Ethnicity, Language and Immigration Thematic Series
The French Language in Manitoba, 2001 to 2016: Facts and Figures

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The purpose of this document is to present an overview of the prevailing trends observed between 2001 and 2016^{Note 1} for the French language in Manitoba. To this end, the document provides census-based information on the population^{Note 2} who have French as their first official language spoken, mother tongue, language spoken at home or language used at work as well as on the population who reported speaking French well enough to conduct a conversation.

• In 2016, there were 40,975 persons who had French as a first official language spoken representing 3.2% of Manitoba’s total population.
  • Between 2001 and 2016, the number of persons with French as a first official language spoken decreased by 2,410 persons, down 5.6%. Similarly, the proportion of those with French as a first official language spoken decreased by 0.7 percentage points.

• As of 2016, 109,940 persons were able to sustain a conversation in French, either exclusively or along with another language. As a whole, they accounted for 8.7% of Manitoba’s population.
  • The number of persons able to hold a conversation in French, either exclusively or along with another language, has increased by 5.6% (+5,850 persons) in the 15 years since 2001. However, as a proportion of Manitoba’s total population they have decreased by 0.7 percentage points.

• As of 2016, 108,460 persons reported being able to hold a conversation in both English and French, a figure which represents an English-French bilingualism rate of 8.6% in the province.
  • In the 15 years since 2001, English-French bilingualism has increased in absolute terms by 5.5% (+5,620 persons) while decreasing as proportion of the population from 9.3% in 2001 to 8.6% in 2016.

• In 2016, 46,060 persons reported having French as their mother tongue^{Note 3}, either exclusively or with other languages. They represented 3.7% of Manitoba’s population that year, down 0.7 percentage points compared to 2001.
  • In the 2001 to 2016 period, the number of persons with French as a mother tongue decreased by 3.1% which translates to 1,495 fewer persons over that period.

• As of 2016, 42,555 persons in Manitoba reported speaking French at least regularly at home. Collectively, they represented 3.4% of the province’s total population, down by 0.2 percentage points from 2001.
  • Between 2001 and 2016, the number of persons who reported speaking French at least regularly at home has increased by 2,760 persons, that is, a 6.9% increase over that period.

• Among those who reported speaking French at least regularly at home in 2016, 21,255 reported speaking French most often^{Note 4} while 21,300 reported speaking French as their secondary language in addition to their main language. In relative terms, both populations represented 1.7% of Manitoba’s population respectively.
  • Over the 2001 to 2016 period, the number of persons who reported speaking French most often at home^{Note 4} decreased by 4.0% (-880 persons). By contrast, those who reported speaking French as a secondary language at home (in addition to the main language) increased by 20.6% (+3,640 persons).
  • Among those who reported speaking French most often at home^{Note 4}, only those who reported speaking French equally often with another language experienced an increase (+1,945 persons). By comparison, the number of persons who reported speaking only French decreased by 23.9% (-2,140 persons) and those who reported speaking French most often along with another language regularly decreased by 6.4% (-685 persons).

• In 2016, 22,815 of Manitoba’s workers reported using French at work at least regularly while representing 3.2% of the province’s working population.
  • The number of workers who use French at work at least regularly has increased by an additional 920 workers or 4.2% in the 15 years since 2001, whereas the total working population increased by 12.5%.

• Among those workers who reported using French at least regularly at work in 2016, 9,150 used French most often^{Note 5} while 13,665 used French as their secondary language in addition to the main language. Respectively, these workers represented 1.3% and 1.9% of Manitoba’s working population in 2016.
  • Between 2001 and 2016, the number of workers that reported using French most often at work^{Note 5} rose by 12.4% or by an additional 1,010 workers. By contrast, the number of workers who reported using French as a secondary language in addition to the main language at work decreased by 0.7% (-90 workers).
  • Among workers who reported using French most often at work between 2001 and 2016, those who reported using exclusively French decreased by 3.6% (-75 workers). By contrast, the number of workers who reported using French most often along with another language regularly increased by 4.3% whereas workers who reported using  French along with another language equally often increased by 50.4%.

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