Ethnicity, Language and Immigration Thematic Series
The French Language in Alberta, 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 Alberta. 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 79,835 persons who had French as a first official language spoken. As a whole, they represented 2.0% of Alberta’s total population.
  • Between 2001 and 2016, the number of persons who had French as a first official language spoken increased by 35.7% (+21,005 persons) – the fastest rate of growth for this population among the provinces.

• As of 2016, the number of persons who reported being able to conduct a conversation in French, whether exclusively or along with another language, stood at 268,605 while representing 6.7% of Alberta’s total population.
  • In the 2001 to 2016 period, the number of persons who reported being able to conduct a conversation in French increased by 63,800 persons which represents a 31.2% increase.

• In absolute terms, English-French bilingualism is on the rise in Alberta. In fact, as of 2016, 264,715 persons reported being able to conduct a conversation in both official languages compared to 202,910 in 2001, a 30.5% increase. However, in relative terms, English-French bilingualism in the province has decreased from 6.9% in 2001 to 6.6% in 2016.

• In 2016, 86,705 persons reported having French as their mother tongue^{Note 3}, either exclusively or along with other languages, and they represented 2.2% of Alberta’s total population.
  • In the 15 years leading to 2016, the number of persons who report having French as their mother tongue, either exclusively or along with other languages, increased by 31.4%, that is, by an additional 20,710 persons.

• The number of persons who reported speaking French at least regularly at home stood at 84,850 in 2016. Collectively, they represented 2.1% of Alberta’s total population, up 0.3 percentage points in the 15 years since 2001.
  • In the 2001 to 2016 period, the number of persons who reported speaking French at least regularly at home increased by 60.4%, that is, by an additional 31,950 persons.

• In 2016, the number of persons who reported speaking French most often at home^{Note 4} stood at 38,600 whereas for those who reported speaking French as a secondary language this figure reached 46,250. Respectively, these populations represented 1.0% and 1.1% of Alberta’s population.
  • Between 2001 and 2016, the number of persons who reported speaking French most often at home^{Note 4} increased by 69.7% (+15,855 persons). Similarly, those who reported speaking French as their secondary language in addition to the main language have increased by 53.4% (+16,095 persons). In other words, the growth of French as a language spoken at home can be almost equally attributed to increases among both populations.
  • Among those who speak French most often at home^{Note 4}, less than half (43.7%) of the increase can be attributed to the gains made by those who speak French equally often with another language at home.

• In 2016, there were 36,600 workers who reported using French at work at least regularly. They represented 1.5% of the total working population of Alberta.
  • In the 15 years leading to 2016, those who reported using French at work at least regularly grew by 30.4% (+8,535 workers).

• Among those who reported using French at work at least regularly in 2016, 11,430 workers reported using French most often^{Note 5} whereas 25,170 reported using French as a secondary language in addition to their main language. Respectively, these two populations constituted 0.5% and 1.0% of Alberta’s total working population that year.
  • In the 2001 to 2016 period, the number of workers who reported using French most often at work5 increased by 52.5% (+3,935 workers). By contrast, the number of persons who reported using French as a secondary language in addition to their main language increased by 22.4% (+4,600 workers).
  • However, despite their different growth rates, these two populations contributed nearly equally to the growth in the use of French at work overall. In fact, in absolute terms, the increase in the population using French as a secondary language at work accounted for 53.9% of the growth in the use of French at work.

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