Portrait of Official Languages Groups in the Ottawa Area

1.1.1. Population by mother tongue in 2011

In 2011, English was the mother tongue of the majority (63.7%) of Ottawa’s population (see Table 1), while French was the mother tongue of 15.0% of Ottawans. The percentage of the population whose mother tongue was neither English nor French was 21.3%, due mainly to the strong increase in international immigration.

1.1.2. Population by mother tongue

Ottawa’s total population grew by 60.9% between 1981 and 2011, increasing from approximately 542,000 to more than 872,000 (see tables Table 2 and Table 3).

The number of Ottawans whose mother tongue is English grew by 45.9% between 1981 and 2011, for a total population of 555,500 in 2011. The population of Ottawans whose mother tongue is French had a more modest increase (26.1%), reaching 131,300 in 2011. In comparison, the population of people whose mother tongue was neither English nor French more than tripled (225.1%), reaching 185,700 in 2011.

1.1.3. Proportion of the population by mother tongue from 1981 to 2011

Between 1981 and 2011, the proportions of Ottawans whose mother tongue was English and whose mother tongue was French dropped from 70.3% to 63.7% and from 19.2% to 15.0%, respectively (see Table 4). However, the proportion of the population whose mother tongue was neither English nor French more than doubled over the same period, increasing from 10.5% to 21.3%.^{Footnote 1}

1.2.1. Population by first official language spoken in 2011

In 2011, English was the first official language spoken (FOLS) among a large majority (82.3%) of Ottawa’s population (see Table 5). The percentage of the population whose FOLS was French was 16.4%, and the percentage of the population whose FOLS was neither English nor French was 1.3%. These results indicate that people whose mother tongue is neither English nor French adopt English as their official language. This phenomenon has a direct effect on the growth rate of populations whose FOLS is English or French.

1.2.2. Proportion of population by first official language spoken, from 1981 to 2011

The population of Ottawans whose FOLS was English grew by 66.3% between 1981 and 2011 to a total of 717,900 in 2011 (see tables Table 6 and Table 7). The population of Ottawans whose FOLS was French had slower growth (35.0%), for a total of 143,000 in 2011. In comparison, the population of Ottawans whose FOLS was neither English nor French, although relatively smaller, saw its numbers more than double (163.1%), for a total of 11,500 in 2011.

1.2.3. Proportion of the population by first official language spoken

Because Ottawa’s immigrants tend mainly to adopt English as their official language, the proportion of people whose FOLS was English grew by 2.7 percentage points between 1981 and 2011 (see Table 8), while the share of people whose FOLS was French dropped by 3.2 percentage points. The proportion of the population whose FOLS was neither English nor French increased from 0.8% to 1.3% over this period, an increase that occurred primarily between 1981 and 1991.

1.4.1. Official languages spoken at home^{Footnote 2}

Between 2001 and 2011, the proportion of people in Ottawa who reported English as the only language they speak at home, or as the language they most often speak at home, has changed little, increasing from 81.8% to 82.3%. In the same period, the proportion of people who reported French as the only language they speak at home, or as the language they most often speak at home, has changed little as well, decreasing from 11.2% to 10.4% (see Table 11). The proportions of people who reported speaking English and French equally at home or speaking only another language also varied little over this period, rising from 1.2% to 1.8% and dipping from 5.9% to 5.5%, respectively.

The proportion of people who reported speaking only English at home has remained relatively stable, decreasing from 76.4% in 2001 to 75.8% in 2011, while the proportion of people who reported speaking English most often at home rose slightly from 5.4% to 6.5% over the same period.

The proportions of people who reported speaking only French at home or who reported speaking French most often at home changed very little between 2001 and 2011, decreasing from 6.7% to 6.0% and from 4.5% to 4.4%, respectively.

1.4.2. Language spoken most often at home

Between 1981 and 2011, the proportion of people in Ottawa who reported speaking English most often at home decreased from 78.7% to 77.0% (see Table 12). Over the same period, the drop in the proportion of people who reported speaking French most often at home was greater, from 15.5% to 10.7%. Conversely, the proportion of people who reported speaking another language most often at home more than doubled, from 5.8% in 1981 to 12.3% in 2011.

2.1.1. Sex

In 2011, 48.6% of Ottawa residents were men and 51.4% were women. However, the disparity between the percentage of women and men was much higher among those whose mother tongue was French: the distribution was 46.2% men and 53.8% women, while for those whose mother tongue was English, it was 49.6% men and 50.4% women. Among those whose mother tongue was neither English nor French, the distribution was 47.2% men and 52.8% women.

2.1.2 Age

Certain differences emerge when examining age in the population by mother tongue (see Table 13). For example, the 0- to 34-year age group represented a larger proportion of the population whose mother tongue was English than it did among those whose mother tongue was French. Conversely, the 34-plus age group represented a larger proportion among those whose mother tongue was French than among those whose mother tongue was English. It can therefore be stated that the population whose mother tongue was English was younger than the population whose mother tongue was French. With regard to the population whose mother tongue was neither English nor French, there was a high proportion of people in the 35- to 44-year age group compared to the populations whose mother tongue was either English or French.

2.1.3. Knowledge of both official languages and trilingualism

In 2011, 36.9% of people in Ottawa reported being able to conduct a conversation in both official languages.

The proportion of people whose mother tongue was French and who reported being able to conduct a conversation in both official languages (90.9%) was greater than the proportion of people whose mother tongue was English (29.4%) and the proportion of people whose mother tongue was neither English nor French (25.1%).

The proportion of people whose mother tongue was neither English nor French and who reported being able to conduct a conversation in both official languages as well as at least one other language (24.4%) was greater than the corresponding proportions for the French-speaking (11.7%) and English-speaking (3.8%) populations.

Nearly everyone whose mother tongue was neither English nor French and who reported being able to conduct a conversation in both official languages also reported being able to conduct a conversation in a third language.

2.1.4. Children with at least one parent whose mother tongue is French

In 2011, out of the 26,395 children under the age of 18 in Ottawa who have at least one parent whose mother tongue is French, 53.3% reported French as their only mother tongue, 38.7% reported English as their only mother tongue, 0.9% reported a language other than English or French as their mother tongue and 6.2% reported both English and French as their mother tongue.

2.1.5. Province of work

In all, only 4.4% of Ottawa’s labour force worked in Quebec in 2011, including 3.9% of workers whose mother tongue was English, 6.7% of workers whose mother tongue was French and 4.6% of workers whose mother tongue was neither English nor French.

2.1.6. Language of work

In 2011, the vast majority (97.7%) of Ottawa workers reported using English most often and regularly at work. A smaller percentage (26.6%) reported using French and 2.4% reported using another language.

Almost all (99.7%) Ottawa workers whose mother tongue was English reported using English at work: 97.2% used it most often, 1.8% used it equally with French and 0.8% used it regularly as a secondary language. Among Ottawa workers whose mother tongue was English, 17.8% reported using French at work, with 1.0% using it most often, 1.8% using it equally with English and 15.0% using it regularly as a secondary language.

A large majority (82.5%) of Ottawa workers whose mother tongue was French reported using French at work: 26.2% used it most often, 12.8% used it equally with English and 43.5% used it regularly as a secondary language. Among Ottawa workers whose mother tongue was French, 90.6% reported using English at work, with 60.9% using it most often, 12.8% using it equally with French and 16.8% using it regularly as a secondary language.

The vast majority (96.3%) of Ottawa workers whose mother tongue was neither English nor French reported using English at work: 89.6% used it most often, 4.2% used it equally with French and 2.5% used it regularly as a secondary language. Among Ottawa workers whose mother tongue was neither English nor French, 18.1% reported using French at work, with 3.5% using it most often, 4.2% using it equally with English and 10.4% using it regularly as a second language.

2.1.7. Interprovincial migration

According to the statistics from 2011, 4.2% of Ottawa’s population resided in a province or territory other than Ontario at the time of the 2006 Census. Interprovincial migration was slightly higher among people whose mother tongue was French (5.6%), but was almost the same for people whose mother tongue was English (4.0%) and people whose mother tongue was neither English nor French (3.8%).

Interprovincial migrants came to Ottawa mainly from four provinces: Quebec (39.3%), British Columbia (17.0%), Alberta (13.1%) and Nova Scotia (11.6%).

Interprovincial migrants whose mother tongue was English came to Ottawa mainly from four provinces: Quebec (23.8%), British Columbia (20.9%), Nova Scotia (16.6%) and Alberta (16.2%).

Interprovincial migrants whose mother tongue was French came to Ottawa mainly from Quebec (73.2%) and New Brunswick (8.2%).

Interprovincial migrants whose mother tongue was neither English nor French came to Ottawa mainly from Quebec (54.4%), British Columbia (17.0%) and Alberta (10.5%).

2.1.8. Immigrant status and period of immigration

In 2011, nearly a quarter (23.4%) of Ottawans were immigrants. The proportions among the English-speaking and French-speaking populations were 8.9% and 8.2%, respectively. Close to three quarters (73.9%) of people whose mother tongue was neither English nor French were born outside of Canada.

In 2011, 70.9% of Ottawa’s immigrant population reported that their mother tongue was neither English nor French, while English was the mother tongue of 24.3% of Ottawa immigrants, and French was the mother tongue of 4.9% of newcomers to Ottawa.

In Ottawa, almost 30% of immigrants had arrived in Canada less than 10 years ago. Among French-speaking immigrants, this proportion was 41.9%, while it was much lower at 19.4% for English-speaking immigrants. In comparison, close to a third (31.7%) of immigrants whose mother tongue was neither English nor French had settled in Canada during the same period.

2.1.9. Visible minorities

In 2011, visible minorities represented close to a quarter (23.7%) of Ottawa’s population. The largest proportion of visible minorities was in the population whose mother tongue was neither English nor French (68.1%). It was 11.4% for those whose mother tongue is French and 10.7% for those whose mother tongue is English.

In 2011, the mother tongue for nearly two thirds (64.4%) of the visible minority population in Ottawa was a language other than English or French, while English was the mother tongue for 28.9% and French was the mother tongue for 6.7%.

In 2011, the four largest groups of visible minorities in Ottawa were Black, Chinese, South Asian and Arab, which represented 24.2%, 17.0%, 16.5% and 15.8% of the visible minority population, respectively. Among the visible minorities whose mother tongue was English, the four largest groups in Ottawa were Black, South Asian, Chinese and Arab, representing 32.0%, 19.9%, 12.9% and 10.2% of the visible minority population, respectively.

Among the visible minorities whose mother tongue was French, the two largest groups were Black (76.6%) and Arab (10.7%). And among the visible minorities whose mother tongue was neither English nor French, the largest group proportionally was Chinese (20.2%), followed by Arab (18.8%), South Asian (16.5%) and Black (15.3%).

2.1.10. Highest level of education attained

In 2011, 12.9% of Ottawa’s population aged 15 and older had no certificate, diploma or degree.

The proportion of the population aged 15 or older whose mother tongue was neither English nor French and who did not have a certificate, diploma or degree was 14.9%. The proportions for those whose mother tongue was English and for those whose mother tongue was French were 11.9% and 14.3%, respectively.

In 2011, nearly two thirds (63.7%) of Ottawa’s population aged 15 and older had post-secondary qualifications.

Among Ottawans aged 15 and older, approximately two thirds (66.0%) whose mother tongue was neither English nor French, whose mother tongue was English (63.2%) and whose mother tongue was French (61.6%) had post-secondary qualifications.

In 2011, a little over a third (35.4%) of Ottawa’s population aged 15 and older had post-secondary qualifications at a bachelor level or above.

Among Ottawans aged 15 and older whose mother tongue was neither English nor French, 40.4% had post-secondary qualifications at a bachelor level or above. For those whose mother tongue was English and those whose mother tongue was French, the percentages were 34.5% and 31.1%, respectively.

2.1.11. Unemployment rate

In 2011, the unemployment rate^{Footnote 3} in Ottawa was 7.0%.

Ottawans whose mother tongue was French had the lowest unemployment rate (5.2%), followed by those whose mother tongue was English (6.7%) and those whose mother tongue was neither English nor French (8.8%).

2.1.12. Income and employment income^{Footnote 4}

In 2011, Ottawans whose mother tongue was French had a mean income of approximately $52,600 and a median^{Footnote 5} income of approximately $45,400. This was $500 and $3,500 higher, respectively, than the income of those whose mother tongue was English (whose mean and median incomes were $52,100 and $41,900, respectively).^{Footnote 6}

People living in Ottawa whose mother tongue was neither English nor French had a mean income that was $10,600 lower than that of the Francophone population and $10,200 lower than that of the Anglophone population. Their median income was $16,200 lower than that of the Francophone population and $12,700 lower than that of Anglophone population.

In terms of employment income, Ottawans whose mother tongue was French had a mean income of $53,400 and a median income of $47,900, while those whose mother tongue was English were paid $2,300 and $6,600 less, respectively (i.e., mean and median employment incomes of $51,100 and $41,300, respectively).

Ottawans whose mother tongue was neither English nor French had a mean employment income that was $7,800 lower than that of the Francophone population and $5,500 lower than that of the Anglophone population. Their median employment income was $13,000 lower than that of the Francophone population and $6,500 lower than that of the Anglophone population.

2.1.13. Employment sectors

In 2011, slightly more than half (53.1%) of Ottawa’s labour force was employed in the following sectors: public administration (22.8%), retail trade (10.2%), health care and social assistance (10.1%) and professional, scientific and technical services (9.9%).

Similarly, slightly more than half (53.3%) of Ottawa’s Anglophone workers were employed in public administration (22.2%), retail trade (11.0%), professional, scientific and technical services (10.4%) and health care and social assistance (9.7%).

Just over half (51.2%) of Ottawa’s Francophone workers were employed in public administration (31.2%), health care and social assistance (10.3%) and educational services (9.6%).

And half (50.4%) of working Ottawans whose mother tongue was neither English nor French were employed in public administration (19.5%), health care and social assistance (11.2%), professional, scientific and technical services (10.1%) and retail trade (9.5%).

In 2011, workers whose mother tongue was English constituted 64.3% of Ottawa’s labour force. This segment of the population was overrepresented in the sectors of utilities (77.0%), agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting (76.4%) and management of companies and enterprises (74.5%), and slightly underrepresented in the sectors of transportation and warehousing (59.6%), manufacturing (60.1%) and accommodation and food services (60.4%).

Workers whose mother tongue was French represented 13.6% of Ottawa’s labour force. This group was overrepresented in public administration (18.6%)^{Footnote 7} and educational services (16.7%) and underrepresented in accommodation and food services (7.5%), agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting (8.8%) and management of companies and enterprises (9.1%).

Workers whose mother tongue was neither English nor French made up 22.1% of Ottawa’s labour force and was overrepresented in manufacturing (29.8%), transportation and warehousing (26.4%) and administrative and support, waste management and remediation services (25.8%). It was underrepresented in utilities (13.5%) and arts, entertainment and recreation (12.0%).

2.1.14. Occupations

In 2011, the most common occupations among workers in Ottawa whose mother tongue was English were associated with sales and service (20.9%), business, finance and administration (19.5%) and education, law and social, community and government services (16.0%).

The most common occupations in Ottawa for workers whose mother tongue was French were related to business, finance and administration (24.7%), sales and service (17.4%) and education, law and social, community and government services (16.8%).

The most common occupations for Ottawa workers whose mother tongue was neither English nor French were in sales and service (24.9%), natural and applied sciences and related occupations (16.8%) and business, finance and administration (16.0%).

2.1.15. English-French exogamous couples

In 2011, out of the 43,065 Ottawa couples in which the mother tongue of one spouse was French, 23,655 (54.9%) were English-French exogamous couples.

2.2.1. Sex

In 2011, 48.6% of Ottawa residents were men and 51.4% were women. Among those whose FOLS was English, the distribution was 49.3% men and 50.7% women. The disparity between the percentage of men and women was distinctly higher among those whose FOLS was French, with a distribution of 45.8% men and 54.2% women. Among those whose FOLS was neither English nor French, the disparity was even higher, with 38.8% men and 61.2% women.

2.2.2. Age

The population whose FOLS was French had fewer people in the 0- to 34-year age group and more people in the 45-plus age group (see Table 14). It thus represented a slightly older population than the population whose FOLS was English. However, the biggest difference was in the population whose FOLS was neither English nor French. This population had a very high proportion of people in the 65-plus age group (41.5%) and in the 0- to 14-year (26.8%) age group compared to the other two language groups.

2.2.3. Knowledge of both official languages and trilingualism

In 2011, the proportion of Ottawans whose FOLS was French and who reported being able to conduct a conversation in both official languages (90.7%) was greater than that of people whose FOLS was English (27.5%).

The proportion of Ottawans whose FOLS was French and who reported being able to conduct a conversation in both official languages and at least one other language (20.6%) was also greater than that of people whose FOLS was English (7.6%).

2.2.4. Province of work

In 2011, 4.0% of Ottawa workers whose FOLS was English were employed in Quebec, as were 6.9% of workers whose FOLS was French.

2.2.5. Language of work

In 2011, almost all (99.5%) Ottawa workers whose FOLS was English reported using English at work in 2011: 96.4% used it most often, 2.1% used it equally with French and 1.0% used it regularly as a secondary language. Among Ottawa workers whose FOLS was English, 16.8% reported using French at work, with 1.1% using it most often, 2.1% using it equally with English and 13.6% using it regularly as a secondary language.

A large majority (89.2%) of Ottawa workers whose FOLS was French reported using English at work in 2011: 59.3% used it most often, 13.5% used it equally with French and 16.3% used it regularly as a secondary language. Among Ottawa workers whose FOLS was French 81.8% reported using French at work, with 26.9% using it most often, 13.5% using it equally with English and 41.4% using it regularly as a secondary language.

2.2.6. Interprovincial migration

In 2011, 3.9% of Ottawans whose FOLS was English reported having lived in a province or territory other than Ontario at the time of the 2006 Census. The proportion was 5.9% for Ottawans whose FOLS was French.

Interprovincial migrants whose FOLS was English came to Ottawa mainly from Quebec (29.0%), British Columbia (20.4%), Alberta (15.4%) and Nova Scotia (13.8%), while those whose FOLS was French came to Ottawa mainly from Quebec (75.6%) and New Brunswick (7.0%).

2.2.7. Immigrant status and period of immigration

In 2011, 84.9% of Ottawa’s immigrant population reported that their FOLS was English, and 11.1% said that their FOLS was French. The percentage of Ottawa immigrants whose FOLS was neither English nor French was 3.9%.

In 2011, 42.8% of Ottawa immigrants whose FOLS was French had arrived in Canada less than 10 years ago. This proportion was approximately the same (41.6%) for immigrants whose FOLS was neither English nor French. In comparison, 26.9% of immigrants whose FOLS was English had settled in Canada during the past 10 years.

2.2.8. Visible minorities

In 2011, a large majority (82.8%) of Ottawa’s visible minority population had English as their FOLS. Individuals whose FOLS was French made up 12.7% of visible minorities, and those whose FOLS was neither English nor French represented 4.5% of visible minorities.

Visible minorities represented close to a quarter (23.6%) of Ottawans whose FOLS was English. In comparison, they represented almost a fifth (19.4%) of Ottawans whose FOLS was French .

Among the visible minorities whose FOLS was English, the largest groups in Ottawa were South Asian (19.0%), Black (18.8%), Chinese (17.8%) and Arab (15.4%).

Among the visible minorities whose FOLS was French, the largest groups were Black (65.1%) and Arab (16.6%).

Among the visible minorities whose FOLS was neither English nor French, the largest group was Chinese (38.4%), followed by Arab (19.4%), Southeast Asian (10.0%), Black (9.0%) and South Asian (8.9%).

2.2.9. Highest level of education attained

In 2011, the majority (56.1%) of Ottawa’s population aged 15 and older whose FOLS was neither English nor French had no certificate, diploma or degree. The proportions for those whose FOLS was English and for those whose FOLS was French were 12.1% and 14.1%, respectively.

Among Ottawans aged 15 and older whose FOLS was English, almost two thirds (64.4%) had post-secondary qualifications, as did those whose FOLS was French (62.7%). In comparison, less than a quarter (24.4%) of Ottawans whose FOLS was neither English nor French had post-secondary qualifications.

Among Ottawans aged 15 and older whose FOLS was English, approximately a third (36.3%) had post-secondary qualifications at a bachelor level or above. The proportion was about the same for those whose FOLS was French (32.3%). In comparison, only 11.4% of Ottawans whose FOLS was neither English nor French had post-secondary qualifications at a bachelor level or above.

2.2.10. Unemployment rate

In 2011, people whose FOLS was French had the lowest unemployment rate (6.0%) in Ottawa, followed by those whose FOLS was English (7.1%) and those whose FOLS was neither English nor French (11.7%).

2.2.11. Income and employment income

In 2011, the mean and median incomes of Ottawans whose FOLS was French ($51,200 and $43,700, respectively) were higher by $1,200 and $4,500, respectively, than the mean and medium incomes of those whose FOLS was English ($50,000 and $39,200, respectively).^{Footnote 8}

The mean and median employment incomes of Ottawans whose FOLS was French ($52,100 and $46,200, respectively) were higher by $2,100 and $6,200, respectively, than the mean and median employment incomes of those whose FOLS was English ($50,000 and $40,000, respectively).

2.2.12. Employment sectors

In 2011, slightly more than half (52.6%) of Ottawa workers whose FOLS was English were employed in the following sectors: public administration (21.6%), retail trade (10.7%), professional, scientific and technical services (10.4%) and health care and social assistance (9.9%).

Slightly more than half (51.4%) of Ottawa workers whose FOLS was French were employed in public administration (30.4%), health care and social assistance (11.1%) and educational services (9.9%).

In 2011, workers whose FOLS was English constituted 84.4% of Ottawa’s labour force. This segment of the population was slightly overrepresented in sectors such as mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction (89.7%), utilities (89.6%) and management of companies and enterprises (89.1%) and slightly underrepresented in the public administration (79.6%) and educational services (80.4%) sectors.

Workers whose FOLS was French represented 15.3% of Ottawa’s labour force. This group was overrepresented in the public administration (20.3%)^{Footnote 9} and educational services (19.4%) sectors and underrepresented in utilities (10.4%), agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting (10.3%) and accommodation and food services (9.5%).

2.2.13. Occupations

In 2011, the most common occupations for workers in Ottawa whose FOLS was English were related to sales and service (21.7%), business, finance and administration (18.7%) and education, law and social, community and government services (15.6%).

The most common occupations in Ottawa among workers whose FOLS was French were associated with business, finance and administration (23.8%), sales and service (18.4%) and education, law and social, community and government services (17.4%).