Ethnicity, Language and Immigration Thematic Series
Survey on the Official Language Minority Population: User guide, 2022

1.0 Survey description

The Survey on the Official Language Minority Population (SOLMP) was conducted by Statistics Canada in 2022 with the cooperation and support of Canadian Heritage. It is a postcensal survey of the English-speaking population in Quebec and the French-speaking population elsewhere in Canada. Questions were designed to assess changes in the official language minority populations since 2006, when a similar survey (Survey on the Vitality of Official-Language Minorities [SVOLM]) was conducted by Statistics Canada, and to provide new information on emerging issues regarding these minority populations.

The survey includes two broad samples: one for adults belonging to the official language minority population, and another composed of children who either have a parent belonging to an official language minority population or are themselves eligible for instruction in the minority official language.

Results of the survey were produced to support federal, provincial, territorial and municipal governments and community organizations in providing services, programs and initiatives for official language minorities. The data also serve researchers and other stakeholders interested in various aspects of French in Canada outside Quebec and English in Quebec.

Any questions about the dataset or its use should be directed to:

Statistics Canada
Centre for Demography, Language Statistics
Client Services
Email: statcan.languagestats-statlinguistique.statcan@statcan.gc.ca

2.0 Concepts and definitions

2.1 Survey on the Official Language Minority Population concepts and definitions

In this survey, the official language minority population refers to the English-speaking population in Quebec and the French-speaking population in Canada outside Quebec.

In this context, specific criteria were required to select the sample. These criteria, presented in detail in section 3.1 (Target and survey population), were determined in consultation with the external expert advisory committee put in place for the survey. They were selected to meet the following parameters: to allow for comparisons with the 2006 survey; to be sufficiently broad for users to specify subpopulations based on specific language criteria; and, for children, to account for new information on language of instruction. The criteria were not intended to create an official definition of the official language minority population.

The language concepts (mother tongue, language spoken most often at home, knowledge of official languages, eligibility for instruction in the minority official language) on which the criteria rely are all census concepts. Please refer to the census reference guides for definitions and quality notes related to these concepts:

• Languages Reference Guide, Census of Population, 2021
• Instruction in the Minority Official Language Reference Guide, Census of Population, 2021.

The SOLMP was designed to collect in-depth information on various aspects of official language minority populations to supplement information from existing data sources, including the census. In addition to sociodemographic information and household relationships, the survey covers the following main topics:

• language skills;
  • respondent’s ability to understand, speak and write in English or French, as well as perceived language insecurities;
• education;
  • diplomas obtained and school attendance, including language of instruction, reasons for choosing a given language of instruction, and parents’ intentions for the language of instruction of their children;
• early childhood services;
  • including language of daycare and reasons for choosing a given language for daycare;
• linguistic trajectory from childhood to adulthood and linguistic dynamics in a child’s family;
  • languages spoken in early childhood and at age 15, and detailed information on languages spoken at home and languages spoken with friends;
• sense of belonging and perceived vitality;
  • sense of belonging to a language group, importance of English or French and their promotion for respondents, and perceived local presence of English or French when respondent was aged 15, currently (at the time of the survey) and over the past 10 years;
• civic participation;
  • participation in organizations, associations and networks within the community;
• use of language in the public sphere;
  • languages spoken outside the home and work, with people other than family or friends, in places such as grocery stores, restaurants and hospitals;
• government services;
  • language of communication with different levels of government (municipal, provincial or territorial, federal);
• contacts with the justice system;
  • language of interactions with the justice system;
• health services;
  • language of service in the health field;
• immigrant services;
  • language of services obtained when immigrating;
• art, culture and media;
  • language when using media and the Internet, participating in organized sports, attending arts events, etc.;
• geographic mobility;
  • place of birth, place of residence at 15 years of age and at the time of the survey, reasons and motives for geographic mobility;
• labour market participation;
  • detailed information on languages used at work, perceived obstacles at work related to languages, and job search services.

Questions related to the COVID-19 pandemic were added to the questionnaire, mostly to assess the extent to which the pandemic affected the survey results and might have contributed to changes since the 2006 SVOLM, particularly in the areas of English and French services and participation in activities.

SOLMP questions sometimes refer to the concepts of “community” and “municipality.” These concepts are defined in the questionnaire as follows:

• “The term ‘community’ includes places that you visit regularly within a walking distance or short driving distance, such as the grocery store, schools, pharmacies or gyms.”
• “The term ‘municipality’ refers to the city, the municipality or locality of residence as defined by provincial or territorial legislations.”

The Data Dictionary along with the complete version of the User Guide will be accessible to microdata users, once the microdata files become available.

For detailed concepts associated with the SOLMP questions, please refer to the following documents:

• Surveys and statistical programs - Survey on the Official Language Minority Population (SOLMP)
• Questionnaire(s) and Reporting guide(s) – Survey on the Official Language Minority Population

2.2 Content development

The content of the 2022 SOLMP was based on the previous iteration of this postcensal survey, the SVOLM, conducted in 2006. Historical comparability was identified as a priority. While a large majority of the content was repeated, updates to the questionnaire were made based on consultations with Canadian Heritage and key data users, federal and community partners and external advisory committees.

These updates respond to new data needs and provide a better understanding of official language minority communities in Canada. Examples include a module on immigrants’ experience with services to facilitate integration and new questions covering topics such as discrimination and linguistic insecurity. Additionally, a new module on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic was created to assess the effect of the pandemic on activities and access to services in the minority official language.

The 2006 Census questionnaire was also reviewed with the aim of minimizing response burden. Approximately 80% of the questions and concepts from the 2006 questionnaire are included in the 2022 survey. For questions that were removed, some content can be derived, either partially or fully, through linkages with the census, thus reducing response burden.

Here are some examples of questions that were removed:

• education of parents in either official language, type of French program registered in, registration in an immersion program and number of years within a program;
• whether the child lives with both parents and, if not, the reasons and duration, and the frequency of stays in each house;
• grade of the child, registration date, mode of transportation to and from school, length of travel time, number of years in an immersion program, and reasons for changing programs;
• personal and household income.

Two rounds of qualitative testing was conducted in August 2020 and March 2021 with respondents who met the survey participation criteria. The objective was to ensure that all questions, particularly the new and modified questions identified as addressing new data needs, were easy to understand and could provide quality data. These tests were organized by experts in questionnaire design. The qualitative tests were held over a period of two weeks each, with approximately 30 interviews held in both English and French. Each interview lasted about one hour. Overall, the survey was well received by the respondents; questions were well understood, and, aside from some suggestions throughout, the feedback was positive.

While most of the modules underwent minor edits, a few required more significant changes following this testing. One major change was in the linguistic trajectory module, which was initially the last module of the questionnaire. Respondents felt the module was redundant when it was placed at the end, so it was moved to appear earlier in the questionnaire. The module itself was also modified. The geographic mobility module was perceived as convoluted and difficult to answer; therefore, major changes were made to simplify and shorten it. Finally, the education section was modified to facilitate understanding.

3.0 Survey methodology

3.1 Target and survey population

Since 1969, the Official Languages Act has recognized English and French as the country’s two official languages. For people living in Quebec, English is the minority official language, while French is the minority official language for those living in any other province or territory.^Note 

In the context of the SOLMP, a person is considered part of the official language minority population if they meet one of the following criteria:

1) their mother tongue includes the minority official language;
2) their mother tongue does not include English or French, and the only official language they know is the minority official language;
3) their mother tongue does not include English or French, they know both official languages, and they do not speak the majority official language most often at home.

Two main segments of the population are covered by the SOLMP: adults and children.

A person is included in the adult component of the SOLMP if they:

1) were 18 years of age or older on May 16, 2022 (the first day of SOLMP data collection);
2) reside in one of the 10 provinces or three territorial capitals, and do not live in a collective dwelling, on a First Nations reserve or in an Inuit community in northern Quebec;
3) are Canadian (non-permanent residents are excluded);
4) are part of the official language minority.

The child component of the SOLMP consists of two parts:

Children living with a parent who is part of the official language minority

In this part, children must meet the following criteria:

1) be younger than 18 years of age on May 16, 2022;
2) reside in one of the 10 provinces or three territorial capitals, and not live in a collective dwelling, on a First Nations reserve or in an Inuit community in northern Quebec;
3) not be a parent;
4) have at least one parent who meets the adult component requirements, except the parent must be 15 years of age or older.

It is worth noting that a child is considered to be part of the target population for the SOLMP based entirely on their parents’ linguistic profile and not their own. Therefore, some surveyed children may not speak or understand the minority official language of the province or territory in which they live.

Children eligible for instruction in the minority official language

In this part, children must meet the following criteria:

1) be younger than 18 years of age on May 16, 2022;
2) reside in one of the 10 provinces or three territorial capitals, and not live in a collective dwelling, on a First Nations reserve or in an Inuit community in northern Quebec;
3) not be a parent.

Additionally, they must also meet one of the following criteria:

4a) they live outside Quebec within the same census family as a person aged 15 years or older who has French as their mother tongue;
4b) they live within the same census family as a person aged 15 years or older who is receiving or has received primary school instruction in the minority official language of their province or territory;
5) is receiving or has received instruction at the primary or secondary level in the minority official language of their province or territory;
6) live with a sibling within the same census family who is receiving or has received instruction at the primary or secondary level in the minority official language of their province or territory.

The concept of parenthood used here is broad. Beyond those who declared themselves a parent on the census, the SOLMP allows Canadians aged 15 years or older who live in the same census family to qualify as a parent. Thus, children eligible for instruction in the minority official language were purposely defined more broadly than they were for the 2021 Census. The main reason for this is because the specifications for the 2021 Census definition were not finalized at the time the SOLMP sample was drawn. A broader definition allowed for various scenarios to be covered by the SOLMP data, including the definition subsequently adopted by the census,^Note  as well as other definitions of interest to users. The difference in population sizes between the broadest and the strictest definitions is estimated to be 1.7%.

In contrast, some children who are eligible for instruction in the minority official language by virtue of section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and its jurisprudence could not be classified as such in the census and therefore could not be included in the SOLMP sample. While, by law, a child’s eligibility for instruction in the minority official language depends on the characteristics of their parents and siblings, the census data establish family relationships only for people living in the same household. To know more about this limitation, consult Study on the Underclassification of Children Eligible for Instruction in the Minority Official Language in the 2021 Census.

Additionally, because of operational constraints in the territories, only the individuals residing in their capitals were eligible to be surveyed. According to the census, about 77% of French speakers in the territories reside in the capitals. Also, as per the requirements listed above, the SOLMP excludes non-Canadians and people living in a collective dwelling, on a First Nations reserve or in an Inuit community in northern Quebec.

3.2 Sample design

The SOLMP’s sampling frame is derived from the data collected in the 2021 Census of Population, which was conducted on May 11, 2021, making the SOLMP a postcensal survey.

The 2021 Census uses two questionnaires^Note  to collect data from people in a dwelling: the short-form questionnaire (Form 2A) and the long-form questionnaire (Form 2A-L or Form 2A-R depending on the geographic location of the dwelling). Form 2A-L is sent to approximately one in four private dwellings in most regions of Canada. In addition to the basic census demographic questions contained within the short-form (name, sex at birth and gender, date of birth and age, legal marital status, common-law status, relationship to Person 1, knowledge of official languages, languages spoken at home, first language learned, language of instruction, and Canadian military experience), Form 2A-L also includes questions on labour market activity, income, education, citizenship, housing, ethnic or cultural origins, religion, Indigenous identity, etc. Form 2A-R is similar to Form 2A-L and targets all dwellings in First Nations reserves, Métis Settlements, Inuit regions and other remote areas.^Note 

Canadian citizens temporarily living abroad, full-time members of the Canadian Armed Forces stationed abroad, and visitors or representatives of foreign governments are excluded from the target population of the census long-form questionnaire. Also excluded are those living in collective dwellings (institutional or non-institutional). Collective dwellings include hospitals, residences for seniors, residential care facilities such as group homes for people with a disability or an addiction, shelters, correctional and custodial facilities, lodging and rooming houses, religious establishments, Hutterite colonies, establishments offering temporary accommodation services,^Note  and other establishments.^Note  For more information on collective dwellings, see the Dictionary, Census of Population, 2021.

While the census language questions—those of primary interest to the SOLMP—appear on the short-form and long-form questionnaires, the SOLMP’s sample was selected from the people who answered the long-form questionnaire to enrich the SOLMP’s answers with those obtained from the long-form. Exceptionally, wherever the number of respondents of the long-form questionnaire was insufficient to support the SOLMP’s targeted analytical requirements, sampling was done from the larger pool of respondents of the short-form questionnaire.

The SOLMP’s sampling frame was stratified by language region and age group. The frame underwent additional stratification, taking into account different factors for adults and children:

• For adults: The stratification was based on their language group.
• For children: The stratification was based on the language profile of their parents and whether they are eligible for instruction in the minority language.

As in 2006, the provinces of Quebec, Ontario and New Brunswick were split into six, five and three language regions, respectively, as detailed in the following table. For all other provinces, the language region corresponds to the province. For the three territories, the capital is each territory’s sole language region.

These are Whitehorse (CA) in Yukon, Yellowknife (CA) in the Northwest Territories and Iqaluit (CSD) in Nunavut.

The age groups for the provinces were 1 to 4 years, 5 to 11 years, 12 to 17 years, 18 to 24 years, 25 to 44 years, 45 to 64 years and 65 years or older, and the age groups for the capitals of the territories were 17 years or younger and 18 years or older.

A language group consists of people who are part of the official language minority, as defined above. However, in the Montréal area in Quebec, the basic language group was refined by adding the following two strata:

Individuals whose:

• Mother tongue is English and another non-official language, and whose known official language is only English; or,
• Mother tongue is English and another non-official language, and who know both official languages; or,
• Mother tongue includes English, French and another non-official language, and both official languages are known, and the language spoken most often at home is not French; or,
• Mother tongue does not include English or French, and the known official language is only English; or,
• Mother tongue does not include English or French, and both official languages are known, and the language spoken most often at home is English, but not French.

Individuals whose:

• Mother tongue does not include English or French, and both official languages are known, and the language spoken most often at home is a language other than the two official languages; or,
• Mother tongue includes English and French as well as another non-official language, and both official languages are known, and the languages spoken most often at home are the two official languages; or,
• Mother tongue includes English and French as well as another non-official language, and both official languages are known, and the language spoken most often at home is a language other than the two official languages.

It should be noted that in 2006, for specific analytical needs, a distinct sample of persons with a mother tongue other than French or English and having French as their first official language spoken was added in the Montreal region. In 2022, there was no such addition.

A simple random sample of people without replacement was selected in each stratum and independently across strata. For certain strata, notably those in Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island, the targeted sample size exceeded the number of people available from the long-form questionnaire. In these cases, the sampling strategy was adjusted to include people from the short-form questionnaire. As a result, data from the long-form questionnaire will be available on the analytical file for only about one-quarter of the selected people in those strata.

Within a region, community experiences likely vary based on the concentration of the official language minority population, as measured by the proportion of people of the language minority living in each census dissemination area (DA). The sample design ensured that within a stratum, the sample represented well the full diversity of concentration levels by preventing an abundance of DAs with similar concentration levels.

3.3 Sample size

The sample size for a stratum was determined by targeting a level of accuracy comparable to that of the previous edition of this survey—the 2006 SVOLM—to estimate a proportion of about 8% with a coefficient of variation of 25% or, equivalently, with a margin of error of about 4 percentage points or with a confidence interval whose length is about 8 percentage points.

The following table provides sample sizes by language region and for the adult and children components of the SOLMP.



4.0 Data collection

4.1 Collection period

In the 10 provinces, data collection took place from May 16 to December 16, 2022. In the three territorial capitals, the collection period was from August 22 to December 16, 2022.

As a postcensal survey, collection took place following the 2021 Census of Population, conducted on May 11, 2021. The Census allowed for the identification of the Official Language Minority population, who became the target population for SOLMP.

4.2 Collection instrument and modes of collection

As mentioned earlier, the survey questionnaire content was developed through consultations with, among others, members of an external advisory committee, as well as federal and community partners. The electronic questionnaire (EQ) was then developed with iterative rounds of testing. Two rounds of cognitive interviews were conducted in both official languages.

Once the SOLMP questionnaire was finalized, five methods were used to collect data:

• Respondent Electronic Questionnaire (rEQ). Respondents received a secure access code to log in and complete the survey online.
• Interviewer Electronic Questionnaire (iEQ), also known as Computer-Assisted Telephone Interview (CATI).
• As various restrictions were still in place related to the COVID-19 pandemic, Statistics Canada implemented CAPI Lite Plus collection (CLP). Interviewers visited selected individuals in person to schedule an appointment with them to later complete the questionnaire via CATI.
• ‘Knock, Talk and Call’ (KTC), which is similar to CAPI Lite Plus, but a CATI interview is scheduled to take place immediately at the time of the visit.
• Finally, a pilot collection method was conducted for approximately one month in Iqaluit, where selected individuals were invited to complete their questionnaire via rEQ or CATI at a municipal building, where computers and in-person assistance were available.

Respondents could choose to complete the questionnaire in English or French. On average, the survey took about 45 minutes to complete.

4.2.1 Security of online survey questionnaires

The electronic data collection system for the 2022 SOLMP involved a secure web server for the Internet-based EQ questionnaire, which captured both the rEQ and iEQ survey data.

Statistics Canada takes very seriously the protection of confidential information provided by respondents, including online. A secure login process and robust encryption are key elements to prevent anyone from viewing or tampering with a respondent’s survey information when it is completed and submitted online.

To protect the security of respondents’ personal information when using the Internet, Statistics Canada incorporated the following safeguards:

• Strong bi-directional encryption technologies were used to ensure end-to-end security of data passing between the respondent’s computer device and Statistics Canada’s web server.
• Survey data were processed and stored on a restricted internal network which could only be accessed by those who had taken the oath of secrecy. Access is only possible on a “need-to-know” basis.
• Data submitted to Statistics Canada’s web servers were encrypted before being stored and remained encrypted until they were transferred to the high security internal network.

Powerful firewalls, intrusion detection and stringent access control procedures were used to limit access to systems and databases.

4.3 Collection strategy

Those selected to participate in the SOLMP received an invitation letter in the mail describing the survey, informing them that they had been selected to participate and providing a secure access code for logging into the survey and completing it online. Each letter included a link to the SOLMP web page, as well a toll-free number to call if they wished to complete the survey by CATI or if they had questions (a teletypewriter (TTY) number was also provided for the hearing impaired). The letter also included a brochure, in English and French, which described the survey, the importance of participation and topics covered. In addition, a brochure in Inuktitut was included for residents of Iqaluit.

Reminders were sent by mail and text. Over the seven-month collection period, up to four reminder letters and six reminder e-mails were sent to respondents who had not yet submitted their questionnaire. Approximately 80% of respondents completed their survey using rEQ, with the remainder completing the survey using iEQ. Interviewers were instructed to make all reasonable attempts to obtain a completed interview with the selected respondent. Those who refused to participate were sent a letter to explain the importance of the survey and to encourage their participation and were re-contacted by telephone. Where possible, respondents in Iqaluit were visited in-person by an employee of Statistics Canada, who made contact, explained the survey and set up an interview appointment if necessary. Across Canada, respondents were interviewed in the official language of their choice, English or French.

4.4 Supervision and quality control

All Statistics Canada interviewers were under the supervision of senior interviewers who were responsible for ensuring that interviewers were familiar with the concepts and procedures of the survey to which they were assigned. Senior interviewers were also responsible for periodically monitoring the interviewers’ work.

Interviewers were trained on the survey content, the CATI application, and on how to proceed with the new methods CLP and KTC. In addition to online or classroom training, the interviewers completed a series of mock interviews to become familiar with the survey and its concepts and definitions.

4.5. Proxy interviews

Proxy respondents (when someone fills out the questionnaire on behalf of a selected person) were not permitted for the SOLMP. However, for the child sample, parents were the targeted respondents, completing the questionnaire on behalf of their selected child.

4.6. Communications strategy

In the months leading up to data collection for the SOLMP, preparations were made to ensure that respondents had all the information they would need about the survey. A SOLMP survey webpage appeared on the Statistics Canada website. This webpage included background information on the survey and its methodology, and a link to the questionnaire. In addition, a special webpage of Information for Survey Participants, (ISP), was developed with step-by-step information on how to participate, and survey-specific “Questions and Answers”.

A promotional campaign was developed. Community partners were also invited to encourage participation.

Promotional products that included handouts such as brochures and fact sheets were made available in English and French, and in Inuktitut for Iqaluit.

4.7 Special issues

4.7.1 Natural disasters

The SOLMP team closely monitored collection to be able to react proactively to specific situations, as needed. For example, following Hurricane Fiona which put several communities in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island into local states of emergencies in September 2022, collection was paused in affected areas to reduce the burden on communities trying to recover. This involved turning off and on telephone priorities for CATI follow-up as communities were recovering.

4.7.2 COVID-19

The SOLMP was collected two years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, over approximately seven months. While impacts of the pandemic on data collection cannot be drawn precisely, this situation must be taken into consideration. Questions were added to the questionnaire to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on certain questionnaire responses.

4.8. Response rates

The response rate was calculated by dividing the number of complete responses by the number of persons selected to participate minus the out-of-scope cases. Out-of-scope cases include people who, from when the 2021 Census was conducted to the time of the survey data collection, either died, emigrated, were institutionalized, or moved to a First Nations reserve. Also excluded were full-time members of the Canadian Forces living on a military base, visitors to Canada (misclassified during the census) or those who reported being less than 15 years of age at the time of completing the survey.

The response rate was 53.4% with 29,958 persons having participated. The table below provides the response rates (RR) and the respondent counts (#rep) by province, territorial capital or region, for the adult sample, the child sample, and for the whole survey.