Conclusion

View the most recent version.

Archived Content

Information identified as archived is provided for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It is not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards and has not been altered or updated since it was archived. Please "contact us" to request a format other than those available.

Archived

This page has been archived on the Web.

[an error occurred while processing this directive]89-642-x[an error occurred while processing this directive] [an error occurred while processing this directive]

This demolinguistic portrait of Saskatchewan Francophones contains considerable and varied information on the characteristics, practices and perceptions of this language group. What stands out from all this information? While the following items are not a complete list of the key points contained in this report, they provide a general picture.

1. The French-mother-tongue and "other"-mother-tongue populations declined by more than half between 1951 and 2006, going from 36,815 to 16,790 and from 279,040 to 121,675 persons, respectively. As for the English-mother-tongue population, it increased by nearly 60%, reaching 815,380 in 2006 compared to 515,875 in 1951.
   
   
2. In Saskatchewan, use of the first official language spoken (FOLS) criterion slightly affects the size of the Francophone population, despite a strong allophone presence. The relative share of the French FOLS population within the overall population of Saskatchewan is 1.6% (14,850 persons) while that of the French-mother-tongue population is 1.8% (16,790 persons) (after equal allocation of multiple responses).
   
   
3. The proportion of persons whose first official language spoken is French within the Saskatchewan population is 1.6%. Nearly 60% of the French-speaking population in Saskatchewan resides in three census divisions (CDs): No. 6 (19% or 2,853 persons), No. 11 (22% or 3,325) and No. 15 (18% or 2,653). Census division No. 6 includes the Regina census metropolitan area (CMA), while CDNo. 11 includes 20 of the 24 census subdivisions within the large Saskatoon CMA. Census division No. 15 includes the census subdivisions of Prince Albert and St. Louis. On their own, the census subdivisions of Regina and Saskatoon account for respectively 17% and 19% of Saskatchewan Francophones.
   
   
4. From 1971 to 2006, the proportion of children from a French-English exogamous family among all families with at least one French-mother-tongue parent increased in Saskatchewan, going from 40% to 81%. Conversely, the share of children living in an endogamous family with both parents having French as their mother tongue declined substantially, from 40% in 1971 to 14% in 2006. By the same token, the proportion of children with one French-speaking parent and one allophone parent also decreased, going from 20% in 1971 to 5% in 2006.
   
   
5. Because of the increase in the proportion of French-English exogamous couples from 1971 to 2006, one might expect to see a decrease in the rate of transmission of the minority language (in this case, French) to children. But whereas French had been passed on to 4% of the children under 18 years of age of French-English exogamous couples in 1971, the proportion was 8% in 2006. There was also an increase in the transmission of French to the children of French-"other"-language exogamous couples, from 12% to 27% during the same period.
   
   
6. From 1971 to 2006, all cohorts under age 65 saw their numbers decline, owing to negative net interprovincial migration, the decreased fertility of Francophone women, and Francophone parents not passing on French to their children. Conversely, there was a slight increase in the number of persons aged 65 and over because of the aging of the population and longer life expectancy.
   
   
7. From census to census, there has been a rise in language transfer rates among French-mother-tongue persons in Saskatchewan. Thus, in 1971, 52% of Saskatchewan Francophones with French as a mother tongue reported using another language, usually English, most often at home. Thirty-five years later, 75% of French-mother-tongue persons reported speaking a language other than French most often at home. The proportion of language transfers among English-mother-tongue persons, which was almost nil, remained stable at 0.7% in 1971 and 0.2% in 2006. Among "other" mother-tongue persons, language transfers declined slightly over the past 35 years, going from 65% in 1971 to 59% in 2006.
   
   
8. Overall in Saskatchewan, the proportion of Francophones who report speaking English most often at home (complete and partial language transfers) is larger than the proportion who report being more at ease in English than in French. Thus, 75% of Franco-Saskatchewanians report speaking English most often at home, while 67% report being more at ease in English than in French.
   
   
9. In Saskatchewan, the population whose first official language spoken is French uses mainly English in both private and public spheres. The use of English as the predominant language (mainly or only) in the home was reported by 71%; 18% speak mainly or only French there. The extent to which English is used predominantly (mainly or only) within immediate networks, at work and with friends is roughly the same, ranging from 79% to 81% depending on the domain. The use of English is most widespread in oral interactions that take place in institutions and stores, where 96% of the French FOLS population use it predominantly (mainly or only), including 74% who use it exclusively.
   
   
10. The proportion of persons who reported being able to conduct a conversation in French (5.0%) within the overall population of Saskatchewan in 2006 is larger than the proportion who reported French alone or with another language as their mother tongue (1.8%) or the proportion for whom French is the first official language spoken (1.6%).
    
    
11. The relative share of Saskatchewanians who are able to conduct a conversation in French is highly polarized by language group. Whereas 85% of persons with French as a mother tongue reported knowing both official languages, the corresponding proportion was only 4% for persons with English as a mother tongue and 2% for persons with another mother tongue. Among the latter group, 2.6% reported that they could not conduct a conversation in either French or English.
    
    
12. In 2006, more than 73% of French-speaking persons in Saskatchewan had been born there. The proportion is substantially the same for persons for whom French is the first official language spoken. Regardless of the criterion used, 23% of Saskatchewan Francophones were born in another province or territory of Canada. Nevertheless, while 10% of French-mother-tongue persons living in Saskatchewan in 2006 were born in Quebec, the proportion for French FOLS persons was 4%. As for foreign-born persons, most of whom were immigrants, they comprised nearly 4% of the French-mother-tongue population and 5% of the population with French as its first official language spoken.
    
    
13. The immigrant population with French as its first official language spoken accounts for a very small proportion of the province's immigrant population. In 2006, its relative share was 1.4%. Whereas in 1971, immigrants accounted for 7.3% of the Francophone population, they accounted for nearly 4.6% in 2006, which was nearly equivalent to their share of the Anglophone population (4.9%).
    
    
14. Between 1981 and 2006, Saskatchewan received between 1,000 and 2,000 Francophones per five-year period from other Canadian provinces and territories. However, in each of these periods, nearly 2,000 Francophones left the province to settle elsewhere in Canada. Consequently, since 1981, net interprovincial migration of Francophones has been negative, and for the period from 2001 to 2006 it stood at -630. As for the province's Anglophones, starting in 1981, the number of them leaving Saskatchewan exceeded the number coming to settle there. However, since the migratory flows of Anglophones are much larger than those of Francophones, Saskatchewan has had negative net migration that fluctuated considerably over more than the past two decades.
    
    
15. In the 2006 Census, 12% of doctors working in Saskatchewan, or 130 out of a total of 1,085, reported that they were able to conduct a conversation in French, while 0.9% reported using French at least regularly in their work. For nurses, who numbered 14,850, the proportions were 4.6% and 0.7%, respectively.
    
    
16. Results from the Survey on the Vitality of Official-Language Minorities (SVOLM) show that the vast majority of Francophones (95%) in Saskatchewan report using English when consulting different health care professionals about whom information was collected in that survey, namely family doctors, nurses, telephone health line or telehealth service professionals and professionals in other places where health care services are provided.
    
    
17. According to the 2006 Census, 6% of Saskatchewan police officers reported using French at least regularly at work, a much lower proportion than those who could conduct a conversation in French, namely 14%. The same applies to lawyers: their rate of use of French at least regularly at work (6%) is also much lower than the proportion of lawyers who were able to conduct a conversation in French, namely 13%.
    
    
18. In Saskatchewan, 3,820 children of Francophone parents were enrolled in elementary or secondary school at the time of the survey in 2006. Of those children, approximately 48% were receiving an education in French, including 32% in a French school and 16% in a French immersion program in an English school. As for the rest of the children who were enrolled in elementary or secondary school, 51% were attending an English-language school (regular program).
    
    
19. In 2006, the differences in educational attainment between the two language groups were very small, excepting that Anglophones (27%) were proportionally more likely to have a high school diploma than Francophones (21%) and Francophones (17%) were proportionally more likely to have a university degree at or above the bachelor's level than Anglophones (13%). Thus, while 30% of both Francophones and Anglophones had no certificate or diploma, more than 11% had an apprenticeship certificate or diploma and more than 13% had a college diploma.
    
    
20. The mean and median incomes of persons with French as their first official language spoken are slightly higher than those of Anglophones. Men with French as their only first official language spoken (FOLS) have a mean income $9,000 higher than men with English as their only FOLS. In turn, the median income of Francophone men is nearly $3,000 higher than that of Anglophone men. For women, the mean and median incomes of Francophones are respectively $2,000 and $2,300 higher than those of Anglophones.
    
    
21. As to the mean and median incomes of persons with both French and English as first official languages spoken, they are mostly lower than those of Francophones and Anglophones. For example, the median incomes of Francophones are higher than those of French and English FOLS persons, with a gap of $6,000 for men and $9,000 for women. However, the mean income of French and English FOLS men is more than $3,500 higher than that of Anglophone men.
    
    
22. A strong proportion of Francophones in Saskatchewan have a double ethnolinguistic identity: 51% of them report that they identify with both the Francophone and Anglophone groups, compared to 15% who report identifying mainly or only with the Francophone group. Moreover, the majority of them report that it is important or very important (56%) for them to be able to use French in their daily life. Also, they consider it important or very important for individuals or organizations to work at developing the French-speaking community (60%), for government services to be provided in French (71%) and for linguistic rights to be respected in their province (79%).