Editing French language in Canada (section)

==Francophones across Canada==

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+Number of francophones by province and territory in Canada (2016)
|-
! Province/territory
! Group name
! Principal regions
! French as mother tongue
! Percentage
|-
| style="text-align: left;" | [[Quebec]]
| [[French-speaking Quebecer|Québécois]]
| [[List of regions of Quebec|Regions of Quebec]]
| 8,214,000
| 85%
|-
| style="text-align: left;" |[[Ontario]]
|[[Franco-Ontarians]]
|[[Greater Sudbury|Sudbury]] / [[Northeastern Ontario]], [[Ottawa]] / [[Eastern Ontario]], and a number of [[List of francophone communities in Ontario|Francophone communities throughout Ontario]]
| 561,160
| 4.4%
|-
| style="text-align: left;" |[[New Brunswick]]
|[[Acadians]] & [[Brayon]]s
|[[Madawaska County, New Brunswick|Madawaska County]], [[Restigouche County, New Brunswick|Restigouche County]], [[Gloucester County, New Brunswick|Gloucester County]], [[Kent County, New Brunswick|Kent County]], [[Westmorland County, New Brunswick|Westmorland County]]
| 234,410
| 31.6%
|-
| style="text-align: left;" |[[Alberta]]
|[[Franco-Albertans]]
|[[Edmonton Capital Region|Edmonton]] ([[Bonnie Doon, Edmonton|Bonnie Doon]]), [[Calgary]], [[St. Paul, Alberta|St. Paul]], [[Bonnyville, AB|Bonnyville]], [[Lac La Biche County|Lac la Biche]], [[Peace River Country|Peace River]], [[Falher]]
| 81,085
| 2.2%
|-
| style="text-align: left;" |[[British Columbia]]
|[[Franco-Columbians]]
|[[Greater Vancouver]] ([[Maillardville]]), [[Victoria, British Columbia|Victoria]]
| 70,755
| 1.6%
|-
| style="text-align: left;" |[[Manitoba]]
|[[Franco-Manitobans]]
|[[Winnipeg]] ([[St. Boniface, Manitoba|St. Boniface]], [[St. Vital]], [[St. Norbert, Winnipeg|St. Norbert]]), [[Eastman Region]], [[Pembina Valley Region]], [[Central Plains Region]]
| 47,680
| 3.8%
|-
| style="text-align: left;" | [[Nova Scotia]]
| [[Acadians]]
| [[Digby County, Nova Scotia|Digby County]], [[Richmond County, Nova Scotia|Richmond County]], [[Inverness County]], [[Yarmouth County]]
| 34,585
| 3.8%
|-
| style="text-align: left;" | [[Saskatchewan]]
| [[Fransaskois]]
| [[Regina, Saskatchewan|Regina]], [[Saskatoon]], [[Gravelbourg]], [[Albertville, Saskatchewan|Albertville]], [[Zenon Park, Saskatchewan|Zénon-Park]], [[St. Isidore-de-Bellevue, Saskatchewan|St. Isidore-de-Bellevue]], [[Willow Bunch, Saskatchewan|Willow Bunch]]
| 18,935
| 1.9%
|-
| style="text-align: left;" | [[Prince Edward Island]]
| [[Acadians]]
| [[Prince County, Prince Edward Island|Prince County]] ([[Lot 15, Prince Edward Island|Evangeline Region]])
| 5,685
| 4.1%
|-
| style="text-align: left;" | [[Newfoundland and Labrador]]
| [[Franco-Newfoundlanders]]
| [[Port au Port Peninsula]]
| 3,015
| 0.6%
|-
| style="text-align: left;" |[[Yukon]]
|[[Franco-Yukonnais]]
|[[Whitehorse, Yukon|Whitehorse]], [[Dawson City]]
| 1,630
| 4.8%
|-
| style="text-align: left;" | [[Northwest Territories]]
| [[Franco-Ténois]]
| [[Yellowknife]], [[Hay River, Northwest Territories|Hay River]], [[Inuvik]], [[Fort Smith, Northwest Territories|Fort Smith]]
| 1,175
| 2.9%
|-
| style="text-align: left;" | [[Nunavut]]
| [[Franco-Nunavois]]
| [[Iqaluit]]
| 616<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Francophones of Nunavut (Franco-Nunavois) |encyclopedia=The Canadian Encyclopedia |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/francophones-of-nunavut-franco-nunavois |access-date=2020-08-14}}</ref>
| 1.4%
|}

=== Quebec ===
{{main|Quebec French}}
[[File:Arret.jpg|right|thumb|A Quebec French stop sign]]
[[File:WIKITONGUES- Maxime speaking Québecois French.webm|thumb|A [[Québécois French]] speaker, recorded in [[Slovenia]]]]
[[Quebec]] is the only province whose sole official language is French. Today, 71.2 percent of Québécois people are first language francophones.<ref name="www12.statcan.ca">[http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/products/analytic/companion/lang/provs.cfm Profile of languages in Canada: Provinces and territories<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151018184119/http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/Products/Analytic/companion/lang/provs.cfm |date=18 October 2015 }}. Retrieved 3 May 2011.</ref> About 95 percent of Quebecers speak French.<ref name=statcan2016qc /> However, many of the services the provincial government provides are available in English for the sizeable [[English-speaking Quebecer|anglophone]] population of the province (notably in [[Montreal]]). For native French speakers, Quebec French is noticeably different in pronunciation and vocabulary from the [[French language|French]] of [[France]], sometimes called ''Metropolitan French'', but they are easily mutually intelligible in their formal varieties, and after moderate exposure, in most of their informal ones as well. The differences are primarily due to changes that have occurred in Quebec French and [[Parisian French]] since the 18th century, when Britain gained possession of Canada.

Different regions of Quebec have their own varieties: [[Gaspé Peninsula]], [[Côte-Nord]], [[Quebec City]], [[Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean]], [[Outaouais (region)|Outaouais]], and [[Abitibi-Témiscamingue]] have differences in pronunciation as well as in vocabulary. For example, depending on one's region, the ordinary word for "kettle" can be {{lang|fr|bouilloire, bombe,}} or {{lang|fr|canard}}.

In Quebec, the French language is of paramount importance. For example, the [[stop sign]]s on the roads are written {{lang|fr|ARRÊT}} (which has the literal meaning of "stop" in French), even if other French-speaking countries, like [[France]], use ''STOP''. On a similar note, movies originally made in other languages than French (mostly movies originally made in English) are more literally named in Quebec than they are in France (e.g. The movie ''[[The Love Guru]]'' is called {{lang|fr|Love Gourou}} in France, but in Quebec it is called {{lang|fr|Le Gourou de l'amour}}).

===The Maritimes===

[[File:The Acadians.png|thumb|left|150px|Present-day Acadian communities]]

The colonists living in what are now the provinces of [[New Brunswick]] and [[Nova Scotia]] were principally constituted of [[Bretons]], [[Normans]], and [[Basques]]. Conquered by the British, they suffered [[Expulsion of the Acadians|massive deportations]] to the [[United States]] and [[France]]. Others went into exile to [[Canada (New France)|Canada]] or to nearby islands. Those who stayed were persecuted. At the end of the 18th century, more liberal measures granted new lands to those who had stayed, and measures were taken to promote the return of numerous exiled people from Canada and [[Miquelon]]. The number of Acadians rose rapidly, to the point of gaining representation in the [[Legislative Assembly]].

French is one of the official languages, with English, of the province of [[New Brunswick]]. Apart from [[Quebec]], this is the only other Canadian province that recognizes French as an official language. Approximately one-third of New Brunswickers are francophone,<ref name="www12.statcan.ca"/> by far the largest [[Acadian]] population in Canada.

The Acadian community is concentrated in primarily rural areas along the border with Quebec and the eastern coast of the province. Francophones in the [[Madawaska County, New Brunswick|Madawaska]] area may also be identified as [[Brayon]], although sociologists have disputed whether the Brayons represent a distinct francophone community, a subgroup of the Acadians or an extraprovincial community of [[Québécois people]].  The only major Acadian population centre is [[Moncton]], home to the main campus of the [[Université de Moncton]]. Francophones are, however, in the minority in Moncton.

In addition to New Brunswick, Acadian French has speakers in portions of mainland Quebec and in the Atlantic provinces of [[Nova Scotia]], [[Prince Edward Island]], and [[Newfoundland and Labrador|Newfoundland]]. In these provinces, the percentage of francophones is much smaller than in New Brunswick. In some communities, French is an [[endangered language]].

Linguists do not agree about the origin of Acadian French. Acadian French is influenced by the ''[[langues d'oïl]]''. The dialect contains, among other features, the [[alveolar consonant|alveolar]] ''r'' and the pronunciation of the final syllable in the plural form of the verb in the third person. Acadia is the only place outside [[Jersey]] (a [[Channel Islands|Channel Island]] close to mainland Normandy) where [[Jèrriais]] speakers can be found.<ref>Atlas Universalis (1996), Thésaurus A-C, p. 24</ref>

===Ontario===

French is the native language of over 500,000 persons in [[Ontario]], representing 4.7 percent of the province's population. They are concentrated primarily in the [[Eastern Ontario]] and [[Northeastern Ontario]] regions, near the border with [[Quebec]], although they are also present in smaller numbers throughout the province. Francophone Ontarians form part of a larger cultural group known as [[Franco-Ontarian]]s, of whom only 60 percent still speak the language at home. The city of [[Ottawa]] counts the greatest number of Franco-Ontarians in the province. Franco-Ontarians are originally from a first wave of immigration from [[France]], from a second wave from Quebec. The third wave comes from Quebec, but also from Haiti, Morocco, and Africa.

The province has no official language defined in law, although it is a largely English-speaking province. Ontario law requires that the provincial [[Legislative Assembly]] operate in both English and French (individuals can speak in the Assembly in the official language of their choice), and requires that all provincial statutes and bills be made available in both English and French. Furthermore, under the ''[[French Language Services Act (Ontario)|French Language Services Act]]'', individuals are entitled to communicate with the head or central office of any provincial government department or agency in French, as well as to receive all government services in French in 25 designated areas in the province, selected according to minority population criteria. The provincial government of Ontario's website is bilingual. Residents of [[Ottawa]], [[Toronto]], [[Windsor, Ontario|Windsor]], [[Greater Sudbury|Sudbury]] and [[Timmins]] can receive services from their municipal government in the official language of their choice.

There are also several French-speaking communities on military bases in Ontario, such as the one at [[CFB Trenton]]. These communities have been founded by francophone Canadians in the [[Canadian Forces]] who live together in military residences.<ref>{{cite web|last=Statistiques Canada|title=Population dont le français est la langue parlée le plus souvent à la maison, Canada, Provinces, territoires et Canada moins le Québec, 1996 à 2006 |url=http://www.statcan.gc.ca/ |access-date=4 November 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=David Block |title=Globalization and language teaching |year=2002 |publisher=Taylor and Francis Group |author2=Heller Monica}}</ref>

The term [[Franco-Ontarian]] accepts two interpretations. According to the first one, it includes all French speakers of Ontario, wherever they come from. According to second one, it includes all [[French Canadians]] born in Ontario, whatever their level of French is.<ref>Atlas Universalis (1996), Thésaurus K-M, p. 2638</ref> The use of French among Franco-Ontarians is in decline due to the omnipresence of the English language in a lot of fields.

===Newfoundland===
The island was discovered by European powers by [[John Cabot]] in 1497. [[Newfoundland (island)|Newfoundland]] was annexed by England in 1583. It is the first British possession in [[North America]].

In 1610, the Frenchmen became established in the [[peninsula of Avalon]] and went to war against the Englishmen. In 1713, the [[Treaty of Utrecht]] acknowledged the sovereignty of Great Britain.

The origin of [[Franco-Newfoundlanders]] is double: the first ones to arrive are especially of [[Breton people|Breton]] origin, attracted by the fishing possibilities. Then, from the 19th century, the Acadians who came from the [[Cape Breton Island]] and from the [[Magdalen Islands]], an archipelago of nine small islands belonging to Quebec, become established.

Up to the middle of the 20th century, Breton fishers, who had Breton as their mother tongue, but who had been educated in French came to settle. This Breton presence can explain differences between the Newfoundland French and the Acadian French.

In the 1970s, the French language appears in the school of Cape St. George in the form of a bilingual education. In the 1980s, classes of French for native French speakers are organized there.<ref name="Atlas Universalis 1996 p.57" /><ref>Atlas Universalis (1996), Tome 4, pp. 840–842</ref>

===Western Canada===
Manitoba also has a significant [[Franco-Manitoban]] community, centred especially in the [[St. Boniface, Manitoba|St. Boniface]] area of [[Winnipeg, Manitoba|Winnipeg]], but also in numerous surrounding towns. The provincial government of [[Manitoba]] boasts the only bilingual website of the Prairies; the Canadian constitution makes French an official language in Manitoba for the legislature and courts. Saskatchewan also has a [[Fransaskois]] community, as does Alberta with its [[Franco-Albertan]]s, and British Columbia hosts the [[Franco-Columbian]]s.

[[Michif]], a dialect of French originating in Western Canada, is a unique [[mixed language]] derived from [[Cree language|Cree]] and French. It is spoken by a small number of [[Metis (people)|Métis]] living mostly in [[Manitoba]] and in [[North Dakota]].

===Northern Canada===
French is an official language in each of the three northern territories: [[Yukon]], the [[Northwest Territories]], and [[Nunavut]]. Francophones in Yukon are called [[Franco-Yukonnais]], those from the Northwest Territories, [[Franco-Ténois]] (from the French acronym for the Northwest Territories, ''TN-O'' or {{lang|fr|Territoires du Nord-Ouest}}), and those in Nunavut, [[Franco-Nunavois]].