Fast figures on Canada’s official languages (2016)

Map of Official Languages in Canada

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Text version: Map of Official Languages in Canada

Canada

English-speaking population (E)
- 26,216,243 (75.4%)
French-speaking population (F)
- 7,914,498 (22.8%)

Provinces and Territories

Newfoundland And Labrador
- E: 512,525 (99.4%)
- F: 2,430 (0.5%)
Prince Edward Island
- E: 135,133 (95.8%)
- F: 4,668 (3.3%)
Nova Scotia
- E: 880,345 (96.5%)
- F: 29,370 (3.2%)
New Brunswick
- E: 499,970 (67.9%)
- F: 234,055 (31.8%)
Quebec
- E: 1,103,475 (13.7%)
- F: 6,890,300 (85.4%)
Ontario
- E: 12,440,795 (93.4%)
- F: 550,600 (4.1%)
Manitoba
- E: 1,204,798 (95.5%)
- F: 40,973 (3.2%)
Saskatchewan
- E: 1,061,110 (98%)
- F: 14,440 (1.3%)
Alberta
- E: 3,888,988 (96.6%)
- F: 79,838 (2%)
British Columbia
- E: 4,382,330 (95.3%)
- F: 64,325 (1.4%)
Yukon
- E: 33,783 (95%)
- F: 1,638 (4.6%)
Northwest Territories
- E: 39,950 (96.6%)
- F: 1,240 (3%)
Nunavut
- E: 33,035 (92.6%)
- F: 625 (1.8%)

Total Population

Newfoundland and Labrador: 515,680
Prince Edward Island: 141,015
Nova Scotia: 912,295
New Brunswick: 736,280
Quebec: 8,066,555
Ontario: 13,312,865
Manitoba: 1,261,620
Saskatchewan: 1,083,240
Alberta: 4,026,650
British Columbia: 4,598,415
Yukon: 35,555
Northwest Territories: 41,375
Nunavut: 35,690
Canada: 34,767,250

Sources and references

Source: Statistics Canada, 2016 Census, total population excluding institutional residents – 100% data.

The English-speaking (E) and French-speaking (F) populations were calculated according to first official language spoken, as defined by the Official Languages Regulations.

The data (for first official language spoken) includes multiple responses that were distributed equally among English and French by dividing the “English and French” responses by two and adding the quotient to the single responses for English and French.

The figures for the English-speaking (E) and French-speaking (F) populations for each province does not correspond to 100% since the data excludes the category “neither English nor French” for the first official language spoken.

Tables

Population by knowledge of official language^{Footnote 4}
Population	Detailed data^{Footnote 1} (Number)	Detailed data^{Footnote 1} (Percentage)	Proportion of population after equal distribution of mulitiple responses^{Footnote 2} (Percentage)	Proportion of population after addition of mulitiple responses^{Footnote 3} (Percentage)
Total	34,767,255	100%	-	-
English only	23,757,525	68.3%	-	-
French only	4,144,685	11.9%	-	-
English and French	6,216,065	17.9%	-	-
Neither English nor French	648,970	1.9%	-	-

Population by first official language spoken^{Footnote 5}
Population	Detailed data^{Footnote 1} (Number)	Detailed data^{Footnote 1} (Percentage)	Proportion of population after equal distribution of mulitiple responses^{Footnote 2} (Percentage)	Proportion of population after addition of mulitiple responses^{Footnote 3} (Percentage)
Total	34,767,250	100%	100%	-
English	26,007,500	74.8%	75.4%	-
French	7,705,755	22.2%	22.8%	-
English and French	417,485	1.2%	-	-
Neither English nor French	636,515	1.8%	-	-

Population by mother tongue^{Footnote 6}
Population	Detailed data^{Footnote 1} (Number)	Detailed data^{Footnote 1} (Percentage)	Proportion of population after equal distribution of mulitiple responses^{Footnote 2} (Percentage)	Proportion of population after addition of mulitiple responses^{Footnote 3} (Percentage)
Total	34,767,255	100%	100%	-
Single responses, Official languages, English	19,460,850	56.0%	57.0%	58.1%
Single responses, Official languages, French	7,166,705	20.6%	21.0%	21.4%
Single responses, Non-official languages, Aboriginal languages	195,700	0.6%	-	-
Single responses, Non-official languages, Non-Aboriginal languages	7,125,365	20.5%	-	-
Multiple responses, English and French	165,320	0.5%	-	-
Multiple responses, English and non-official language	533,265	1.5%	-	-
Multiple responses, French and non-official language	86,150	0.2%	-	-
Multiple responses, English, French and non-official language	33,900	0.1%	-	-

Population by language spoken most often at home^{Footnote 7}
Population	Detailed data^{Footnote 1} (Number)	Detailed data^{Footnote 1} (Percentage)	Proportion of population after equal distribution of mulitiple responses^{Footnote 2} (Percentage)	Proportion of population after addition of mulitiple responses^{Footnote 3} (Percentage)
Total	34,767,250	100%	100%	-
Single responses, Official languages, English	22,162,865	63.7%	65.9%	68.1%
Single responses, Official languages, French	6,943,800	20.0%	20.5%	21.1%
Single responses, Non-official languages, Aboriginal languages	118,470	0.3%	-	-
Single responses, Non-official languages, Non-Aboriginal languages	3,878,725	11.2%	-	-
Multiple responses, English and French	160,185	0.5%	-	-
Multiple responses, English and non-official language	1,284,975	3.7%	-	-
Multiple responses, French and non-official language	148,915	0.4%	-	-
Multiple responses, English, French and non-official language	69,315	0.2%	-	-

Population by other language spoken regularly at home^{Footnote 8}
Population	Detailed data^{Footnote 1} (Number)	Detailed data^{Footnote 1} (Percentage)	Proportion of population after equal distribution of mulitiple responses^{Footnote 2} (Percentage)	Proportion of population after addition of mulitiple responses^{Footnote 3} (Percentage)
Total	34,767,255	100%	-	-
Single responses, Official languages, English	2,109,340	6.1%	6.2%	6.4%
Single responses, Official languages, French	731,095	2.1%	2.2%	2.4%
Single responses, Non-official languages, Aboriginal languages	90,740	0.3%	-	-
Single responses, Non-official languages, Non-Aboriginal languages	2,060,945	5.9%	-	-
Multiple responses, English and French	47,970	0.1%	-	-
Multiple responses, English and non-official language	61,075	0.2%	-	-
Multiple responses, French and non-official language	48,755	0.1%	-	-
Multiple responses, English, French and non-official language	2,080	0.0%	-	-

Footnotes

Footnote 1

Detailed data: Population counts and percentages for the total population (excluding institutional residents - 100% data,) with all language categories detailing official and non-official languages as well as single and multiple responses.

Source: Statistics Canada, “Total population excluding institutional residents – 100% data”, Census Profile, 2016 Census: Canada [Country] and Canada [Country], Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 98-316-X2016001, Ottawa, released November 29, 2017. On-line version accessed January 19, 2018.

Return to footnote 1 referrer

Footnote 2

Percentage of population after equal distribution of multiple responses: The percentage of the population after equal distribution of multiple responses among the languages reported, where applicable. “English and French” responses were divided by two, and the quotient was added to the single responses for English and French. “English, French and non-official language” responses were divided by three and added to the single responses for English, French and non-official languages.

Return to footnote 2 referrer

Footnote 3

Percentage of population after addition of multiple responses: The percentage of the population after OCOL added the single and multiple responses for each language, where applicable. Total percentages in this section may exceed 100%, as the sum of the responses may be greater than the total population count when people report more than one language.

Return to footnote 3 referrer

Footnote 4

Knowledge of official languages: Refers to whether the person can conduct a conversation in English only, in French only, in both official languages or in neither official language.

Additional Source: Statistics Canada, “Knowledge of official languages by age (Total), 2016 counts for the population excluding institutional residents of Canada, provinces and territories, 2016 Census – 100% data,” Language Highlight Tables, 2016 Census, Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 98-402-X2016005, Ottawa, updated August 31, 2017. On-line version accessed January 19, 2018.
Additional Source: Statistics Canada, “Rate of English-French Bilingualism, Canada, 1991 to 2016,” Figure 1.2 in Focus on Geography Series, 2016 Census, Canada, Provinces and Territories, Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 98-404-X2016001, Ottawa, updated November 29, 2017. On-line version accessed January 19, 2018.
Additional Source: Statistics Canada, “Rate of English-French Bilingualism,” Census Program Data Viewer, 2016 Census, Canada, Top Geographic Areas, Ottawa, 2017. On-line version accessed January 19, 2018.

Return to footnote 4 referrer

Footnote 5

First official language spoken: “First official language spoken” is defined in the Official Languages (Communications with and Services to the Public) Regulations, which govern Part IV of the Official Languages Act. The method used to derive the first official language spoken takes the following into account: first, knowledge of official languages; second, mother tongue; and third, language spoken most often at home. Any cases in which Statistics Canada does not have sufficient information available to decide whether English or French is the first official language spoken are distributed equally between English and French.

Additional Source: Statistics Canada, “Official Language Minority (number and proportion), Canada, 1991 to 2016,” Figure 1.1 in Focus on Geography Series, 2016 Census, Canada, Provinces and Territories, Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 98-404-X2016001, Ottawa, updated November 29, 2017. On-line version accessed January 19, 2018.
Additional Source: Statistics Canada, “Official Language Minority,” Census Program Data Viewer, 2016 Census, Canada, Top Geographic Areas, Ottawa, 2017. On-line version accessed January 19, 2018.

Return to footnote 5 referrer

Footnote 6

Mother tongue: Refers to the first language learned at home in childhood and still understood by the person at the time the data was collected.

Additional Source: Statistics Canada, “Mother tongue by age (Total), 2016 counts for the population excluding institutional residents of Canada, provinces and territories, 2016 Census – 100% data,” Language Highlight Tables, 2016 Census, Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 98-402-X2016005, Ottawa, updated August 31, 2017. On-line version accessed January 19, 2018.
Additional Source: Statistics Canada, “Mother tongue, Canada, 2011 and 2016,” Focus on Geography Series, 2016 Census, Canada, Provinces and Territories, Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 98-404-X2016001, Ottawa, updated November 29, 2017. On-line version accessed January 19, 2018.
Additional Source: Statistics Canada, “Percentage of the population by mother tongue,” Census Program Data Viewer, 2016 Census, Canada, Top Geographic Areas, Ottawa, 2017. On-line version accessed January 19, 2018.

Return to footnote 6 referrer

Footnote 7

Language spoken most often at home: Refers to the language the person speaks most often at home at the time of data collection. A person can report more than one language as “spoken most often at home” if the languages are spoken equally often.

Additional Source: Statistics Canada, “Language spoken most often at home by other language(s) spoken regularly at home (Total) and age (Total), 2016 counts for the population excluding institutional residents of Canada, provinces and territories, 2016 Census – 100% data,” Language Highlight Tables, 2016 Census, Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 98-402-X2016005, Ottawa, updated August 31, 2017. On-line version accessed January 19, 2018.

Return to footnote 7 referrer

Footnote 8

Other language(s) spoken regularly at home: Refers to the languages, if any, that the person speaks at home on a regular basis at the time of data collection, other than the language or languages spoken most often at home.

Additional Source: Statistics Canada, “Language spoken most often at home by other language(s) spoken regularly at home (Total) and age (Total), 2016 counts for the population excluding institutional residents of Canada, provinces and territories, 2016 Census – 100% data,” Language Highlight Tables, 2016 Census, Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 98-402-X2016005, Ottawa, updated August 31, 2017. On-line version accessed January 19, 2018.
Additional Source: Statistics Canada, “Language spoken at home, Canada, 2011 and 2016,” Focus on Geography Series, 2016 Census, Canada, Provinces and Territories, Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 98-404-X2016001, Ottawa, updated November 29, 2017. On-line version accessed January 19, 2018.
Additional Source: Statistics Canada, “Percentage of the population by language spoken at home,” Census Program Data Viewer, 2016 Census, Canada, Top Geographic Areas, Ottawa, 2017. On-line version accessed January 19, 2018.

Return to footnote 8 referrer

Date modified:

2020-09-18

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Fast figures on Canada’s official languages (2016)

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