User:Mathieugp/drafts/Language demographics of Canada

This article presents the current demolinguistics of Canada.

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Overview

• Population of Canada: 32.2 million (2005)
• Official languages: English and French (de jure)
• Majority group: Anglophone (56.3%)
• Minority groups: Francophone (28.7%), Chinese, Italian, German, Aboriginal languages

Note: The language by mother tongue is always used unless otherwise specified.

Of the 32.2 million citizens of Canada, 17.5 million are native English speakers, 7.7 million are native French-speakers and 5.2 million are native speakers of neither of Canada's two official languages.

Statistics Canada, 2001

1. English 17,352,315
2. French 7,703,325
3. Chinese 853,745
4. Italian 469,485
5. German 438,080
6. Punjabi 271,220
7. Spanish 245,500
8. Portuguese 213,815
9. Polish 208,375
10. Arabic 199,940
11. Tagalog 174,060
12. Ukrainian 148,090
13. Dutch 128,670
14. Vietnamese 122,055
15. Greek 120,365
16. Russian 94,555
17. Persian 94,095
18. Tamil 90,010
19. Korean 85,070
20. Urdu 80,895
21. Hungarian 75,555
22. Cree 72,800
23. Gujarati 57,555
24. Hindi 56,325
25. Croatian 54,880
26. Romanian 50,895
27. Serbian 41,180
28. Japanese 34,815
29. Bengali 29,505
30. Inuktitut 29,005
31. Armenian 27,350
32. Serbo-Croatian 26,690
33. Somali 26,110
34. Czech 24,790
35. Finnish 22,405
36. Ojibway 21,000
37. Yiddish 19,295
38. Turkish 18,675
39. Danish 18,230
40. Slovak 17,545
41. Macedonian 16,905
42. Khmer 15,985
43. Lao 12,945
44. Slovenian 12,800
45. Hebrew 12,435
46. Twi 11,070

Language groups

Anglophones

Aboriginals

The 900,000 Aboriginals in Canada (3%) speak 50 different languages. The most important languages still used are Cree, Inuktitut, Ojibway, Innu, and Micmac. A 1996 census revealed that about 67.8% of Aboriginals reported to be native English speakers. Nearly half (47%) of Aboriginal peoples in Quebec reported an Aboriginal language as mother tongue, the highest proportion of any province.

Francophones

The francophones of Canada numbered some 6.7 million individuals in 2001. 85% of francophones reside in Quebec. There are also French Canadian communities in North and Eastern Ontario and Southern Manitoba, as well as influential communities of Acadians in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. In addition to Canadian-born francophones, numerous French-speaking people from Haiti, Congo, Lebanon, Morocco, Rwanda, Syria, Algeria, France and Belgium have immigrated to Quebec and Francophone Ontario since the 1960s.

Allophones

Languages other than the official languages are important in Canada, with 5,470,820 people listing a non-official language as a first language. Among the most important non-official first language groups are Chinese (853,745 first-language speakers), especially Cantonese (322,315); Italian (469,485); German (438,080); and Punjabi (271,220).

Phenomenons

Linguistic transfers

Main article: Linguistic transfers in Canada

Interprovincial migrations

International migrations

Individual Multilingualism

Provinces and territories

The population of Canada being unequally distributed throughout a vast territory, a look at the population of each of its ten provinces and three territories is helpful. The following table details the population of each province and territory by mother tongue.

Province/Territory	Total population	English	French	Other languages
Ontario	11,285,550	8,079,500 (71.6%)	493,630 (4.4%)	2,672,080 (23.7%)
Québec	7,506,581	450 394 (6.0%)	6,523,219 (86.9%)	532,967 (7.1%)
British Columbia	3,868,875	2,865,300 (74.1%)	56,100 (1.5%)	939,945 (24.3%)
Alberta	2,941,150	2,405,935 (81.8%)	59,735 (2.0%)	469,225 (16.0%)
Manitoba	1,103,700	863,980 (75.8%)	44,775 (4.1%)	219,160 (19.9%)
Saskatchewan	963,150	825,865 (85.7%)	18,035 (1.9%)	117,765 (12.2%)
Nova Scotia	897,570	834,315 (93.0%)	34,155 (3.8%)	26,510 (3.0%)
New Brunswick	719,710	465,720 (64.7%)	236,775 (32.9%)	11,935 (1.7%)
Newfoundland	508,075	500,065 (98.4%)	2,180 (0.4%)	5,495 (1.1%)
Prince Edward Island	133,385	125,215 (93.9%)	5,670 (4.3%)	2,065 (1.5%)
Northwest Territories	37,105	28,985 (78.1%)	965 (2.6%)	7,065 (19.0%)
Yukon	28,525	24,840 (87.1%)	890 (3.1%)	2,700 (9.5%)
Nunavut	26,665	7,370 (27.6%)	400 (1.5%)	18,875 (70.8%)

Source: Statistics Canada, 2001 population census. (Figures combine single and multiple responses).

Legislation

Federal

The principles of Bilingualism in Canada are protected in sections 16 to 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms which establishes that:

• French and English are equal to each other as official languages;
• Debate in Parliament may take place in either official language;
• Laws shall be printed in both official languages, with equal authority;
• Anyone may deal with any court established by Parliament, in either official language;
• Everyone has the right to receive services from the federal government in his or her choice of official language;
• Members of a minority language group of one of the official languages if learned and still understood (i.e., French speakers in a majority English-speaking province, or vice versa) or received primary school education in that language has the right to have their children receive a public education in their language, where numbers warrant.

Provincial

Quebec

Ontario

New Brunswick

Nova Scotia

British Columbia

Alberta

Saskatchewan

Manitoba

Newfoundland

Prince Edward Island

Northwest Territories

Yukon

Nunavut

See also

• Demographics of Canada
• Constitution of Canada
• Bilingualism in Canada

Notes

References

In English

• Statistics Canada: Canadian Statistics: Population
• Charles Castongay, French is on the ropes. Why won’t Ottawa admit it ?, Policy Options / Options politiques, 20, 8 : 39-50, 1999
• Charles Castongay, Getting the facts straight on French : Reflections following the 1996 Census, in Inroads Journal, volume 8, 1999, pages 57 to 77
• Charles Castongay, Transcript of a Standing Joint Commitee on Official Languages hearing, recorded on April 28, 1998

In French

• Données sociolinguistiques - Table des matières
• Suivi de la situation linguistique
• Indicateurs et dynamique démolinguistiques - 1991, 1996, 2001
• Dynamique des langues - Secrétariat à la politique linguistique du Québec
• Charles Castongay, La force réelle du français au Québec in Le Devoir, December 20, 2005
• Charles Castongay, Assimilation linguistique et remplacement des générations francophones et anglophones au Québec et au Canada in Recherches sociographiques, 2002
• Évolution Démographique des minorités de langue officielle
• Charles Castonguay - Index par auteurs - Vigile.net
• Charles Castonguay - Index par auteurs - L'Action nationale
• Recommandations de Charles Castonguay pour renforcer le français - Extraits du mémoire présenté par Charles Castonguay aux États généraux du français
• Liste des publications récentes de Marc Termote - Département de démographie - Université de Montréal

External links

• The Atlas of Canada - Mother tongue
• The Atlas of Canada - English-French Bilingualism