Immigration and language in Canada, 2011 and 2016
22 Nunavut

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22.1 First official language spoken (FOLS)

Table 22.1
Population by first official language spoken and period of immigration, Nunavut, 2011 and 2016
Table summary
This table displays the results of Population by first official language spoken and period of immigration. The information is grouped by First official language spoken (appearing as row headers), 2011, 2016, Non-immigrants, Immigrants, Total
population, Total
immigrants, Recent
2006 to 2011 and Recent
2011 to 2016, calculated using number and percent units of measure (appearing as column headers).
First official language spoken	2011				2016
	Non-immigrants	Immigrants		Total population	Non-immigrants	Immigrants		Total population
	Non-immigrants	Total immigrants	Recent 2006 to 2011	Total population	Non-immigrants	Total immigrants	Recent 2011 to 2016	Total population
	number
English	27,760	590	120	28,410	32,020	860	145	32,940
French	425	20	0	450	565	50	25	620
Neither	2,845	0	0	2,850	2,015	10	0	2,020
Total	31,025	610	135	31,695	34,605	920	165	35,580
	percent
English	89.5	96.7	88.9	89.6	92.5	93.5	87.9	92.6
French	1.4	3.3	0.0	1.4	1.6	5.4	15.2	1.7
Neither	9.2	0.0	0.0	9.0	5.8	1.1	0.0	5.7
Total	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Notes: The “English-French” category has been equally redistributed between the “English” and “French” categories. Data on non-permanent residents are only included in the "Total population". Sources: Statistics Canada, 2011 National Household Survey and 2016 Census of Population.

More than 9 out of 10 immigrants had English as their first official language spoken

In Nunavut, 93.5% of the 920 immigrants had English as their first official language spoken (FOLS) in 2016, compared with 5.4% who had French, and 1.1% who had neither language.

Of the 165 recent immigrants who settled in Nunavut between 2011 and 2016, 87.9% had English as their FOLS and 15.2% had French.

Slight drop in the proportion of immigrants who had English or French as their first official language spoken

In 2016, 98.9% of immigrants had English or French as their FOLS, compared with all immigrants in 2011.

Higher share of immigrants with French as their first official language spoken than non-immigrants

In 2016, 92.5% of non-immigrants had English as their FOLS, a higher proportion than for recent immigrants (87.9%), but slightly lower than for all immigrants (93.5%). Furthermore, 1.6% of all non-immigrants had French as their FOLS, which was much lower than for recent immigrants (15.2%), and lower than for all immigrants (5.4%).

22.2 Mother tongue

Table 22.2
Immigrants by mother tongue and period of immigration, Nunavut, 2011 and 2016
Table summary
This table displays the results of Immigrants by mother tongue and period of immigration. The information is grouped by Mother tongue (appearing as row headers), 2011, 2016, Recent
2006 to 2011, Established
before 2006, Total , Recent
2011 to 2016, Established before 2011 and Total, calculated using number and percent units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Mother tongue	2011			2016
	Recent 2006 to 2011	Established before 2006	Total	Recent 2011 to 2016	Established before 2011	Total
	number
English	30	225	255	40	250	300
French	0	15	15	20	35	40
Other languages	95	245	340	95	465	575
Total	135	480	615	165	750	920
	percent
English	22.2	46.9	41.5	24.2	33.3	32.6
French	0.0	3.1	2.4	12.1	4.7	4.3
Other languages	70.4	51.0	55.3	57.6	62.0	62.5
Total	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Notes: The “Other languages” category refers to languages other than English and French. These include Aboriginal, immigrant and sign languages. Multiple responses have been equally redistributed between the “English”, “French” and “Other languages” categories. This table does not include data on non-permanent residents. Sources: Statistics Canada, 2011 National Household Survey and 2016 Census of Population.

Nearly 6 in 10 recent immigrants reported a language other than English or French as their mother tongue

In Nunavut, the proportion of recent immigrants who reported a language other than English or French as their mother tongue decreased from 70.4% in 2011 to 57.6% in 2016. The share of established immigrants who reported a language other than English or French as their mother tongue increased from 51.0% to 62.4% during this period.

The proportion of recent immigrants whose mother tongue was English increased from 22.2% in 2011 to 24.2% in 2016.

The share of established immigrants who reported French as their mother tongue increased from 3.1% in 2011 to 4.7% in 2016. The proportion of those who reported English as their mother tongue decreased from 46.9% to 33.6% during this period.

22.3 Language spoken most often at home

Table 22.3
Immigrants by language spoken most often at home and period of immigration, Nunavut, 2011 and 2016
Table summary
This table displays the results of Immigrants by language spoken most often at home and period of immigration. The information is grouped by Language spoken most often at home (appearing as row headers), 2011, 2016, Recent
2006 to 2011, Established
before 2006, Total , Recent
2011 to 2016, Established before 2011 and Total, calculated using number and percent units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Language spoken most often at home	2011			2016
	Recent 2006 to 2011	Established before 2006	Total	Recent 2011 to 2016	Established before 2011	Total
	number
English	95	385	480	95	550	650
French	0	15	15	15	20	40
Other languages	30	90	120	65	175	240
Total	135	480	615	165	745	920
	percent
English	70.4	80.2	78.0	57.6	73.8	70.7
French	0.0	3.1	2.4	9.1	2.7	4.3
Other languages	22.2	18.8	19.5	39.4	23.5	26.1
Total	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Notes: The “Other languages” category refers to languages other than English and French. These include Aboriginal, immigrant and sign languages. Multiple responses have been equally redistributed between the “English”, “French” and “Other languages” categories. This table does not include data on non-permanent residents. Sources: Statistics Canada, 2011 National Household Survey and 2016 Census of Population.

In 2016, 32.6% of immigrants in Nunavut reported English as their mother tongue, while more than twice as many (70.7%) reported that they mainly spoke English at home in 2016. In addition, 4.3% of immigrants reported that they spoke French most often at home, the same proportion as those who reported French as their mother tongue.

Three quarters of immigrants reported that they spoke English or French most often at home

In 2016, 75.0% of immigrants reported that they spoke English or French most often at home, down from 2011 (80.5%). The proportion of immigrants who spoke French most often at home increased from 2.4% in 2011 to 4.3% in 2016. The proportion of immigrants who reported that they mainly spoke English at home decreased from 78.0% to 70.7% during this period.

Nearly 4 in 10 recent immigrants reported that they spoke a language other than English or French most often at home

In 2016, 39.4% of recent immigrants reported that they mainly spoke a language other than English or French at home, a higher percentage than in 2011 (22.2%). The proportion of recent immigrants who reported that they spoke English most often at home decreased from 70.4% in 2011 to 57.6% in 2016.

22.4 Knowledge of official languages by mother tongue

Table 22.4
Immigrants' knowledge of official languages, by mother tongue and period of immigration, Nunavut, 2011 and 2016
Table summary
This table displays the results of Immigrants' knowledge of official languages. The information is grouped by Mother tongue (appearing as row headers), Knowledge of official languages, 2011, 2016, Recent
2006 to 2011, Established
before 2006, Total
Immigrants, Recent
2011 to 2016 and Established before 2011, calculated using percent units of measure (appearing as column headers).
Mother tongue	Knowledge of official languages	2011			2016
		Recent 2006 to 2011	Established before 2006	Total Immigrants	Recent 2011 to 2016	Established before 2011	Total Immigrants
		percent
English	English	100.0	75.6	78.4	100.0	80.4	83.6
	French	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
	English and French	0.0	26.7	23.5	0.0	19.6	16.4
	Neither	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
	Total	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
French	English	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
	French	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	40.0	22.2
	English and French	0.0	100.0	100.0	50.0	100.0	88.9
	Neither	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
	Total	0.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Other languages	English	94.7	79.6	83.8	90.5	85.1	86.1
	French	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
	English and French	10.5	16.3	14.7	9.5	14.9	13.9
	Neither	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	2.1	1.7
	Total	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Total	English	88.9	76.0	78.9	81.8	81.5	81.5
	French	0.0	0.0	0.0	6.1	0.0	1.1
	English and French	7.4	24.0	20.3	15.2	18.5	17.9
	Neither	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
	Total	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Notes: Multiples responses have been equally redistributed between the “English”, “French” and “Other languages” categories. The “Other languages” category refers to languages other than English and French. These include Aboriginal, immigrant and sign languages. This table does not include data on non-permanent residents. Sources: Statistics Canada, 2011 National Household Survey and 2016 Census of Population.

All recent immigrants and established immigrants could conduct a conversation in English or French

In Nunavut, all of the 165 recent immigrants reported being able to conduct a conversation in English or French in 2016.^{Note 1} Thus, in 2016, 81.8% of these immigrants could conduct a conversation in English only, 6.1% in French only, and 15.2% in English and French.

All of the 755 established immigrants could conduct a conversation in English or French in 2016. Of these immigrants, 81.5% knew English only and 18.5% knew English and French.

22.5 Top countries of birth of immigrants

22.5.A Recent and established immigrants with French as their first official language spoken (FOLS)

Table 22.5.A.1
Top countries of birth of recent immigrants^{Table 22.5.A.1 Note 1} with French as their first official language spoken,^{Table 22.5.A.1 Note 2} Nunavut, 2011^{Table 22.5.A.1 Note 3} and 2016
Table summary
This table displays the results of Top countries of birth of recent immigrants with French as their first official language spoken Rank, Country of birth, Number and percent (appearing as column headers).
	Rank	Country of birth	Number	Percent
2016 Census of Population^{Table 22.5.A.1 Note 4}	1	Côte d'Ivoire	10	50.0
	2	Cameroon	10	50.0
	2	Total	20	100.0
Note 1 “Recent immigrant” refers to an immigrant who obtained his or her landed immigrant or permanent resident status in the five years prior to a given census. In the 2016 Census, the period extends between January 1, 2011, and May 10, 2016. Return to note 1 referrer Note 2 The immigrant population with French as their first official language spoken (FOLS) does not include the population that has both English and French as their FOLS. Return to note 2 referrer Note 3 In order to ensure the confidentiality of the responses collected, the data for the top 10 countries of birth are not shown for the year 2011. Return to note 3 referrer Note 4 In order to ensure the confidentiality of the responses collected, the data for the top 10 countries of birth are not shown. Return to note 4 referrer Notes: To ensure the confidentiality of responses collected for the 2016 Census of Population, a random rounding process is used to alter the values reported in individual cells. As a result, when these data are summed or grouped, the total value may not match the sum of the individual values, since the total and subtotals are independently rounded. Similarly, percentage distributions, which are calculated on rounded data, may not necessarily add up to 100%. This table does not include data on non-permanent residents. Sources: Statistics Canada, 2011 National Household Survey and 2016 Census of Population.

Table 22.5.A.2
Top countries of birth of established immigrants^{Table 22.5.A.2 Note 1} with French as their first official language spoken,^{Table 22.5.A.2 Note 2} Nunavut, 2011 and 2016
Table summary
This table displays the results of Top countries of birth of established immigrants with French as their first official language spoken Rank, Country of birth, Number and percent (appearing as column headers).
	Rank	Country of birth	Number	Percent
2011 National Household Survey^{Table 22.5.A.2 Note 3}	1	France	10	50.0
2011 National Household Survey^{Table 22.5.A.2 Note 3}	1	Total	10	50.0
2016 Census of Population^{Table 22.5.A.2 Note 3}	1	Switzerland	10	40.0
	2	Mauritius	10	40.0
	2	Total	20	80.0
Note 1 “Established immigrant” refers to an immigrant who obtained landed immigrant or permanent resident status at least five years prior to a given census. In the 2016 Census, it is an immigrant who obtained landed immigrant or permanent resident status before 2011. Return to note 1 referrer Note 2 The immigrant population with French as their first official language spoken (FOLS) does not include the population that has both English and French as their FOLS. Return to note 2 referrer Note 3 In order to ensure the confidentiality of the responses collected, the data for the top 10 countries of birth are not shown. Return to note 3 referrer Notes: To ensure the confidentiality of responses collected for the 2016 Census of Population, a random rounding process is used to alter the values reported in individual cells. As a result, when these data are summed or grouped, the total value may not match the sum of the individual values, since the total and subtotals are independently rounded. Similarly, percentage distributions, which are calculated on rounded data, may not necessarily add up to 100%. This table does not include data on non-permanent residents. Sources: Statistics Canada, 2011 National Household Survey and 2016 Census of Population.

In 2016, there were 20 recent immigrants and 20 established immigrants in Nunavut whose first official language spoken is French.

22.5.B Recent and established immigrants with English as their first official language spoken (FOLS)

Table 22.5.B.1
Top countries of birth of recent immigrants^{Table 22.5.B.1 Note 1} with English as their first official language spoken,^{Table 22.5.B.1 Note 2} Nunavut, 2011 and 2016
Table summary
This table displays the results of Top countries of birth of recent immigrants with English as their first official language spoken Rank, Country of birth, Number and percent (appearing as column headers).
	Rank	Country of birth	Number	Percent
2011 National Household Survey^{Table 22.5.B.1 Note 3}	1	Philippines	50	40.0
	2	United States	10	8.0
	3	India	10	8.0
	3	Total	70	56.0
2016 Census of Population^{Table 22.5.B.1 Note 3}	1	Philippines	45	31.0
	2	United States	15	10.3
	3	Jamaica	10	6.9
	4	Nigeria	10	6.9
	5	Morocco	10	6.9
	6	Republic of South Africa	10	6.9
	6	Total	100	69.0
Note 1 “Recent immigrant” refers to an immigrant who obtained his or her landed immigrant or permanent resident status in the five years prior to a given census. In the 2016 Census, the period extends between January 1, 2011, and May 10, 2016. Return to note 1 referrer Note 2 The immigrant population with English as their first official language spoken (FOLS) does not include the population that has both English and French as their FOLS. Return to note 2 referrer Note 3 In order to ensure the confidentiality of the responses collected, the data for the top 10 countries of birth are not shown. Return to note 3 referrer Notes: To ensure the confidentiality of responses collected for the 2016 Census of Population, a random rounding process is used to alter the values reported in individual cells. As a result, when these data are summed or grouped, the total value may not match the sum of the individual values, since the total and subtotals are independently rounded. Similarly, percentage distributions, which are calculated on rounded data, may not necessarily add up to 100%. This table does not include data on non-permanent residents. Sources: Statistics Canada, 2011 National Household Survey and 2016 Census of Population.

Table 22.5.B.2
Top countries of birth of established immigrants^{Table 22.5.B.2 Note 1} with English as their first official language spoken,^{Table 22.5.B.2 Note 2} Nunavut, 2011 and 2016
Table summary
This table displays the results of Top countries of birth of established immigrants with English as their first official language spoken Rank, Country of birth, Number and percent (appearing as column headers).
	Rank	Country of birth	Number	Percent
2011 National Household Survey	1	United Kingdom	100	21.7
	2	United States	50	10.9
	3	Philippines	50	10.9
	4	China	25	5.4
	5	India	25	5.4
	6	Germany	20	4.3
	7	Trinidad and Tobago	15	3.3
	8	Ecuador	10	2.2
	9	Netherlands	10	2.2
	10	Hungary	10	2.2
	10	Total	315	68.5
2016 Census of Population	1	Philippines	140	19.7
	2	United Kingdom	80	11.3
	3	United States	45	6.3
	4	Zimbabwe	35	4.9
	5	India	30	4.2
	6	Pakistan	30	4.2
	7	Bangladesh	25	3.5
	8	Germany	20	2.8
	9	Ethiopia	20	2.8
	10	China	20	2.8
	10	Total	445	62.7
Note 1 “Established immigrant” refers to an immigrant who obtained landed immigrant or permanent resident status at least five years prior to a given census. In the 2016 Census, it is an immigrant who obtained landed immigrant or permanent resident status before 2011. Return to note 1 referrer Note 2 The immigrant population with English as their first official language spoken (FOLS) does not include the population that has both English and French as their FOLS. Return to note 2 referrer Notes: To ensure the confidentiality of responses collected for the 2016 Census of Population, a random rounding process is used to alter the values reported in individual cells. As a result, when these data are summed or grouped, the total value may not match the sum of the individual values, since the total and subtotals are independently rounded. Similarly, percentage distributions, which are calculated on rounded data, may not necessarily add up to 100%. This table does not include data on non-permanent residents. Sources: Statistics Canada, 2011 National Household Survey and 2016 Census of Population.

In 2016, there were 140 recent immigrants in Nunavut whose first official language spoken is English.

In Nunavut, there were 710 English-speaking^{Note 2} established immigrants in 2016. Nearly one third of these immigrants (31.0%)^{Note 3} were from the Philippines (19.7%) or the United Kingdom (11.3%).

Notes

Date modified:: 2019-01-28

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Immigration and language in Canada, 2011 and 2016
22 Nunavut

Archived Content

22.1 First official language spoken (FOLS)

22.2 Mother tongue

22.3 Language spoken most often at home

22.4 Knowledge of official languages by mother tongue

22.5 Top countries of birth of immigrants

22.5.A Recent and established immigrants with French as their first official language spoken (FOLS)

22.5.B Recent and established immigrants with English as their first official language spoken (FOLS)

Notes

Immigration and language in Canada, 2011 and 2016 22 Nunavut

Archived Content

22.1 First official language spoken (FOLS)

22.2 Mother tongue

22.3 Language spoken most often at home

22.4 Knowledge of official languages by mother tongue

22.5 Top countries of birth of immigrants

22.5.A Recent and established immigrants with French as their first official language spoken (FOLS)

22.5.B Recent and established immigrants with English as their first official language spoken (FOLS)

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Immigration and language in Canada, 2011 and 2016
22 Nunavut