According to the 2021 Census, the number of people speaking English as their first official language in Quebec surpassed 1 million for the first time.
Although more and more Quebecers speak French at home, , its share of the state's total population is declining.
For the first time in Quebec, the number of people who speak English as their first official language has surpassed one million, increasing its share of the population.
And while English and French bilingualism is on the rise in Quebec, it is declining outside the province.
These are among the results of the 2021 Census, the language results of which were released Wednesday morning by Statistics Canada.
The Census measures the size, evolution, and composition of language groups in Canada.
In addition to providing a detailed overview of how Canadians communicate, the results are used by the government to administer the Commonwealth Language Act and the French Charter.
According to Statistics Canada, census results:
- From his 6.4 million he increased to 6.5 million. However, the percentage of the population decreased from he 79% to he 77.5%.
- The number of native French speakers in Quebec increased between 2016 and 2021, but their share of Quebec's population declined from 77.1% to 74.8%.
- Quebec French was still the first official language spoken by over 90% of the population in most of the 17 regions of However, things were different in the Montrégie, Laval, and Nord-du-Quebec regions of Montreal. For example, in Montreal, French was the first official language spoken by 58.4% of the population.
- For the first time in the census, the number of Quebecers with English as their first official language surpassed her one million, rising from 12% of the population in 2016 to 13% in 2021. Statistics Canada derived the initial official language figures based on questions about the official language, the language most often spoken at home, and knowledge of the native language.
- Seven out of ten of her English speakers lived on the island of Montreal or Monteregie.
- From 2016 to 2021, the proportion of Quebec’s population whose only native language is English remained relatively stable (from 7.5% in 2016 to 7.6% in 2021), but the number of speakers increased by 38,000 to 639,000. The increase is much greater (an increase of 125,000) when considering all Quebecers who use English as their only native language or with other languages. This is due to the growing number of people whose native languages are both English and French.
- Nearly one in five people in Quebec (19.2%) speaks English at least regularly at home, and more than half of them speak French, another language, or French and English together. was talking
- The number of predominantly English speakers at home (874,000 in 2021) makes her 10.4% of Quebec's population, up from 9.7% in 2016.
``Other data sources show that the number of non-permanent residents in Quebec has increased significantly since 2016, and interprovincial net migration, although still in deficit, The English-speaking population has historically been overrepresented in interprovincial migration in Quebec.”
Other Findings:
63}- Canada's English-French bilingual rate in 2021 was 18% compared to its peak in 2016 (17.9%).
- Meanwhile, in Quebec, the proportion of bilinguals in English and French rose from 44.5% in 2016 to 46.4%. Quebec's English-French bilingual rate has been steadily increasing for decades. In 1961 it was 25.5%.
- In Quebec, almost two of the informal native language individuals in 2021 had one of them (47.9%) speak French at home at least regularly, and 37.5% spoke French. English.
- From 2016 to 2021, the proportion of informal native-languages living in Quebec who speak predominantly French at home increased slightly (from 18.8% to 20.1%), but The proportion of English speakers in Japan remained relatively stable over the period.
- Canada's linguistic diversity continues to grow. Due to immigration, the number of Canadians who primarily speak a language other than English or French at home has increased from her 4 million in 2016 to her 4.6 million in 2021. English was the first official language spoken by 75.5% of the population.
The latest census figures are political fodder for the October 3 Quebec general election, withofficially set to at the end of the month. will be called.
Always a hotly debated subject in Quebec, Prime Minister François Legault's Bill 96 puts the issue of language under the microscope. Adopted in May, the bill isBill 101, the French Charter of 1977.
Bill 96 further restricts the use of English in Quebec in favor of French.
English-speaking rights groups have described the law as draconian and likely to affect many aspects of daily life, from health care to how businesses operate to how the court system works.
Legault's Coalition Avenir Québec government claims thatFrench people are declining in Quebecboth at work and at home. , said the new measures have been long overdue.
This story will be updated.
ariga@postmedia.com
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