughly the same, ranging from 79% to 81% depending on the domain. Data from the SVOLM also show that nearly 88% of persons for whom French is the only first official language spoken consume different media mainly or only in English. Finally, the general index on use of languages in the public sphere reveals that 87% of the population for whom French is the only first official language spoken use mainly or only English in the various public sphere domains (media, institutions and stores, work, immediate network and friends outside the home).8 Thus, in the public sphere, 55% of Francophones use English exclusively, while 31% use mainly English (along with another language).

    Chart 3.5 Proportion of Francophones by language use in various domains of the public and private spheres, Saskatchewan, 2006

    3.6 Knowledge of French

    For persons whose main language is French, the opportunities to use that language may increase if they are in contact with others who can conduct a conversation in French even if it is not their first official language spoken.

    Within Saskatchewan, 5% of the overall population reported being able to conduct a conversation in French in 2006, a larger proportion than those who reported French alone or with another language as their mother tongue (1.8%) or than those for whom French is the first official language spoken (1.6%). The relative share of Saskatchewanians who are able to conduct a conversation in French is highly polarized by language group. Whereas 85% of persons with French as a mother tongue reported knowing both official languages, the corresponding proportion was only 4% for persons with English as a mother tongue and 2% for persons with an "other" mother tongue (see Table 3.9). Among the latter group, 2.6% reported that they could not conduct a conversation in either French or English.

    Table 3.9 Knowledge of official languages by mother tongue, Saskatchewan, 2001 and 2006

    In municipalities where Francophones comprise less than 10% of the population, the French-English bilingualism rate of non-Francophones barely exceeds 4% (see Chart 3.6). In municipalities were they constitute between 10% and 30% of the population, the level of knowledge of French among non-Francophones climbs to 8%, while in municipalities were Francophones constitute 50% to 69% of the population, Anglophones' French-English bilingualism rate reaches nearly 55%. Thus, the greater the relative share of Francophones within their municipality, the greater will be the knowledge of French among non-Francophones.

    Chart 3.6 Rate of English-French bilingualism among persons with English as their first official language spoken by the proportion of Francophones within the municipality of residence, Saskatchewan, 2006

    Statistics from the 2006 Census show that among non-Francophones, French-English bilingualism is more widespread among persons with English as their mother tongue than among those with an "other" mother tongue, in almost all age groups (data not shown). English-mother-tongue persons under 45 years of age have a much higher bilingualism rate than "other"-mother-tongue persons in the corresponding age groups. On the other hand, the differences observed between these two groups are very small, or even non-existent in some cases, beyond age 59. The higher French-English bilingualism rates for persons with English as their mother tongue can be attributed to their attending French immersion programs.

    The ability of young Anglophones to maintain their knowledge of French as a second language diminishes over time. As seen in Chart 3.7, when we consider youths aged 15 to 19 in 1996, we observe that their bilingualism rate as reported in that year's census (10.5%) falls to 7.9% in 2001, (when they are aged 20 to 24), and to 6.3% in 2006 (when they are aged 25 to 29). A similar trend is observed among youths who were aged 15 to 19 in 2001 and 20 to 24 five years later. The French-English bilingualism rate for non-Francophones peaks at the age of 15 to 19, which corresponds to the period when young people are leaving school.

    Chart 3.7 Proportion of persons with English as their mother tongue who can conduct a conversation in English and in French by age group, Saskatchewan, 1996, 2001 and 2006

    It is difficult to identify the exact causes of this decline in the ability to conduct a conversation in French among English-mother-tongue Saskatchewanians aged 15 to 19. As Table 3.10 shows, the number of enrolments in immersion programs fluctuated between 2000 and 2006 but consistently remained above 8,000. The year 2002/2003 stands out, in that enrolment in immersion programs increased by nearly 6%, reaching 9,172. The table also shows that since the 2000/2001 school year, enrolments in regular French-language programs have increased slightly, except in 2004/2005, reaching 1,132 enrolments in 2006/2007. Additional research would be needed in order to explore this phenomenon more fully.

    Table 3.10 Number of children enrolled in French immersion and in regular French programmes at the primary and secondary levels in public schools, Saskatchewan, 2000/2001 to 2006/2007

    3.7 Migration (interprovincial and international migratory movements)

    The mobility of Francophones within Canada and the contribution of international immigration are factors that greatly influence the evolution of the French-speaking population of Saskatchewan.

    3.7.1 Place of birth

    Table 3.11 shows the place of birth of Saskatchewan Francophones. As may be seen, in 2006, more than 73% of French-speaking persons in Saskatchewan had been born there. The proportion is substantially the same for persons for whom French is the first official language spoken. Regardless of the criterion used, 23% of Saskatchewan Francophones were born in another province or territory of Canada, of which 10% in Quebec. As for foreign-born persons, most of whom were immigrants,9 they comprised nearly 4% of the French-mother-tongue population and 5% of the population with French as its first official language spoken.

    Table 3.11 Place of birth of Francophones by mother tongue and first official language spoken, Saskatchewan, 2006

    3.7.2 International immigration

    Saskatchewan receives few international immigrants whose first official language is French. Whereas in 1971, 2,365 Francophone immigrants were enumerated, in 2006 there were fewer than 700 foreign-born individuals with French as their first official language spoken, comprising 1.4% of the province's total immigrant population. Viewed from another angle, while the French-speaking immigrant population's share of the Francophone population was 7.3% in 1971, it was close to 4.6% in 2006. This share was roughly equivalent to that of the English-speaking immigrant population within the Anglophone population (4.9%) (see Table 3.12).

    Table 3.12 Number and proportion of French-speaking and English-speaking immigrants, Saskatchewan, 1971 to 2006

    While French-speaking immigrants in Saskatchewan have various origins, a large proportion of them actually come from a limited number of countries. Data from the 2006 Census reveal that one Francophone immigrant in four comes from France. After France, immigrants come mainly from Mauritius (7.3%), the United States (7.2%), Belgium (6.9%), Algeria (6.7%) and the Democratic Republic of Congo (6.3%).

    3.7.3 Interprovincial migration

    Between 1981 and 2006, Saskatchewan received between 1,000 and 2,000 Francophones per five-year period from other Canadian provinces and territories (see Table 3.13). However, in each of these periods, nearly 2,000 Francophones left the province to settle elsewhere in Canada. Consequently, since 1981, net interprovincial migration of Francophones has been negative, and for the period from 2001 to 2006 it stood at -630. As for the province's Anglophones, starting in 1981 the number of them leaving Saskatchewan exceeded the number coming to settle there. However, since the migratory flows of Anglophones are much larger than those of Francophones, Saskatchewan has had negative net migration that fluctuated considerably over more than the last two decades. Between 1981 and 1986, the province had its most favourable migratory balance, with a net migration figure of -2,810. Five years later, between 1986 and 1991, the province had its most unfavourable net migration at -60,360. For the period starting in 1996, Saskatchewan's net migration was in the range of -25,000.

    Table 3.13 Interprovincial migration between Saskatchewan and other provinces and territories by first official language spoken, 1981 to 1986, 1986 to 1991, 1991 to 1996, 1996 to 2001 and 2001 to 2006

    Charts 3.8 and 3.9 show the migratory movements between Saskatchewan and the other provinces and territories between 2001 and 2006. Of the roughly 1,075 Francophones who came from other provinces and territories to settle in Saskatchewan, 30% were living in Quebec in 2001. The other Francophones came mainly from Ontario (23%), Alberta (16%) and British Columbia (13%). Of the approximately 1,710 Francophones who were living in Saskatchewan in 2001 and subsequently migrated to other provinces, nearly half (42%) settled in Quebec, while the rest settled mainly in Alberta (25%), Ontario (14%) and British Columbia (9%).

    Chart 3.8 Province or territory of origin of Francophones who settled in Saskatchewan between 2001 and 2006

    Chart 3.9 Destination of Francophones who left Saskatchewan for another province or territory between 2001 and 2006

    Notes

    1. Of course, a language is also transmitted from fathers to their children, but it is usually the mother's language that predominates.
    2. The term "spouse" includes persons that are legally married as well as those that are in common-law union.
    3. To establish this ratio, demographers generally look at children living in a two-parent family or a one-parent family headed by a woman. Such children account for more than 97% of all children in this age group.
    4. For an in-depth examination of this approach, see Lachapelle and Lepage (2011).
    5. As noted earlier, persons with an "other" mother tongue who know only French are assigned French as their first official language spoken, regardless of whether they speak that language most often at home.
    6. This finding applies to both the French-mother-tongue population and the population with French as first official language spoken.
    7. This proportion includes single and multiple responses. It therefore includes the 4% of Francophones who report both French and English as languages most often spoken at home.
    8. See Appendix C for a description of the general index of use of languages in the public sphere.
    9. Foreign-born persons include immigrants, non-permanent residents and Canadians born abroad.
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