Over 60 Aboriginal languages reported in 2011

• The 2011 Census recorded over 60 Aboriginal languages grouped into 12 distinct language families reflecting the diversity of Aboriginal languages in Canada. According to the 2011 Census, almost 213,500 people reported an Aboriginal mother tongue.^{Note 14, Note 15}
• The Aboriginal language family most commonly reported as a mother tongue was Algonquian—which include the Cree languages^Note 16, Ojibway, Innu/Montagnais and Oji-Cree, among others—and was reported by 144,015 people in 2011.
• The Inuit and the Athapaskan languages were the second (35,500) and third (20,700) Aboriginal language families with the largest populations in 2011. Inuktitut was by far the most frequently reported mother tongue within the Inuit language family. People with Inuktitut as their mother tongue lived mainly in Nunavut or Quebec. Among the Athapaskan family, Dene was most frequently reported as mother tongue.
• The other nine Aboriginal language families accounted for about 6% of the population who reported an Aboriginal mother tongue. Five of these families (Salish, Tsimshian, Wakashan, Kutenai and Haida) were primarily found in British Columbia. This province is home to over 30 different Aboriginal mother tongues, most reported by less than 1,000 people each.

Table 6
Population with an Aboriginal mother tongue by language family and the main languages within these families, Canada, 2011^Note 1
Table summary
This table displays the results of Population with an Aboriginal mother tongue by language family and the main languages within these families. The information is grouped by Aboriginal language families (appearing as row headers), Main languages and Population (appearing as column headers).

Aboriginal language families	Main languages	Population
Algonquian languages	Cree languagesNote 2, OjibwayNote 2, Innu/MontagnaisNote 2, Oji-creeNote 2, Mi'kmaqNote 2, AtikamekwNote 2, BlackfootNote 2	144,015
Inuit languages	InuktitutNote 2	35,500
Athapaskan languages	DeneNote 2, Tlicho (Dogrib), Slavey n.o.s, Carrier	20,700
Siouan languages	StoneyNote 2, Dakota	4,425
Salish languages	Shuswap (Secwepemctsin), Halkomelem	2,950
Tsimshian languages	Gitksan, Nisga'a	1,815
Wakashan languages	Kwakiutl (Kwak'wala), Nootka (Nuu-chah-nulth)	1,075
Iroquoian languages	Mohawk	1,040
Michif	...	640
Tlingit	...	130
Kutenai	...	100
Haida	...	75
Aboriginal languages, n.i.e.	...	1,010
Total Aboriginal mother-tongue population (single and multiple responses)	...	213,490
... not applicable n.o.s. means 'not otherwise specified.' n.i.e. means 'not included elsewhere.' Note 1. In 2011, there were a total of 31 Indian reserves and Indian settlements that were 'incompletely enumerated.' For these reserves or settlements, enumeration was either not permitted or was interrupted before it could be completed, or enumeration was not possible because of natural events (specifically forest fires in Northern Ontario). Data for these 31 Indian reserves and Indian settlements are not included in the 2011 Census tabulations. As a result, counts for certain Aboriginal languages may be underestimated. Return to note 1 referrer Note 2. One of the ten most reported Aboriginal mother tongues in Canada. Return to note 2 referrer Source(s): Statistics Canada, Census of Population, 2011.

Notes