Language diversity on the rise in Canada, new census data shows

The latest census figures show a record-high number of people in Canada now have a mother tongue other than French or English.

The data also shows about 12 per cent of people predominantly speak a non-official language at home, a proportion that has increased over the last 30 years.

The trend continued even during the pandemic, when immigration slowed considerably due to COVID-19 health restrictions and related immigration backlogs.

Statistics Canada noted a large increase in the growth of the number of Canadians who predominantly speak South Asian languages such as Punjabi or Hindi since the last census in 2016, which was fuelled by immigration.

The growth rate of the population speaking South Asian languages was at least eight times larger than that of the overall Canadian population during this period.

English and French are still by far the most common languages spoken in Canada and 90 per cent of Canadians speak at least one of the official languages.

The proportion of Canadians who predominantly speak French at home declined in all provinces and territories except Yukon between 2016 and 2021, according to the census release.

Statistics Canada says over three in four Canadians report English as their first official language, a proportion that’s increased over the five-year period.

That’s while the proportion of people who report French as their first official language declined.

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In Quebec, the number of Canadians who reported English as their first official language topped one million, while one in 10 Quebecers report speaking predominantly English at home.

English-French bilingualism remained unchanged over the five-year period, with 18 per cent of Canadians reporting they can conduct a conversation in both languages.

As the country becomes more linguistically diverse, the percentage of Canadians who reported English or French as their mother tongue has also declined.

The number of people who can speak an Indigenous language has dropped slightly, the data showed.

However, Statistics Canada says comparing census years should be done with caution as the COVID-19 pandemic hampered its ability to fully enumerate First Nations and other Indigenous communities.

Statistics Canada released data from the 2021 census that shows about 243,000 people reported being able to speak an Indigenous language, which is a drop from the 2016 census when that figure was around 251,000.

The data release comes as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government has described promoting and preserving Indigenous languages as a priority.

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Statistics Canada says the main Indigenous languages spoken at home are Cree and Inuktitut.

Like in other census years, it says more people report being able to speak an Indigenous language than those who report having one as a mother tongue, which suggests people are learning Indigenous languages.

Lori Idlout, the federal member of Parliament for Nunavut and NDP representative, says after constituents raise issues around housing, elder care and mental health, language is next on their list.

“Everyone is very much aware that we’re losing our language very quickly,” she said of Inuktitut.