Editing Languages of Canada

{{Short description|none}} <!-- "none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see [[WP:SDNONE]] -->
{{Languages of
|country = Canada
|image=[[File:Non-official languages spoken at home in Canada, 2021.png|200px]]
|official = [[ English language|English]] and [[French language|French]]
|semi-official = '''''[[Northwest Territories]]''''': [[Cree language|Cree]], [[Chipewyan language|Dënësųłıné]], [[Slavey language|Dene Yatıé/Zhatıé]], [[Gwich’in language|Gwich’in]], [[Inuinnaqtun]], [[Inuktitut]], [[Inuvialuktun]], [[Slavey language|Sahtúgot’įné Yatı̨́ / Shíhgot’įne Yatı̨́ / K’ashógot’įne Goxedǝ́]], [[Dogrib language|Tłįchǫ Yatıì]]<br />'''''[[Nova Scotia]]''''': [[Mi'kmawi'simk]]{{refn|group="nb"|First Language of Nova Scotia<ref name=FirstLang>{{cite web |title=Legislation Enshrines Mi'kmaw as Nova Scotia's First Language |url=https://novascotia.ca/news/release/?id=20220407003 |website=Province of Nova Scotia |publisher=L'nu Affairs |access-date=19 June 2022 |language=en, mic|date=7 April 2022}}</ref><ref name="LangAct" />}}<br />'''''[[Nunavut]]''''': [[Inuktitut|Inuktut]] ([[Inuinnaqtun]], [[Inuktitut]])
|keyboard = [[QWERTY]]
|regional = {{flatlist|
* [[Pennsylvania Dutch language|Deitsch]]
* [[Canadian Gaelic|Gaelic]]
* [[Hutterite German|Hutterisch]]
* [[Irish language in Newfoundland|Irish]]
* [[Plautdietsch language|Plautdietsch]]
* [[Doukhobor Russian|Russian]]
* [[Canadian Ukrainian|Ukrainian]]
}}
|minority = <!--  3-12 by mother tongue-->{{flatlist|
* [[Mandarin language|Mandarin]]
* [[Cantonese language|Cantonese]]
* [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]]
* [[Spanish language|Spanish]]
* [[Arabic]]
* [[Tagalog language|Tagalog (Filipino)]]
* [[German language|German]]
* [[Italian language|Italian]]
* [[Tamil language|Tamil]]
* [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]]
}}
|vernacular=[[Canadian English]], [[Canadian French]], [[Bungi dialect|Bungi]], [[Chinook Jargon]]
|sign     = [[Signed English]], [[Signed French]];<br />{{flatlist|
* [[American Sign Language|American Sign Language (ASL)]]
* [[Quebec Sign Language|Quebec Sign Language (LSQ)]]
* [[Maritime Sign Language|MSL]]
* [[Inuit Sign Language|IUR]]
* [[Plains Indian Sign Language|Prairie Hand Talk]]
* [[Oneida Sign Language|OSL]]
* [[Plateau Sign Language|PSL]]
* [[Ktunaxa Sign Language|KSL]]
* [[Secwepemcékst]]
}}
|indigenous=<small>(by [[language family]])</small> [[Algic languages|Algic]] (22), [[Inuit languages|Inuit]] (13), [[Iroquoian languages|Iroquoian]] (7) [[Na-Dene languages|Na-Dene]] (24), [[Plains Indian Sign Language|Plains Sign]] (2), [[Plateau Sign Language|Plateau Sign]] (2), [[Salishan languages|Salishan]] (17), [[Siouan languages|Siouan]] (3), [[Tsimshian languages|Tsimshian]] (4), [[Wakashan languages|Wakashan]] (6), [[Isolate languages|Isolates]] (3: [[Haida language|Haida]], [[Inuit Sign Language]], [[Ktunaxa language|Ktunaxa]])
|keyboard image = US English<br />[[Image:KB United States-NoAltGr.svg|200px]]<br />Canadian French<br />[[Image:KB Canadian French.svg|200px]]<br />[[CSA keyboard|Canadian Multilingual Standard]] (rare)<br />[[Image:KB Canadian Multilingual Standard.svg|200px]]<br />Inuktitut [[Keyboard layout#Inuktitut|Naqittaut]]<br />[[Image:KB Inuktitut-Naqittaut.svg|200px]]
}}
A multitude of languages have always been spoken in [[Canada]]. Prior to [[Canadian Confederation|Confederation]], the territories that would become Canada were home to over 70 distinct languages across 12 or so [[language family|language families]]. Today, a majority of those [[Indigenous languages of the Americas|indigenous languages]] are still spoken; however, most are endangered and only about 0.6% of the Canadian population report an indigenous language as their mother tongue.{{refn|group="nb"|200,725 Canadians, or less than one per cent of the population, report an Aboriginal language as their mother tongue.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/dp-pd/tbt-tt/Rp-eng.cfm?LANG=E&APATH=3&DETAIL=1&DIM=0&FL=A&FREE=0&GC=0&GID=0&GK=0&GRP=1&PID=103328&PRID=0&PTYPE=101955&S=0&SHOWALL=0&SUB=0&Temporal=2011&THEME=90&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF=|title=2011 Census of Canada: Topic-based tabulations – Mother Tongue - Detailed Aboriginal Languages (85), Languages Spoken Most Often at Home - Detailed Aboriginal Languages (85), Other Languages Spoken Regularly at Home - Aboriginal Languages (12), Age Groups (13A), Sex (3) and Area of Residence (6) for the Population Excluding Institutional Residents of Canada, Provinces and Territories, 2011 Census|date=24 October 2012 |access-date=May 18, 2020}}</ref>}} Since the establishment of the Canadian [[State (polity)|state]], [[Canadian English|English]] and [[Canadian French|French]] have been the co-official languages and are, by far, the most-spoken languages in the country.

According to the 2021 census, English and French are the [[mother tongue]]s of 56.6% and 20.2% of [[Canadians]] respectively.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Heritage |first=Canadian |date=2024-02-07 |title=Statistics on official languages in Canada |url=https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/official-languages-bilingualism/publications/statistics.html |access-date=2025-05-09 |website=www.canada.ca}}</ref> In total, 86.2% of Canadians have a working knowledge of English, while 29.8% have a working knowledge of French.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/hlt-fst/lang/Table.cfm?Lang=E&T=21&Geo=00&SP=1&view=2&age=1|title=Language Highlight Tables, 2016 Census - Knowledge of official languages by age (Total), % distribution (2016) for the population excluding institutional residents of Canada, provinces and territories, 2016 Census – 100% Data|last=Government of Canada|first=Statistics Canada|date=2017-08-02|website=www12.statcan.gc.ca|access-date=2019-12-18}}</ref> Under the [[Official Languages Act (Canada)|''Official Languages Act'']] of 1969, both English and French have official status throughout Canada in respect of federal government services and most courts. All federal legislation is enacted bilingually. Provincially, only in [[New Brunswick]] are both English and French official to the same extent. French is [[Quebec]]'s official language,<ref name="qclang">{{cite web |url=http://www.oqlf.gouv.qc.ca/english/charter/index.html |title=Status of the French language |author=Office Québécois de la langue française|publisher=Government of Quebec |access-date=November 10, 2010}}</ref> although legislation is enacted in both French and English and court proceedings may be conducted in either language. English is the official language of [[Ontario]], [[Manitoba]] and [[Alberta]], but government services are available in French in many regions of each, particularly in regions and cities where Francophones form the majority. Legislation is enacted in both languages and courts conduct cases in both. In 2022, [[Nova Scotia]] recognized [[Mi'kmawi'simk]] as the first language of the province,<ref name=FirstLang>{{cite web |title=Legislation Enshrines Mi'kmaw as Nova Scotia's First Language |url=https://novascotia.ca/news/release/?id=20220407003 |website=Province of Nova Scotia |publisher=L'nu Affairs |access-date=19 June 2022 |language=en, mic|date=7 April 2022}}</ref><ref name="LangAct">{{cite act |type=Bill |index=148 |date=1 October 2022 |legislature=Nova Scotia Legislature |title=Mi'kmaw Language Act |url=https://nslegislature.ca/legislative-business/bills-statutes/bills/assembly-64-session-1/bill-148}}</ref> and maintains two provincial language secretariats: the Office of [[Acadians|Acadian]] Affairs and Francophonie (French language) and the Office of Gaelic Affairs ([[Canadian Gaelic]]). The remaining provinces ([[British Columbia]], [[Saskatchewan]], [[Prince Edward Island]], and [[Newfoundland and Labrador]]) do not have an official provincial language {{Lang|la|per se}} but government is primarily English-speaking. Territorially, both the [[Northwest Territories]] and [[Nunavut]] have official indigenous languages alongside French and English: [[Inuktut]] ([[Inuktitut]] and [[Inuinnaqtun]]) in Nunavut<ref>{{cite web |title=Official Languages |url=https://www.gov.nu.ca/culture-and-heritage/information/official-languages |website=Department of Culture and Heritage |publisher=The Government of Nunavut |access-date=20 March 2022}}</ref> and, in the NWT, nine others ([[Cree language|Cree]], [[Chipewyan language|Dënësųłıné]], [[Slavey language|Dene Yatıé/Zhatıé]],{{refn|group="nb"|name=Slavey|Also known as the "Slavey language(s)," these languages are grouped into the North (Sahtúgot’įné Yatı̨́ spoken by the [[Sahtu|Sahtu Dene]], the Hare Dene dialect of K’ashógot’įne Goxedǝ́, and the northern mountain dialect of Shíhgot’įne Yatı̨́) and South (Dene Yatıé or Dene Zhatıé, and Dené Dháh used predominately by the [[Dene Tha' First Nation|Dene Tha']] in Alberta). There is a sizeable push to end of the use of the name ''Slave'' or ''Slavey'' in relation to these Dene nations.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Mandeville |first1=Curtis |title=Goodbye Great Slave Lake? Movement to decolonize N.W.T. maps is growing |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/decolonizing-nwt-place-names-1.3640819 |access-date=9 March 2022 |publisher=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation |date=21 July 2016}}</ref>}} [[Gwich’in language|Gwich’in]], Inuinnaqtun, Inuktitut, [[Inuvialuktun]], [[Slavey language|Sahtúgot’įné Yatı̨́ / Shíhgot’įne Yatı̨́ / K’ashógot’įne Goxedǝ́]],{{refn|group="nb"|name=Slavey}} and [[Dogrib language|Tłįchǫ Yatıì]]).<ref name="nwtlang">{{cite web|title=Official Languages|url=http://www.ece.gov.nt.ca/official-languages|website=Northwest Territories Education, Culture and Employment|publisher=Government of the Northwest Territories|access-date=19 July 2014}}</ref>

Canada's [[Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages|official languages commissioner]] (the federal government official charged with monitoring the two languages) said in 2009, "[I]n the same way that race is at the core of what it means to be American and at the core of an American experience and class is at the core of British experience, I think that language is at the core of Canadian experience."<ref>Official Languages Commissioner [[Graham Fraser]] is quoted in ''[[The Hill Times]]'', August 31, 2009, p. 14.</ref> To assist in more accurately monitoring the two official languages, Canada's [[Census in Canada|census]] collects a number of [[Demolinguistic descriptors used in Canada|demolinguistic descriptors]] not enumerated in the censuses of most other countries, including [[Demolinguistic descriptors used in Canada#"Home language"|home language]], [[Demolinguistic descriptors used in Canada#"Mother tongue"|mother tongue]], [[Demolinguistic descriptors used in Canada#"First official language spoken"|first official language]], and [[Demolinguistic descriptors used in Canada#"Language used most often at work"|language of work]].

Canada's linguistic diversity extends beyond English, French and numerous indigenous languages. "In Canada, 4.7&nbsp;million people (14.2% of the population) reported speaking a language other than English or French most often at home and 1.9&nbsp;million people (5.8%) reported speaking such a language on a regular basis as a second language (in addition to their main home language, English or French). In all, 20.0% of Canada's population reported speaking a language other than English or French at home. For roughly 6.4&nbsp;million people, the other language was an immigrant language, spoken most often or on a regular basis at home, alone or together with English or French whereas for more than 213,000 people, the other language was an indigenous language. Finally, the number of people reporting sign languages as the languages spoken at home was nearly 25,000 people (15,000 most often and 9,800 on a regular basis)."{{refn|group="nb"|Nearly 148,000 people reported speaking both a language other than English or French most often and a second language other than English or French on a regular basis at home. The term "immigrant languages" refers to languages (other than English, French and Aboriginal languages) whose presence in Canada is originally due to immigration. The document entitled Aboriginal languages in Canada, Catalogue no. 98‑314‑X2011003, in the Census in Brief series, provides more detailed information on this subject.<ref name="LC" />}}

==The two official languages==

===Home language: rates of language use 1971–2011===

[[File:Language used most often at home 1981-2006.JPG|thumb|left|upright=1.2|''Languages – Statistics Canada''<ref>1981: Statistics Canada, 1981, Population by Selected Mother Tongues and Sex, Showing Official Language and Home Language, for Canada and Provinces, Urban and Rural, (table 2), 1981 Census.<br />
1986: Statistics Canada, 1986, Population by Selected Mother Tongues and Sex, Showing Official Language and Home Language, for Canada and Provinces, Urban and Rural, (table 2), 1986 Census.<br />
1991: Statistics Canada, 1991, 2B Profile, 1991 – Provinces and Territories in Canada (table), 1991 (2b) detailed questionnaire, Provinces to Municipalities (database), using E-Stat (distributor), [http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/11-402-x/2011000/chap/lang/lang-eng.htm] (accessed 10.05.26).<br />
1996: Statistics Canada, Mother Tongue, Home Languages, Official and Non-official languages, 1996 – Provinces and Territories in Canada (table), 1996 Census of Population (Provinces, Census Divisions, Municipalities) (database), Using E-Stat (distributor), [http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/11-402-x/2011000/chap/lang/lang-eng.htm] (accessed 10.05.26).<br />
2001: Statistics Canada, Languages, Mobility and Migration, 2001 – Provinces and Territories in Canada (table), 2001 Census of Population (Provinces, Census Divisions, Municipalities) (Database), Using E-STAT (Distributor). [http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/11-402-x/2011000/chap/lang/lang-eng.htm] (accessed 10.05.26).<br />
2006: Statistics Canada, Cumulative Profile, 2006 – Provinces and Territories in Canada (table), 2006 Census of Population (Provinces, Census Divisions, Municipalities) (database), Using E-STAT (distributor), [http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/11-402-x/2011000/chap/lang/lang-eng.htm]. Retrieved 10.05.26.</ref>]]
The percentage of the population speaking English, French or both languages most often at home has declined since 1986; the decline has been greatest for French. The proportion of the population who speak neither English nor French in the home has increased. Geographically, this trend remains constant, as usage of English and French have declined in both English and French speaking regions of the country, but French has declined more rapidly both inside and outside Quebec. The table below shows the percentage of the total Canadian population who speak Canada's official languages most often at home from 1971 to 2006.<ref>Given the large discrepancies in the data for both official languages and neither language in 1971 and 1981, it is reasonable to assume that the manner in which the data collected for these years was different from for 1986–2006</ref> Note that there are nuances between "language most spoken at home", "mother-language" and "first official language": data is collected for all three, which together provide a more detailed and complete picture of language-use in Canada.

===Use of English===
{{Further|Canadian English}}
In 2011, just under 21.5&nbsp;million Canadians, representing 65% of the population, spoke English most of the time at home, while 58% declared it their mother language.<ref name="pop1" /> English is the major language everywhere in Canada except [[Quebec]] and [[Nunavut]], and most Canadians (85%) can speak English.<ref name="www12.statcan.gc.ca">{{Cite web|url=http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/dp-pd/hlt-fst/lang/Pages/highlight.cfm?TabID=1&Lang=E&Asc=1&PRCode=01&OrderBy=999&View=1&Age=1&tableID=402&queryID=1|title=Population by knowledge of official languages, age groups (total), 2011 counts, for Canada, provinces and territories|access-date=May 18, 2020}}</ref> While English is not the preferred language in Quebec, 36.1% of [[Québécois people|Québécois]] can speak English.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.spl.gouv.qc.ca/documentation/rapportssondagesstatistiques/dynamiquedeslangues/tableaux |title=La dynamique des langues en quelques chiffres : Tableaux |access-date=2014-03-17 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161207100029/http://www.spl.gouv.qc.ca/documentation/rapportssondagesstatistiques/dynamiquedeslangues/tableaux// |archive-date=2016-12-07 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Nationally, [[French language|Francophones]] are five times more likely to speak English than Anglophones are to speak French – 44% and 9% respectively.<ref>Marmen, Louise and Corbeil, Jean-Pierre, "New Canadian Perspectives, Languages in Canada 2001 Census," Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication, Statistics Canada Cat. No. Ch3-2/8-2004, (Canadian Heritage, 2004), pg. 60.</ref> Only 3.2% of Canada's English-speaking population resides in Quebec—mostly in Montreal.{{refn|group="nb"|18,858,908 Canadians identify their mother tongue as English. 599,230 Québécois identify their mother tongue as English and of that 309,885 live in Montreal.<ref name="Navigator">{{Cite web|url=http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/dp-pd/map-carte/index-eng.cfm|title=Census Data Navigator|access-date=May 18, 2020}}</ref>}}

In 2011, 28.4&nbsp;million Canadians had knowledge of English while only 21.6&nbsp;million Canadians spoke it most often at home.<ref name="Navigator"/><ref>1931–1991: Statistics Canada, The 1997 Canada Year Book, "3.14 Official Language Knowledge," Catalogue No. 11-402XPE/1997.<br />
1996: Statistics Canada. Population by Knowledge of Official Languages (20% sample data), (table), 1996 Census of Population (Provinces, Census Divisions, Municipalities) (database), Using E-STAT (distributor). [https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/dp-pd/hlt-fst/lang/Pages/highlight.cfm?TabID=1&Lang=E&Asc=1&PRCode=01&OrderBy=999&View=1&Age=1&tableID=402&queryID=1] (accessed: June 28, 2010).<br />
2001: Statistics Canada. Languages, Mobility and Migration, 2001 – Provinces and Territories in Canada (table), 2001 Census of Population (Provinces, Census Divisions, Municipalities) (database), Using E-STAT (distributor). [https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/dp-pd/hlt-fst/lang/Pages/highlight.cfm?TabID=1&Lang=E&Asc=1&PRCode=01&OrderBy=999&View=1&Age=1&tableID=402&queryID=1] (accessed: June 28, 2010)<br />
2006: Statistics Canada. Languages, Mobility and Migration, 2006 – Provinces and Territories in Canada (table), 2006 Census of Population (Provinces, Census Divisions, Municipalities) (database), Using E-STAT (distributor). [https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/dp-pd/hlt-fst/lang/Pages/highlight.cfm?TabID=1&Lang=E&Asc=1&PRCode=01&OrderBy=999&View=1&Age=1&tableID=402&queryID=1] (accessed: June 28, 2010).</ref>

===Use of French===
{{Further|Canadian French|French language in Canada}}

In 2011, just over 7.1&nbsp;million Canadians spoke French most often at home, this was a rise of 4.2%, although the proportion of people in Canada who spoke French "most often" at home fell slightly from 21.7% to 21.5% . Of these, about 6.1&nbsp;million or 85% resided in Quebec.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/as-sa/98-314-x/98-314-x2011003_1-eng.cfm|title=French and the francophonie in Canada|access-date=May 18, 2020}}</ref> Outside Quebec, the largest French-speaking populations are found in New Brunswick (which is home to 3.1% of Canada's Francophones) and [[Ontario]] (4.2%, residing primarily in the [[Eastern Ontario|eastern]] and [[Northeastern Ontario|northeastern]] parts of the province and in Toronto and Ottawa). Overall, 22% of people in Canada declare French to be their mother language, while one in three Canadians speak French and 70% are unilingual Anglophones.{{refn|group="nb"|Of the 33,121,175 Canadians only 9,960,590 report to having knowledge of the French language.<ref name="www12.statcan.gc.ca"/>}} Smaller indigenous French-speaking communities exist in some other provinces.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.statcan.gc.ca/tables-tableaux/sum-som/l01/cst01/demo15-eng.htm|title=Census Program|date=15 January 2001|access-date=May 18, 2020}}</ref> For example, a vestigial community exists on Newfoundland's [[Port au Port Peninsula]], a remnant of the "[[French Shore]]" along the island's west coast.

The percentage of the population who speak French both by mother tongue and home language has decreased over the past three decades. Whereas the number of those who speak English at home is higher than the number of people whose mother tongue is English, the opposite is true for Francophones. There are fewer people who speak French at home, than learned French after birth.<ref>Statistics Canada, The Evolving Linguistic Portrait, 2006 Census, Catalogue no. 97-555-XIE, Ottawa, December 2007, pp. 15–16.</ref>

Ethnic diversity is growing in [[French Canadians|French Canada]] but still lags behind the English-speaking parts of the country. In 2006, 91.5% of [[French-speaking Quebecer|Quebecers]] considered themselves to be of either "French" or "Canadian" origin. As a result of the growth in immigration, since the 1970s, from countries in which French is a widely used language, 3.4% of Quebecers indicated that they were of Haitian, Belgian, Swiss, Lebanese or Moroccan origin.<ref>[http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/hlt/97-557/T404-eng.cfm?SR=1 Statistics Canada, Place of birth for the immigrant population by period of immigration, 2006 counts and percentage distribution, for Canada, provinces and territories – 20% sample data, 2006 Census of Population] . {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120524150110/http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/hlt/97-557/T404-eng.cfm?SR=1 |date=May 24, 2012 }}</ref> Other groups of non-francophone immigrants (Irish Catholics, Italian, Portuguese, etc.) have also assimilated into French over the generations. The Irish, who started arriving in large numbers in Quebec in the 1830s, were the first such group, which explains why it has been possible for Quebec to have had five [[Premier of Quebec|premiers]] of Irish ethnic origin: [[John Jones Ross]] (1884–87), [[Edmund James Flynn]] (1896–97), [[Daniel Johnson Sr.]] (1966–68), [[Pierre-Marc Johnson]] (1985), and [[Daniel Johnson Jr.]] (1994).

In 1991, due to linguistic assimilation of Francophones outside Quebec, over one million Canadians who claimed English as their mother tongue were of French ethnic origin (1991 Census).

===Bilingualism and multilingualism versus English–French bilingualism===
{{gallery
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|File:Knowledge of official languages.JPG|Ability of Canadians to speak English and French 1931–2001<ref name="knowledge">
1931–1991: Statistics Canada, The 1997 Canada Year Book, "3.14 Official Language Knowledge," Catalogue No. 11-402XPE/1997.
1996: Statistics Canada. Population by Knowledge of Official Languages (20% sample data), (table), 1996 Census of Population (Provinces, Census Divisions, Municipalities) (database), Using E-STAT (distributor). [http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/11-402-x/11-402-x2012000-eng.htm] (accessed: June 28, 2010).<br />
2001: Statistics Canada. Languages, Mobility and Migration, 2001 – Provinces and Territories in Canada (table), 2001 Census of Population (Provinces, Census Divisions, Municipalities) (database), Using E-STAT (distributor). [http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/11-402-x/11-402-x2012000-eng.htm] (accessed: June 28, 2010)<br />
2006: Statistics Canada. Languages, Mobility and Migration, 2006 – Provinces and Territories in Canada (table), 2006 Census of Population (Provinces, Census Divisions, Municipalities) (database), Using E-STAT (distributor). [http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/11-402-x/11-402-x2012000-eng.htm] (accessed: June 28, 2010).</ref>
|File:Bilingualism in Canada, Quebec, ROC.JPG|Rate of bilingualism (French and English) in Quebec and the rest of Canada, 1941–2006<ref>
1941: Dominion Bureau of Statistics, "Table II. Percentage Distribution of the Population Classified According to Sex, by Official Language, For Canada and the Provinces, 1941," Eighth Census of Canada, 1941.<br />
1951: Dominion Bureau of Statistics, "Table 54. Population by a) official language and sex, and b) mother tongue and sex, for provinces and territories, 1951," Ninth Census of Canada.<br />
1961: Statistics Canada, "Table 64. Population by a) official language and sex, and b) mother tongue and sex, for provinces and territories, 1961," 1961 Census of Canada, Catalogue:92-549, Vol: I – Part: 2.<br />
1971: Statistics Canada, "Table 26. Population by A) Official Language, B) Language Most Often Spoken at Home, and Sex, For Canada and Provinces, 1971," 1971 Census of Canada, Catalogue 92-726 Vol: 1-Part:3.<br />
1981: Statistics Canada, "Table 3. Population by Selected Mother Tongues, age groups and sex, Showing Official Language and Home Language for Canada and Provinces, Urban and Rural, 1981," 1981 Census of Canada, Catalogue 92–910 (Volume 1).<br />
1986: Statistics Canada, "Table 7. Population by Official Languages and Sex, for Canada, Provinces and Territories, 1986 Census – 20% Sample Data," 1986 Census, Catalogue 93–103.<br />
1991: Statistics Canada, "Table 1A. Population by Knowledge of Official Languages and Sex, for Canada, Provinces and Territories, 1991 – 20% Sample Data," 1991 Census, Catalogue 93–318.<br />
1996: Statistics Canada, "Table 1. Selected Characteristics for Census Subdivisions, 1996 Census – 100% Data and 20% Sample Data," 1996 Census, Catalogue 95-186-XPB.<br />
2001: Statistics Canada, Languages, Mobility and Migration, 2001 – Provinces and Territories in Canada (table), 2001 Census of Population (Provinces, Census Divisions, Municipalities) (Database), Using E-STAT (Distributor). [http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/11-402-x/11-402-x2012000-eng.htm] (accessed 10.05.26).<br />
2006: Statistics Canada, Cumulative Profice, 2006 – Provinces and Territories in Canada (table), 2006 Census of Population (Provinces, Sensus Divisions, Municipalities) (database), Using E-STAT (distributor), [http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/11-402-x/11-402-x2012000-eng.htm] Retrieved 10.05.26.</ref>
}}
According to the 2011 census, 98.2% of Canadian residents have knowledge of one or both of the country's two official languages,<ref name="www12.statcan.gc.ca"/> Between 2006 and 2011, the number of persons who reported being able to conduct a conversation in both of Canada's official languages increased by nearly 350,000 to 5.8&nbsp;million. The bilingualism rate of the Canadian population edged up from 17.4% in 2006 to 17.5% in 2011.<ref name="LC">{{Cite web|url=http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/as-sa/98-314-x/98-314-x2011001-eng.cfm|title=Linguistic Characteristics of Canadians|access-date=May 18, 2020}}</ref> This growth of English-French bilingualism in Canada was mainly due to the increased number of Quebecers who reported being able to conduct a conversation in English and French.<ref name="LC" />

Bilingualism with regard to nonofficial languages also increased, most individuals speaking English plus an immigrant language such as Punjabi or Mandarin.<ref>[https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/bilingualism-growing-but-not-in-french-and-english-1.1176469 Bilingualism growing, but not in French and English]</ref>

====Geographic distribution of English–French bilingualism====
{{Further|Bilingual belt}}
{{gallery
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|height=300
|align=center
|File:Geographical distribution of bilingual Canadians, as proportion of overall population.JPG|Geographical distribution of bilingual Canadians as compared to total Canadian population 1941–2006. (sources in table below)|Image:Bilinguisme au Canada-fr.svg|[[Bilingual belt|The Bilingual Belt]]. In most of Canada, either English or French is predominant. Only in the intermittent "belt" stretching between northern Ontario and northern New Brunswick, and in a few other isolated pockets, do the two languages mix on a regular basis.{{Legend|#FFE400|English}}{{Legend|#D8A820|English and French (Bilingual Belt)}}{{Legend|#B07400|French}}{{Legend|#F5F5DC|Sparsely populated areas (&lt;&nbsp;0.4 persons per km<sup>2</sup>)}}
}}
{{sticky header}} 
{|class="wikitable sortable sticky-header" style=text-align:center" style="margin:1em auto;"
|+ style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 1.0em; margin-bottom: 0.5em" | Proportion of bilingual Canadians in Quebec and the rest of Canada compared to overall population distribution 1941–2016
|-
! Year !! # Bilingual Canadians !! % Quebec !! % Rest of Canada !! Total # Canadians !! % Quebec !! % Rest of Canada
|-
| 1941<ref>Dominion Bureau of Statistics, "Table II. Percentage Distribution of the Population Classified According to Sex, by Official Language, For Canada and the Provinces, 1941," Eighth Census of Canada, 1941.</ref><ref>[http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/11-516-x/sectiona/A2_14-eng.csv Series A2:Population of Canada, by province, census dates, 1851 to 1976] (retrieved, July 19, 2010).</ref> || 1,472,858 || 59.9% || 39.5% || 11,506,700 || 29.0% || 71.0%
|-
| 1951<ref>Dominion Bureau of Statistics, "Table 54. Population by a) official language and sex, and b) mother tongue and sex, for provinces and territories, 1951," Ninth Census of Canada.</ref> || 1,727,400 || 60.1% || 39.9% || 14,009,400 || 28.9% || 71.1%
|-
| 1961<ref>Statistics Canada, "Table 64. Population by a) official language and sex, and b) mother tongue and sex, for provinces and territories, 1961," 1961 Census of Canada, Catalogue:92-549, Vol: I – Part: 2.</ref> || 2,231,200 || 60.0% || 40.0% || 18,238,200 || 28.8% || 71.2%
|-
| 1971<ref>Statistics Canada, "Table 26. Population by A) Official Language, B) Language Most Often Spoken at Home, and Sex, For Canada and Provinces, 1971," 1971 Census of Canada, Catalogue 92-726 Vol: 1-Part:3.</ref> || 2,900,150 || 57.4% || 42.6% || 21,568,310 || 27.9% || 72.1%
|-
| 1981<ref>Statistics Canada, "Table 3. Population by Selected Mother Tongues, age groups and sex, Showing Official Language and Home Language for Canada and Provinces, Urban and Rural, 1981," 1981 Census of Canada, Catalogue 92–910 (Volume 1).</ref> || 3,681,955 || 56.1% || 43.9% || 24,083,495 || 26.4% || 73.6%
|-
| 1986<ref>Statistics Canada, "Table 7. Population by Official Languages and Sex, for Canada, Provinces and Territories, 1986 Census – 20% Sample Data," 1986 Census, Catalogue 93–103.</ref> || 4,056,155 || 54.9% || 45.1% || 25,022,005 || 25.8% || 74.2%
|-
| 1991<ref>Statistics Canada, "Table 1A. Population by Knowledge of Official Languages and Sex, for Canada, Provinces and Territories, 1991 – 20% Sample Data," 1991 Census, Catalogue 93–318.</ref> || 4,398,655 || 54.9% || 45.1% || 26,994,045 || 25.2% || 74.8%
|-
| 1996<ref>Statistics Canada, "Table 1. Selected Characteristics for Census Subdivisions, 1996 Census – 100% Data and 20% Sample Data," 1996 Census, Catalogue 95-186-XPB.</ref> || 4,841,320 || 55.0% || 45.0% || 28,528,120 || 24.2% || 75.8%
|-
| 2001<ref>Statistics Canada, Languages, Mobility and Migration, 2001 – Provinces and Territories in Canada (table), 2001 Census of Population (Provinces, Census Divisions, Municipalities) (Database), Using E-STAT (Distributor). [http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/11-402-x/11-402-x2012000-eng.htm] (accessed 10.05.26).</ref>|| 5,231,575 || 55.6% || 44.0% || 29,639,030 || 24.0% || 76.0%
|-
| 2006<ref>Statistics Canada, Cumulative Profile, 2006 – Provinces and Territories in Canada (table), 2006 Census of Population (Provinces, Census Divisions, Municipalities) (database), Using E-STAT (distributor), [http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/11-402-x/11-402-x2012000-eng.htm], retrieved 10.05.26.</ref>|| 5,448,850 || 55.4% || 44.6% || 31,241,030 || 23.8% || 76.2%
|-
|2016<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/hlt-fst/lang/Table.cfm?Lang=E&T=21&Geo=00|title=Knowledge of official languages by age (Total), 2016 counts for the population excluding institutional residents of Canada, provinces and territories, 2016 Census – 100% Data|date=August 2, 2017|website=Statistics Canada}}</ref>
|6,251,485
|57.9%
|42.1%
|34,767,255
|23.2%
|76.8%
|}
According to the [[Canada 2011 Census|2011 census]], 94.3% of Quebecers have knowledge of French, and 47.2% have knowledge of English.<ref name="www12.statcan.gc.ca"/> Bilingualism (of the two official languages) is largely limited to Quebec itself, and to a strip of territory sometimes referred to as the "[[bilingual belt]]", that stretches east from Quebec into northern New Brunswick and west into parts of Ottawa and northeastern Ontario. 85% of bilingual Canadians live within Quebec, Ontario and New Brunswick.<ref name="www12.statcan.gc.ca"/> A majority of all bilingual Canadians, (57.4%) are themselves Quebecers,<ref name="www12.statcan.gc.ca"/> and a high percentage of the bilingual population in the rest of Canada resides in close proximity to the Quebec border.

Similarly, the rate of bilingualism in Quebec has risen higher, and more quickly than in the rest of Canada. In Quebec, the rate of bilingualism has increased from 26% of the population being able to speak English and French in 1951 to 42.5% in 2011.<ref name="www12.statcan.gc.ca"/> As of 2011, in the rest of Canada (excluding Quebec) the rate of bilingualism was 7.5%.<ref name="www12.statcan.gc.ca"/>

{{sticky header}} 
{|class="wikitable sortable sticky-header" style=text-align:right" style="margin:1em auto;"
|+ Percentage of French-English bilingualism by province/territory (2016 census)
|-
!Province/territory
!% of population
!Total number
!class="unsortable"|Ref.
|-
|align="left"|Quebec
|44.5%
|3,586,410
|<ref name=canquebec/>
|-
|align="left"|New Brunswick
|34%
|249,950
|<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.clo-ocol.gc.ca/en/statistics/infographics/french-presence-new-brunswick|title=Infographic: The French presence in New Brunswick|publisher=Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages|website=www.clo-ocol.gc.ca|date=13 September 2018|access-date=12 August 2020|archive-date=23 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123132602/https://www.clo-ocol.gc.ca/en/statistics/infographics/french-presence-new-brunswick|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
|align="left"|Northwest Territories
|14%
|4,900
|<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.clo-ocol.gc.ca/en/statistics/infographics/french-presence-northwest-territories|title=Infographic: The French presence in Northwest Territories|publisher=Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages|website=www.clo-ocol.gc.ca|date=13 September 2018|access-date=12 August 2020|archive-date=24 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200724145719/https://www.clo-ocol.gc.ca/en/statistics/infographics/french-presence-northwest-territories|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
|align="left"|Prince Edward Island
|13%
|17,840
|<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.clo-ocol.gc.ca/en/statistics/infographics/french-presence-prince-edward-island|title=Infographic: The French presence in Prince Edward Island|publisher=Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages|website=www.clo-ocol.gc.ca|date=13 September 2018|access-date=12 August 2020|archive-date=24 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200724144330/https://www.clo-ocol.gc.ca/en/statistics/infographics/french-presence-prince-edward-island|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
|align="left"|Ontario
|11.2%
|1,490,390
|<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.clo-ocol.gc.ca/en/statistics/infographics/french-presence-ontario|title=Infographic: The French presence in Ontario|publisher=Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages|website=www.clo-ocol.gc.ca|date=13 September 2018|access-date=12 August 2020|archive-date=24 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200724144854/https://www.clo-ocol.gc.ca/en/statistics/infographics/french-presence-ontario|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
|align="left"|Nova Scotia
|10.5%
|95,380
|<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.clo-ocol.gc.ca/en/statistics/infographics/french-presence-nova-scotia|title=Infographic: The French presence in Nova Scotia|publisher=Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages|website=www.clo-ocol.gc.ca|date=13 September 2018|access-date=12 August 2020|archive-date=24 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200724144445/https://www.clo-ocol.gc.ca/en/statistics/infographics/french-presence-nova-scotia|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
|align="left"|Yukon
|10.3%
|4,275
|<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.clo-ocol.gc.ca/en/statistics/infographics/french-presence-yukon|title=Infographic: The French presence in Yukon|publisher=Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages|website=www.clo-ocol.gc.ca|date=13 September 2018|access-date=12 August 2020|archive-date=24 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200724145551/https://www.clo-ocol.gc.ca/en/statistics/infographics/french-presence-yukon|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
|align="left"|Manitoba
|9%
|108,460
|<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.clo-ocol.gc.ca/en/statistics/infographics/french-presence-manitoba|title=Infographic: The French presence in Manitoba|publisher=Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages|website=www.clo-ocol.gc.ca|date=13 September 2018|access-date=12 August 2020|archive-date=25 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230425005951/https://www.clo-ocol.gc.ca/en/statistics/infographics/french-presence-manitoba|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
|align="left"|Alberta
|7%
|264,720
|<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.clo-ocol.gc.ca/en/statistics/infographics/french-presence-alberta|title=Infographic: The French presence in Alberta|publisher=Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages|website=www.clo-ocol.gc.ca|date=13 September 2018|access-date=12 August 2020|archive-date=25 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200425120750/https://www.clo-ocol.gc.ca/en/statistics/infographics/french-presence-alberta|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
|align="left"|British Columbia
|7%
|314,925
|<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.clo-ocol.gc.ca/en/statistics/infographics/french-presence-british-columbia|title=Infographic: The French presence in British Columbia|publisher=Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages|website=www.clo-ocol.gc.ca|date=13 September 2018|access-date=12 August 2020|archive-date=25 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200425120959/https://www.clo-ocol.gc.ca/en/statistics/infographics/french-presence-british-columbia|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
|align="left"|Saskatchewan
|5%
|51,560
|<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.clo-ocol.gc.ca/en/statistics/infographics/french-presence-saskatchewan|title=Infographic: The French presence in Saskatchewan|publisher=Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages|website=www.clo-ocol.gc.ca|date=13 September 2018|access-date=12 August 2020|archive-date=10 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200610024940/https://www.clo-ocol.gc.ca/en/statistics/infographics/french-presence-saskatchewan|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
|align="left"|Newfoundland and Labrador
|5%
|25,940
|<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.clo-ocol.gc.ca/en/statistics/infographics/french-presence-newfoundland-labrador|title=Infographic: The French presence in Newfoundland and Labrador|publisher=Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages|website=www.clo-ocol.gc.ca|date=13 September 2018|access-date=12 August 2020}}</ref>
|-
|align="left"|Nunavut
|4.3%
|1,525
|<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.clo-ocol.gc.ca/en/statistics/infographics/french-presence-nunavut|title=Infographic: The French presence in Nunavut|publisher=Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages|website=www.clo-ocol.gc.ca|date=13 September 2018|access-date=12 August 2020|archive-date=24 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200724145842/https://www.clo-ocol.gc.ca/en/statistics/infographics/french-presence-nunavut|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
|align="left"|'''Canada'''—''Total''
|17.9%
|6,216,065
|<ref name=canquebec>{{cite web|url=https://www.clo-ocol.gc.ca/en/statistics/canada|title=Fast figures on Canada's official languages (2016)|publisher=Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages|website=www.clo-ocol.gc.ca|date=4 July 2019|access-date=12 August 2020|archive-date=24 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200724003019/https://www.clo-ocol.gc.ca/en/statistics/canada|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|}

==== English–French bilingualism rates ====
English–French bilingualism is highest among members of local linguistic minorities. It is very uncommon for Canadians to be capable of speaking only the minority official language of their region (French outside Quebec or English in Quebec). Only 1.5% of Canadians are able to speak only the minority official language, and of these most (90%) live in the bilingual belt.<ref name="2006 knolwedge">Statistics Canada. "Cumulative Profile, 2006 – Canada (308 electoral districts)" (table), 2006 Census of Population (Federal Electoral Districts, 2003 Representation Order) (database), using E-STAT (distributor). [http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2006/ref/preview-avantgout/pop-stand-normal/cumul-eng.cfm] (accessed: June 28, 2010).</ref>

As the table below shows, rates of bilingualism are much higher among individuals who belong to the linguistic minority group for their region of Canada, than among members of the local linguistic majority. For example, within Quebec around 37% of bilingual Canadians are Francophones, whereas Francophones only represent 4.5% of the population outside Quebec.<ref>O'Keefe, Michael, "Francophone Minorities: Assimilation and Community Vitality, second edition", New Canadian Percpectives, Canadian Heritage, (Cat. no. CH3-2/2001), 2001.</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto;"
|+ Rates of French-English bilingualism among linguistic groups.<ref name="bilinguism-rate">[http://www.salic-slmc.ca/showpage.asp?file=langues_en_presence/langues_off/taux_biling&language=en&updatemenu=true Bilingualism Rate in Canada, Site for Language Management in Canada]  {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090213165703/http://www.salic-slmc.ca/showpage.asp?file=langues_en_presence%2Flangues_off%2Ftaux_biling&language=en&updatemenu=true |date=February 13, 2009 }} (SLMC).</ref>
|-
!
! [[English Canadians|Anglophones]]
! [[French Canadians|Francophones]]
! [[Allophone (Quebec)|Allophones]]
|-
! [[Quebec]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 66.1%
| style="text-align:center;"| 36.6%
| style="text-align:center;"| 50.4%
|-
! [[English Canada|Rest of Canada]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 7.1%
| style="text-align:center;"| 85.1%
| style="text-align:center;"| 5.7%
|}

=== Official language minority communities ===
French-speaking Canadians from outside Quebec and [[English-speaking Quebecers]] are, together, the official language minority communities. These communities are:

{{sticky header}} 
{|class="wikitable sortable sticky-header" style=text-align:center" style="margin:1em auto;"
|+ Official language minority communities
! Jurisdiction !! Community
|-
| {{flag|Quebec}} || [[English-speaking Quebecers|Anglo-Quebecers]]
|-
| {{flag|Ontario}} || [[Franco-Ontarian|Franco-Ontarians / Ontarois]]
|-
| {{flag|Manitoba}} || [[Franco-Manitoban]]s
|-
| {{flag|Saskatchewan}} || [[Fransaskois]]
|-
| {{flag|Alberta}} || [[Franco-Albertan]]s
|-
| {{flag|British Columbia}} || [[Franco-Columbian|Franco-Colombians]]
|-
| {{flag|Yukon}} || [[Franco-Yukonnais]]
|-
| {{flag|Northwest Territories}} || [[Franco-Ténois]]
|-
| {{flag|Nunavut}} || [[Franco-Nunavois]]
|-
| {{flag|Newfoundland and Labrador}} || [[Franco-Terreneuviens]]
|-
| {{flag|New Brunswick}}, {{flag|Prince Edward Island}}, {{flag|Nova Scotia}} || [[Acadiens]]
|-
| {{flag|New Brunswick}} ([[Madawaska County, New Brunswick|Madawaska]]) || [[Brayon]]s
|-
| [[File:Metis Blue.png|23px]] Michif Piyii:{{ref|reference_name_A|a}} {{flag|Manitoba}}, {{flag|Alberta}}, {{flag|British Columbia}},<br />{{flag|Northwest Territories}}, {{flag|Ontario}}, {{flag|Saskatchewan}}  || [[Métis]]<ref name=MetisFR>{{cite web |last1=Doireau |first1=Ophélie |title=Au Manitoba, redonner de la force au mitchif-français |url=https://francopresse.ca/2021/11/01/au-manitoba-redonner-de-la-force-au-mitchif-francais/ |website=FrancoPresse |access-date=15 December 2021 |date=1 Nov 2021}}</ref><ref name="Papen1">{{cite journal |last1=Papen |first1=Robert A |title=La Variation dialectale dans le parler français des Métis de l'Ouest canadien |journal=Francophonies d'Amérique |date=1993 |volume=3 |url=https://www.erudit.org/fr/revues/fa/1993-n3-fa1807525/1004439ar/ |access-date=15 December 2021}}</ref><ref name="Papen2" >{{cite journal |last1=Papen |first1=Robert A |title=Quelques remarques sur un parler français méconnu de l'Ouest canadien: le métis |journal=Revue québécoise de linguistique |date=1984 |volume=14 |issue=1 |page=113 |doi=10.7202/602530ar |url=https://www.erudit.org/fr/revues/rql/1984-v14-n1-rql2923/602530ar.pdf |access-date=15 December 2021}}</ref>
|- class=sortbottom
!scope=row colspan=2 | Notes:{{note label|reference_name_A|a}}The Métis [[country|homeland]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=O'Toole |first1=Darren |title=Toward a Métis homeland |url=https://www.canadiangeographic.ca/article/toward-metis-homeland |website=Canadian Geographic |date=9 November 2017 |publisher=The Royal Canadian Geographical Society |access-date=15 December 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Teillet |first1=Jean |title=The Boundaries of the Métis Nation |url=https://www.metisportals.ca/cons/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Boundaries-of-the-Metis-Nation-2011.pdf |website=The Métis Nation Self-Determination Gateway |access-date=15 December 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Michif Piyii (Métis) |url=https://native-land.ca/maps/territories/metis/ |website=native-land.ca |publisher=Native Land Digital |access-date=15 December 2021}}</ref>
|} 

====French outside Quebec====
The language continuity index represents the relationship between the number of people who speak French most often at home and the number for whom French is their mother tongue. A continuity index of less than one indicates that French has more losses than gains – that more people with French as a mother tongue speak another language at home. Outside Quebec, New Brunswick has the highest French language continuity ratio. [[British Columbia]] and [[Saskatchewan]] have the lowest French language continuity ratio and thus the lowest retention of French. From 1971 to 2011, the overall ratio for French language continuity outside Quebec declined from 0.73 to 0.45. Declines were the greatest for [[Manitoba]], Saskatchewan, and [[Newfoundland and Labrador|Newfoundland]].

{{sticky header}} 
{|class="wikitable sortable sticky-header" style=text-align:center" style="margin:1em auto;"
|+French language continuity ratio 1971–2011<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.stat.gouv.qc.ca/donstat/econm_finnc/conjn_econm/TSC/pdf/CHAP3.PDF|title=La Francophonie Canadienne|website=stat.gouv.qc.ca|publisher=[[Statistics Canada]]|location=[[Ottawa]], Ontario|language=fr|date=October 3, 2003|archive-date=October 3, 2003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031003191239/http://www.stat.gouv.qc.ca/donstat/econm_finnc/conjn_econm/TSC/pdf/CHAP3.PDF|url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>O'Keefe, Michael, "Francophone Minorities: Assimilation and Community Vitality, second edition", New Canadian Perspectives, Canadian Heritage, (Cat. no. CH3-2/2001), 2001, pg. 55.</ref>
|-

!Province/Territory

!1971
!1981
!1991
!1996
!2001
!2006
!2011
!2021
|-
|[[New Brunswick]]
|align=left|0.92
|align=left|0.93
|align=left|0.93
|align=left|0.92
|align=left|0.91
|align=left|0.91
|align=left|0.89
|align=left|0.89
|-
|[[Quebec]]
|align=left|-
|align=left|-
|align=left|1.01
|align=left|1.01
|align=left|1.02
|align=left|1.03
|align=left|1.03
|align=left|1.03
|-
|[[Nunavut]]
|align=left|-
|align=left|-
|align=left|-
|align=left|-
|align=left|0.54
|align=left|0.57
|align=left|0.58
|align=left|0.65
|-
|[[Canada]]
|align=left|-
|align=left|-
|align=left|0.96
|align=left|0.96
|align=left|0.96
|align=left|0.97
|align=left|0.97
|align=left|0.98
|-
|[[Ontario]]
|align=left|0.73
|align=left|0.72
|align=left|0.63
|align=left|0.61
|align=left|0.60
|align=left|0.60
|align=left|0.57
|align=left|0.55
|-
|[[Nova Scotia]]
|align=left|0.69
|align=left|0.69
|align=left|0.59
|align=left|0.57
|align=left|0.56
|align=left|0.53
|align=left|0.51
|align=left|0.46
|-
|[[Prince Edward Island]]
|align=left|0.60
|align=left|0.64
|align=left|0.53
|align=left|0.53
|align=left|0.48
|align=left|0.49
|align=left|0.47
|align=left|0.45
|-
|[[Manitoba]]
|align=left|0.65
|align=left|0.60
|align=left|0.49
|align=left|0.47
|align=left|0.46
|align=left|0.45
|align=left|0.42
|align=left|0.40
|-
|[[Yukon]]
|align=left|0.30
|align=left|0.45
|align=left|0.43
|align=left|0.46
|align=left|0.46
|align=left|0.49
|align=left|0.57
|align=left|0.58
|-
|[[Northwest Territories]]
|align=left|0.50
|align=left|0.51
|align=left|0.47
|align=left|0.43
|align=left|0.39
|align=left|0.46
|align=left|0.51
|align=left|0.54
|-
|[[Newfoundland and Labrador]]
|align=left|0.63
|align=left|0.72
|align=left|0.47
|align=left|0.42
|align=left|0.42
|align=left|0.36
|align=left|0.46
|align=left|0.39
|-
|[[Alberta]]
|align=left|0.49
|align=left|0.49
|align=left|0.36
|align=left|0.32
|align=left|0.33
|align=left|0.33
|align=left|0.36
|align=left|0.35
|-
|[[Saskatchewan]]
|align=left|0.50
|align=left|0.41
|align=left|0.33
|align=left|0.29
|align=left|0.26
|align=left|0.26
|align=left|0.26
|align=left|0.25
|-
|[[British Columbia]]
|align=left|0.30
|align=left|0.35
|align=left|0.28
|align=left|0.29
|align=left|0.29
|align=left|0.30
|align=left|0.29
|align=left|0.30
|}

==Non-official languages used in Canada==

=== Indigenous languages ===
{{main|Indigenous languages of the Americas|List of endangered languages in Canada}}
{{see also|Canadian Aboriginal syllabics}}

[[File:Indigenous language speakers in Canada-3.png|thumb|Indigenous language speakers in Canada-3]]
Canada is home to a rich variety of [[Indigenous peoples in Canada|indigenous]] languages, most of which are spoken nowhere else. There are 14 indigenous [[language family|language groups]] in Canada with about 100 distinct languages and dialects, including many sign languages.<ref name="Aboriginal languages">{{cite web|url=http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/89-589-x/4067801-eng.htm|title=Aboriginal languages|work=Statistics Canada|access-date = 2009-10-05}}</ref> Almost all indigenous languages in Canada are considered [[endangered language|endangered]], with the exception of [[Inuktitut]], [[Inuinnaqtun]], and the Cree varieties [[Naskapi]], [[Atikamekw]], [[East Cree]], and [[Plains Cree language|Plains Cree]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ethnologue: Languages of the World|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/|access-date=2021-10-14|website=Ethnologue|language=en}}</ref> Prior to [[colonization]], [[multilingualism]] was common across indigenous nations, many of whom often seasonally migrated. However, the [[Indian reserve|reserve system]] created more permanent stationary [[Band government|bands]], which have generally selected only one of their various ancestral languages to try to preserve in the face of increasing [[Anglicization]], [[Francization]],<ref>{{Cite journal
 |last=McLead
 |first=Neal.
 |title=Plains Cree Identity: Borderlands, Ambiguous Genealogies and Narrative Irony
 |journal=The Canadian Journal of Native Studies
 |place=Dallas, TX
 |publisher=SIL International
 |year=2000
 |volume=XX
 |issue=2
 |url=http://www2.brandonu.ca/library/CJNS/20.2/cjnsv20no1_pg437-454.pdf
 |access-date=2013-04-18
 |url-status=dead
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141014012332/http://www3.brandonu.ca/library/CJNS/20.2/cjnsv20no1_pg437-454.pdf
 |archive-date=2014-10-14
}}</ref> or Amslanization (the process by which [[American Sign Language]] replaces local [[sign language]]s).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bone |first1=Tracey A. |last2=Wilkinson |first2=Erin |last3=Ferndale |first3=Danielle |last4=Adams |first4=Rodney |title=Indigenous and Deaf People and the Implications of Ongoing Practices of Colonization: A Comparison of Australia and Canada |journal=Humanity & Society |date=19 April 2021 |volume=46 |issue=3 |pages=495–521 |doi=10.1177/01605976211001575 |s2cid=234851479 |doi-access=free }}</ref> In addition, the [[Indian Residential School|residential school]] system attempted to institutionally exterminate languages and cultures from coast to coast to coast. The cruel methods (such as [[child abuse|physical]] and [[child sexual abuse|sexual abuse]], as well as death rates as high as one in twenty children<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hopper |first1=Tristin |title=Why so many children died at Indian Residential Schools |url=https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/newly-discovered-b-c-graves-a-grim-reminder-of-the-heartbreaking-death-toll-of-residential-schools |access-date=9 March 2022 |agency=Postmedia National Inc. |publisher=National Post |date=29 May 2021}}</ref>) resulted in a sharp declines in language use across all nations,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hanson |first1=Erin |last2=Gamez |first2=Daniel P. |last3=Manuel |first3=Alexa |title=The Residential School System |url=https://indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca/the_residential_school_system/#:~:text=Residential%20schools%20systematically%20undermined%20Indigenous,loss%20of%20language%20and%20culture. |website=Indigenous Foundations |publisher=First Nations and Indigenous Studies at the University of British Columbia |access-date=9 March 2022}}</ref> including amongst [[deaf]] and [[sign language|signing]] communities.<ref>{{cite thesis |last=Elgar  |first=Margaret Fern |date=19 September 1997 |title=A Comparative Study of Native Residential Schools and the Residential Schools for the Deaf in Canada |type=Master of Anthropology |publisher=Carleton University |url=https://curve.carleton.ca/system/files/etd/0528b1ff-2814-46b9-9126-7707c494ce93/etd_pdf/cc4ca4b2733eb304901070722d077a5d/elgar-acomparativestudyofnativeresidentialschools.pdf |access-date=9 March 2022}}</ref>

[[Robert Falcon Ouellette]], a Cree Member of Parliament, played a pivotal role in promoting indigenous languages within the [[Canadian Parliament]] and [[Canadian House of Commons]]. He was instrumental in obtaining unanimous consent from all political parties to change the standing orders to allow indigenous languages to be spoken in the House of Commons, with full translation services provided. This historic change enabled Ouellette to deliver a speech in Cree, marking the first use of an indigenous language in the House on Jan 28, 2019.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.revparlcan.ca/en/honouring-indigenous-languages-within-parliament/ | title=Honouring Indigenous Languages within Parliament – Canadian Parliamentary Review – la Revue parlementaire canadienne | date=8 August 2019 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://globalnews.ca/news/4901314/indigenous-winnipeg-mp-delivers-historic-speech-in-house-of-commons/ | title=Indigenous Winnipeg MP delivers speech in Cree in House of Commons - Winnipeg &#124; Globalnews.ca }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jan/27/canada-native-languages-parliament-indigenous | title=Sound of native languages in parliament to mark win for indigenous Canadians | newspaper=The Guardian | date=27 January 2019 | last1=Cecco | first1=Leyland }}</ref>

{{multiple image
 | align = left
 | direction = vertical
 | width = 400
 | header = 
 | image1 = Inuit languages and dialects.svg
 | alt1 = Map of Inuit oral languages and dialects
 | class1 = bg-transparent
 | caption1 = Maps of [[Inuit languages|Inuit oral languages]].
 | image2 = Map of IUR & GSL.svg
 | alt2 = Map of Inuit and Greenlandic Sign Languages
 | caption2 =  Map of [[Greenlandic Sign Language|Greenlandic]] and [[Inuit Sign Language]]s.
}}
Furthermore, Bill C-91, the Indigenous Languages Act passed in 2019, was enacted to support and revitalize indigenous languages across Canada. This legislation, aims to reclaim, revitalize, and maintain indigenous languages through sustainable funding and the establishment of the Office of the Commissioner of Indigenous Languages. Ouellette was the chair of the indigenous caucus in the House of Commons and helped ensure it passage before the election of 2019. <ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.parl.ca/documentviewer/en/42-1/bill/c-91/royal-assent | title=Government Bill (House of Commons) C-91 (42-1) - Royal Assent - Indigenous Languages Act - Parliament of Canada }}</ref><ref>https://lop.parl.ca/staticfiles/PublicWebsite/Home/ResearchPublications/HillStudies/PDF/2015-131-E.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=August 2024}}</ref><ref>https://www.canlii.org/en/commentary/doc/2019CanLIIDocs3786#!fragment/zoupio-_Toc3Page3/BQCwhgziBcwMYgK4DsDWszIQewE4BUBTADwBdoAvbRABwEtsBaAfX2zgGYAFMAc0I4BKADTJspQhACKiQrgCe0AORLhEQmFwIZcxSrUatIAMp5SAIUUAlAKIAZGwDUAggDkAwjeGkwAI2ik7IKCQA {{Bare URL inline|date=August 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.uottawa.ca/faculty-education/news-all/meet-robert-falcon-ouellette-veteran-former-parliamentarian-and-professor#:~:text=Professor%20Ouellette%20holds%20a%20doctorate,Chair%20of%20the%20Indigenous%20Caucus | title=Meet Robert-Falcon Ouellette: Veteran, former parliamentarian, and professor }}</ref>

Two of Canada's [[Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories|territories]] give official status to native languages. In [[Nunavut]], Inuktitut and Inuinnaqtun, known collectively as [[Inuktut]], are official languages alongside the national languages of English and French, and Inuktitut is a common [[Lingua franca|vehicular language]] in territorial government.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://langcom.nu.ca/faq/what-are-official-languages-nunavut |work=Office of the Languages Commissioner of Nunavut |title=What are the Official Languages of Nunavut |access-date=2017-08-14 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170808075559/http://langcom.nu.ca/faq/what-are-official-languages-nunavut |archive-date=2017-08-08 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.canlii.org/en/nu/laws/stat/snu-2008-c-10/latest/snu-2008-c-10.html|title=Official Languages Act, SNu 2008, c 10|access-date=May 18, 2020}}</ref> In the [[Northwest Territories]], the ''Official Languages Act'' declares that there are eleven different languages: Cree, [[Chipewyan language|Dënësųłıné]], [[Slavey language|Dene Yatıé / Dene Zhatıé]],{{refn|group="nb"|name=Slavey}} English, French, [[Gwich’in language|Gwich’in]], Inuinnaqtun, Inuktitut, [[Inuvialuktun]], [[Slavey language|Sahtúgot’įné Yatı̨́ / K’ashógot’įne Goxedǝ́ / Shíhgot’įne Yatı̨́]],{{refn|group="nb"|name=Slavey}} and [[Dogrib language|Tłįchǫ]].<ref name="nwtlang" /> Besides English and French, these languages are not vehicular in government; official status entitles citizens to receive services in them on request and to deal with the government in them.<ref name="online">{{Cite book|last=Gordon|first=Raymond G Jr.|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=CA|title=Ethnologue: Languages of the world|publisher=SIL International|year=2005|isbn=1-55671-159-X|edition=15|place=Dallas, TX|format=Web Version online by SIL International, formerly known as the Summer Institute of Linguistics|access-date=2009-11-16}} Since 2015 demands have been made to recognize all Aboriginal languages as official languages in Canada.</ref>

Awaiting [[royal assent]] in October 2022 on [[Treaty Day (Nova Scotia)|Treaty Day]], [[Nova Scotia]] has affirmed [[Mi'kmawi'simk]] as the "First Language" of the province through a bill titled the "Mi'kmaw Language Act" (No. 148). The Act establishes a language committee co-developed and co-run by [[Miꞌkmaw Kinaꞌmatnewey]] as well as ensuring "government support for the preservation, revitalization, promotion and protection of the Mi’kmaw language for generations to come," collaboratively developing strategy between the [[Mi'kmaq]] of Nova Scotia and the [[Government of Nova Scotia]].<ref name="LangAct" />

According to the 2016 census, less than one per cent of Canadians (213,225) reported an indigenous language as their mother tongue, and less than one per cent of Canadians (137,515) reported an indigenous language as the language spoken most often at home.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/hlt-fst/lang/Table.cfm?Lang=E&T=41&Geo=01|title=Aboriginal mother tongue, Aboriginal language spoken most often at home and Other Aboriginal language(s) spoken regularly at home for the population excluding institutional residents of Canada, provinces and territories, 2016 Census|date=2 August 2017|access-date=July 22, 2021}}</ref> Whilst most Canadian indigenous languages are endangered and their current speaker numbers are frequently low, the number of speakers has grown and even outpaced the number with an indigenous mother tongue, indicating that many people continue to learn the languages even if not initially raised with them.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Government of Canada|first=Statistics Canada|date=2017-10-25|title=Census in Brief: The Aboriginal languages of First Nations people, Métis and Inuit|url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/as-sa/98-200-x/2016022/98-200-x2016022-eng.cfm|access-date=2021-10-14|website=www12.statcan.gc.ca}}</ref>

Given the destruction of indigenous state structures, academics usually classify indigenous peoples of Canada by region into "[[Classification of indigenous peoples of the Americas|culture areas]]", or by their language family.<ref>{{cite book
 | title = Handbook of the North American Indians
 | publisher = [[Smithsonian Institution]]
 | year = 2008
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=PHXIeG6JyKEC&pg=PA1
 |page=1
 |isbn=978-0-16-004574-5
 | access-date = 2010-08-11}}</ref>
* [[Inuit|Arctic cultural area]] ([[Inuit languages]], including [[Inuit Sign Language]])
* [[Indigenous peoples of the Subarctic|Subarctic culture area]] ([[Na-Dene languages|Na-Dene]] and [[Algonquian languages]])
* [[Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands|Eastern Woodlands (Northeast) cultural area]] (Algonquian and [[Iroquoian languages]])
* [[Plains Indians|Plains cultural area]] (Algonquian, [[Plains Indian Sign Language|Plains Sign]], and [[Siouan languages]])
* [[Indigenous peoples of the Northwest Plateau|Northwest Plateau cultural area]] ([[Ktunaxa language|Ktunaxa]], Na-Dene, and [[Salishan languages]], including [[Secwepemc Sign Language|Secwepemcékst]]<ref name="BCHSD">{{cite web |title=Recognize Indigenous Sign Languages – Reconnaître les Langues des Signes Autochtones |url=https://www.ourcommons.ca/Content/Committee/421/CHPC/Brief/BR10366021/br-external/BCHummingbirdSocietyOfTheDeaf-e.pdf |publisher=BC Hummingbird Society for the Deaf (BCHSD) |access-date=9 March 2022 |date=9 March 2019}}</ref> and ''[[Plateau Sign Language]]'')
* [[Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast|Northwest Coast cultural area]] ([[Haida language|Haida]], Salishan, [[Tsimshianic languages|Tsimshianic]], and [[Wakashan languages]], possibly including [[Coast Salish Sign Language]]<ref name="BCHSD" />)
{{sticky header}} 
{|class="wikitable sortable sticky-header-multi" style=text-align:right" style="margin:1em auto;"
|-
!Indigenous languages
!No. of speakers
![[First language|Mother tongue]]
!Home language
|-
|style="text-align:left"|[[Cree language|Cree]] (n.o.s.){{refn|group="nb"|name=nos}}{{ref label|reference name_A|a|a}}
|99,950
|78,855
|47,190
|-
|style="text-align:left"|[[Inuktitut]]
|35,690
|32,010
|25,290
|-
|style="text-align:left"|[[Ojibwe language|Ojibwemowin]]
|32,460
|11,115
|11,115
|-
|style="text-align:left"|[[Innu language|Innu]]–[[Naskapi language|Naskapi]]
|11,815
|10,970
|9,720
|-
|style="text-align:left"|[[Chipewyan language|Denesuline]]
|11,130
|9,750
|7,490
|-
|style="text-align:left"|[[Oji-Cree language|Oji-Cree (Anishininimowin)]]
|12,605
|8,480
|8,480
|-
|style="text-align:left"|[[Mi'kmaq language|Mi'kmawi'simk]]
|8,750
|7,365
|3,985
|-
|style="text-align:left"|[[Sioux language|Siouan languages (Dakota/Nakota)]]
|6,495
|5,585
|3,780
|-
|style="text-align:left"|[[Atikamekw language|Atikamekw]]
|5,645
|5,245
|4,745
|-
|style="text-align:left"|[[Blackfoot language|Blackfoot]]
|4,915
|3,085
|3,085
|-
|style="text-align:left"|[[Dogrib language|Tłįchǫ]]
|2,645
|2,015
|1,110
|-
|style="text-align:left"|[[Algonquin language|Algonquin (Omàmìwininìmowin)]]
|2,685
|1,920
|385
|-
|style="text-align:left"|[[Carrier language|Dakelh]]
|2,495
|1,560
|605
|-
|style="text-align:left"|[[Gitxsan language|Gitxsanimaax]]
|1,575
|1,175
|320
|-
|style="text-align:left"|[[Chilcotin language|Tsilhqot'in]]
|1,400
|1,070
|435
|-
|style="text-align:left"|[[Slavey language|Sahtúgot’įné Yatı̨́ / K’ashógot’įne Goxedǝ́ /<br />Shíhgot’įne Yatı̨́]]{{refn|group="nb"|name=Slavey}}
|1,235
|650
|650
|-
|style="text-align:left"|[[Slavey language|Dené Dháh / Dene Yatıé / Dene Zhatıé]]{{refn|group="nb"|name=Slavey}}
|2,315
|600
|600
|-
|style="text-align:left"|[[Malecite-Passamaquoddy language|Wəlastəkey latowewakən]]
|790
|535
|140
|-
|style="text-align:left"|[[Inuinnaqtun]]
|580
|370
|70
|-
|style="text-align:left"|[[Gwich’in language|Gwich’in]]
|570
|355
|25
|-
|style="text-align:left"|[[Mohawk language|Kanienʼkéha]]
|615
|290
|20
|-
|style="text-align:left"|[[Shuswap language|Secwepemctsín]]
|1,650
|250
|250
|-
|style="text-align:left"|[[Nisga'a language|Nisg̱a'a]]
|1,090
|250
|250
|-
|style="text-align:left"|[[Tlingit language|Tlingit]]
|175
|0
|0
|-
|style="text-align:left"|[[Inuit Sign Language|Atgangmuurngniq]]
|47<ref name="AmsterdamLing">{{cite journal |title=Inuit Sign Language: a contribution to sign language typology |last1=Schuit |first1=Joke |last2=Baker |first2=Anne |last3=Pfau |first3=Roland |url=http://www.linguisticsinamsterdam.nl/cgi/t/text/get-pdf?c=aclc;idno=0401a01 |journal=Universiteit van Amsterdam |access-date=1 August 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150919191834/http://www.linguisticsinamsterdam.nl/cgi/t/text/get-pdf?c=aclc;idno=0401a01 |archive-date=19 September 2015 }}</ref>
|Unknown
|Unknown
|-
|style="text-align:left"| [[Oneida Sign Language|Onʌyota'a:ká Sign Language]]{{ref label|reference name_B|b|b}}
|Unknown
|Unknown
|Unknown
|-
|style="text-align:left"|[[Plains Indian Sign Language|Plains Sign Talk]]{{ref label|reference name_B|b|b}}
|Unknown
|Unknown
|Unknown
|-
|style="text-align:left"|[[Secwépemc Sign Language|Secwepemcékst]]{{ref label|reference name_B|b|b}}
|Unknown
|Unknown
|Unknown
|-
|}
{{refbegin}}Source: Statistics Canada, ''2006 Census Profile of Federal Electoral Districts (2003 Representation Order): Language, Mobility and Migration and Immigration and Citizenship'' Ottawa, 2007, pp.&nbsp;2, 6, 10.<ref name="Aboriginal languages" /><br />{{note label|reference_name_A|a|a}}There exist numerous Cree languages, such as [[Plains Cree language|Plains Cree]] ({{lang|cr-Latn|nêhiyawêwin}} {{lang|cr-Cans|ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐍᐏᐣ}}), [[Woods Cree]] ({{lang|cr-Latn|nīhithawīwin}} {{lang|cr-Cans|ᓃᐦᐃᖬᐑᐏᐣ}}), [[Swampy Cree language|Swampy Cree]] (E: {{lang|cr-Latn|nêhinawêwin}} {{lang|cr-Cans|ᓀᐦᐃᓇᐌᐎᐣ}}, W: {{lang|cr-Latn|ininîmowin}} {{lang|cr-Cans|ᐃᓂᓃᒧᐎᓐ}}), [[Moose Cree language|Moose Cree]] ({{lang|cr-Latn|ililîmowin}} {{lang|cr-Cans|ᐃᓕᓖᒧᐎᓐ}}), and [[East Cree]] (N: {{lang|cr-Latn|Iyiniu-Ayamiwin}} {{lang|cr-Cans|ᐄᓅ ᐊᔨᒨᓐ}} S: {{lang|cr-Latn|Iyiyiu-Ayamiwin}} {{lang|cr-Cans|ᐄᔨᔫ ᐊᔨᒨᓐ}}).<br />{{note label|reference_name_B|b|b}}Although small in number,<ref name="BCHSD" /> these languages have been included without data to show the disparity in information between [[Spoken language|oral]] and [[sign language]]s. The [[Canadian Association of the Deaf]] state that, in their opinion, "no fully credible census of [[Deaf culture|Deaf]], deafened, and hard of hearing people has ever been conducted in Canada." By extension, there exists no credible data on sign languages, especially of indigenous sign languages.<ref name="CADState">{{cite web |title=Statistics on Deaf Canadians |url=http://cad.ca/issues-positions/statistics-on-deaf-canadians/ |website=CAD |publisher=Canadian Association of the Deaf – Association des Sourds du Canada |access-date=9 March 2022}}</ref>{{refend}}

''[[Glottolog]]'' 4.3 (2020) counted 13 independent indigenous language families and/or isolates in Canada.<ref>Harald Hammarström, Robert Forkel, Martin Haspelmath & Sebastian Bank, eds., [[doi:10.5281/zenodo.4061162|''Glottolog'', ver. 4.3]] (Jena: [[Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History]], 2020).</ref> A potential fourteenth family, that of the [[Plateau Sign Language|sign languages of the Plateau]], possibly hosting languages like [[Secwepemcékst]] and [[Ktunaxa Sign Language]], remains unlisted by Glottolog. It remains unknown to academia the extent which sign languages are spoken and how they relate to and across linguistic families.<ref name="CADState" />

{{columns-list|colwidth=16em|
#'''[[Algonquian languages|Algonquian]]'''{{refn|group=lan|name=Algic|'''[[Algic languages]]''':
* [[Oji-Cree language|Anishininiimowin ᐊᓂᐦᔑᓂᓃᒧᐏᐣ]]
* [[Atikamekw language|Atikamekw nehirâmowin]]
* [[Ottawa dialect|Daawaamwin]]
* [[Moose Cree language|ililîmowin ᐃᓕᓖᒧᐎᓐ]]
* [[Swampy Cree language|ininîmowin ᐃᓂᓃᒧᐎᓐ]]
* [[Innu-aimun|Innu- / Ilnu-Aimûn]]
* [[East Cree|Iiyiyiu- / Iiyiyuu- / Iinuu-Ayamiwin<br />ᐄᔨᔨᐤ- / ᐄᔨᔫ- / ᐄᓅ-ᐊᔨᒨᓐ]]
* [[Miꞌkmaq language|Mi'kmawi'simk]]
* [[Michif language|Mitchif]]
* [[Western Ojibwa language|Nakawēmowin ᓇᐦᑲᐌᒧᐎᓐ]]
* [[Naskapi language|Naskapi Iyimuun ᓇᔅᑲᐱ ᐃᔨᒧᐅᓐ]]
* [[Swampy Cree language|nêhinawêwin ᓀᐦᐃᓇᐌᐎᐣ]]
* [[Plains Cree language|nêhiyawêwin ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐍᐏᐣ]]
* [[Woods Cree|nīhithawīwin ᓃᐦᐃᖬᐑᐏᐣ]]
* [[Blackfoot language|Niitsipowahsin ᖹᐨᓱᑲᖷᑊᓱᐡ]]
* [[Ojibwe language|Ojibwemowin ᐅᒋᑉᐧᐁᒧᐎᓐ]]
* [[Algonquin language|Omàmìwininìmowin]]
* [[Malecite-Passamaquoddy language|Wəlastəkey latowewakən]]
* [[Abenaki language|Wôbanakiôdwawôgan]]
* [[Gros Ventre language|ʔɔʔɔ́ɔ́ɔ́naakíitʔɔh]]
}}
#'''[[Haida languages|Haida]]'''
#'''[[Inuit languages|Inuit]]'''{{refn|group=lan|name=Inuit|'''[[Inuit languages]]''':
* [[Aivilingmiutut]]
* [[North Baffin dialect|Iglulingmiutut ᐃᒡᓗᓕᖕᒥᐅᑐᑦ]]
* [[Inuinnaqtun]]
* [[Inuktitut|Inuktitut ᐃᓄᒃᑎᑐᑦ]]
* [[Inuttitut]]
* [[Inuvialuktun]]
* [[Kangiryuarmiutun]]
* [[Kivalliq dialect|Kivallirmiutut ᑭᕙᓪᓕᕐᒥᐅᑐᑦ]]
* [[Natsilingmiutut|Natsilingmiutut ᓇᑦᓯᓕᖕᒥᐅᑐᑦ]]
* [[Siglitun]]
* [[Utkuhiksalik|Utkuhiksalingmiutitut]]
* [[Uummarmiutun]]
}}
#'''[[Inuit Sign Language|Inuit Sign]]'''
#'''[[Iroquoian languages|Iroquoian]]'''{{refn|group=lan|name=Iroquoian|'''[[Iroquoian languages]]''':
* [[Cayuga language|Gayogo̱hó:nǫʼ]]
* [[Mohawk language|Kanienʼkéha]]
* [[Onondaga language|Onǫdaʼgegáʼ]]
* [[Seneca language|Onödowáʼga:ʼ]]
* [[Oneida language|Onʌyotaʔa:ka]]
* [[Tuscarora language|Ska:rù:ręʼ]]
* [[Wyandot language|Wendat]]
}}
#'''[[Kutenai language|Ktunaxa]]'''
#'''[[Athabaskan-Eyak-Tlingit languages|Na-Dene]]'''{{refn|group=lan|name=Dene|'''[[Na-Dene languages]]''':
* [[Carrier language|Dakelh ᑕᗸᒡ]]
* [[Tutchone language|Dän kʼè / Dän kʼí]]
* [[Dane-zaa language|Dane-zaa Ẕáágéʔ]]
* [[Slavey language|Dené Dháh / Dene Yatıé / Dene Zhatıé]]
* [[Chipewyan language|Dënë Sųłınë́ Yatıé]]
* [[Gwichʼin language|Gwich'in]]
* [[Hän language|Häł gołan]]
* [[Kaska language|Kaska Dene Zágéʼ]]
* [[Tlingit language|Lingít]]
* [[Babine-Witsuwitʼen language|Nedut'en]]
* [[Slavey language|Sahtúgot’įné Yatı̨́<br />K’ashógot’įne Goxedǝ́<br />Shíhgot’įne Yatı̨́]]
* [[Tagish language|Tā̀gish]]
* [[Tahltan language|Tałtan ẕāke]]
* [[Dogrib language|Tłı̨chǫ Yatıì]]
* [[Sekani language|Tse'khene]]
* [[Tsilhqot'in language|Tŝilhqot’in]]
* [[Tsuutʼina language|Tsúùtʼínà]]
* [[Babine-Witsuwitʼen language|Witsuwitʼen]]
}}
#'''[[Plains Indian Sign Language|Plains Sign]]'''{{refn|group=lan|name=Plains|'''[[Plains Indian Sign Language|Plains Sign languages]]''':
* [[Plains Indian Sign Language|Prairie Hand Talk]]
* [[Oneida Sign Language|Onʌyota'a:ká Sign Language]]
}}
#'''[[Salishan languages|Salishan]]'''{{refn|group=lan|name=Salishan|'''[[Salishan languages]]''':
* [[Comox language|Éy7á7juuthem]]
* [[Halkomelem|Halq̓eméylem<br />Hul̓q̓umín̓um̓<br />hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓]]
* [[Songhees|Lək̓ʷəŋən]]
* [[Thompson language|Nłeʔkepmxcín]]
* [[Okanagan language|n̓səl̓xcin̓]]
* [[Nuxalk language|Nuxalk]]
* [[Shuswap language|Secwepemctsín]]
* [[Saanich dialect|SENĆOŦEN]]
* [[Sechelt language|Sháshíshálh]]
* [[Squamish language|Sḵwx̱wú7mesh sníchim]]
* [[Sinixt dialect|sn-səlxcin]]
* [[Lillooet language|St̓át̓imcets / Sƛ̓aƛ̓imxǝc /<br />Lil̓wat7úlmec / Ucwalmícwts]]
}}
#'''[[Siouan languages|Siouan]]'''{{refn|group=lan|name=Siouan|'''[[Siouan languages]]''':
* [[Dakota language|Dakȟótiyapi]]
* [[Assiniboine language|Hohe Nakota]]
* [[Stoney language|Stoney Nakoda]]
}}
#'''[[Tsimshian languages|Tsimshian]]'''{{refn|group=lan|name=Tsimshian|'''[[Tsimshian languages]]''':
* [[Gitxsan language|Gitxsanimaax]]
* [[Nisga'a language|Nisg̱a’a]]
* [[Southern Tsimshian dialect|Sgüüx̣s]]
* [[Coast Tsimshian dialect|Sm'álgyax]]
}}
#'''[[Wakashan languages|Wakashan]]'''{{refn|group=lan|name=Wakashan|'''[[Wakashan languages]]''':
* [[Ditidaht language|diitiidʔaaʔtx̣]]
* [[Haisla language|Haisla]]
* [[Heiltsuk dialect|Haíɫzaqv]]
* [[Kwakʼwala]]
* [[Nuu-chah-nulth language|nuučaan̓uɫ]]
* [[Oowekyala|’Wuik̓ala]]
}}
#''[[Beothuk language|Beothuk]]''
#?[[Plateau Sign Language|Plateau Sign]]{{refn|group=lan|name=Plateau|'''[[Plateau Sign Language|Plateau Sign languages]]''':
* [[Ktunaxa Sign Language|ʾa·qanⱡiⱡⱡitnam]]
* [[Secwepemc Sign Language|Secwepemcékst]]
}}
}}

===Pidgins, mixed languages, & trade languages===
In Canada, as elsewhere in the world of [[History of colonialism|European colonization]], the frontier of European exploration and settlement tended to be a linguistically diverse and fluid place, as cultures using different languages met and interacted. The need for a common means of communication between the indigenous inhabitants and new arrivals for the purposes of trade and (in some cases) intermarriage led to the development of [[Mixed language|hybrid languages]]. These languages tended to be highly localized, were often spoken by only a small number of individuals who were frequently capable of speaking another language, and often persisted only briefly, before being wiped out by the arrival of a large population of permanent settlers, speaking either English or French.

====Belle Isle Pidgin====
{{Further|Labrador Inuit Pidgin French}}

Spoken until about 1760, this [[pidgin]] was spoken between [[Breton people|Breton]] and [[Basque people|Basque]] fishermen and [[NunatuKavut people|NunatuKavummiut]] of [[NunatuKavut]] ([[Labrador]]).

====Bungee====
{{Further|Bungi Creole}}

Named from the [[Ojibwe language|Ojibwe]] word ''bangii'' meaning "a little bit,"<ref>{{cite web |title=bangii |url=https://ojibwe.lib.umn.edu/main-entry/bangii-adv-qnt |website=The Ojibwe People's Dictionary |publisher=Ojibwe People's Dictionary |access-date=15 December 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Brown |first1=Jennifer S.H. |title=Michif |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/michif |website=The Canadian Encyclopedia |publisher=Historica Canada |access-date=15 December 2021}}</ref> the meagrely documented [[Bungi Creole]] (also known as Bungee, Bungy, Bungie, Bungay, and as the Red River Dialect) is a mixed language predominantly anchored in English that evolved within the Prairie [[Métis]] community, specifically the [[Anglo-Métis|Countryborn or Anglo-Métis]]. Due to the multicultural nature of the [[Red River Colony|Red River Settlement]], Bungi was influenced by [[Scottish English]], [[Plains Cree language|Nehiyawewin]], [[Western Ojibwa language|Nakawemowin]], the [[Orcadian dialect]] of [[Scots language|Scots]], [[Norn language|Norn]], [[Scottish Gaelic language|Scottish Gaelic]], and [[Canadian French]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bakker |first1=Peter |last2=Papen |first2=Robert A. |editor1-last=Wurm |editor1-first=Stephen Adolphe |editor2-last=Mühlhäusler |editor2-first=Peter |editor3-last=Tryon |editor3-first=Darrell T. |editor3-link=Darrell Tryon |title=Atlas of Languages of Intercultural Communication in the Pacific, Asia, and the Americas |date=1996 |publisher=Mouton de Gruyter |location=Berlin |isbn=9783110134179 |pages=1177–78 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lFW1BwAAQBAJ&q=Atlas+of+Languages+of+Intercultural+Communication+in+the+Pacific,+Asia,+and+the+Americas |access-date=10 August 2020 |chapter=125. Languages of the Metis}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Bakker |first1=Peter |last2=Papen |first2=Robert A. |title=Michif and other languages of the Canadian Métis |url=http://www.metismuseum.ca/media/db/00735 |website=Virtual Museum of Métis History and Culture |publisher=Gabriel Dumont Institute of Native Studies and Applied Research |access-date=10 August 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite thesis |type=MA |last1=Blain |first1=Eleanor M. |title=The Bungee Dialect of the Red River Settlement |url=https://mspace.lib.umanitoba.ca/handle/1993/3572 |date=1989 |publisher=University of Manitoba |location=Winnipeg |page=14}}</ref> The vocabulary and word order were primarily English, but the speech was lilting like that of Gaelic speakers, with pronunciation and structural shifts coming from the [[Cree language]]s, such as: ''shawl'' becoming ''sawl'', ''she'' becoming ''see'', and the popular greeting ''I’m well, you but?''.<ref name="BungeeCAN">{{cite web |title=Bungee, Bungi |url=https://www.noslangues-ourlanguages.gc.ca/en/writing-tips-plus/bungee-bungi |website=Our Languages |date=6 December 2019 |publisher=Government of Canada |access-date=15 December 2021}}</ref> Bungi reached its peak in the nineteenth century, with about 5,000 Countryborn native speakers of the dialect in 1870. However, over the next century, standard Canadian English gradually replaced it; and by the late 1980s, only a handful of elderly speakers remained. It is generally considered to be [[Extinct language|asleep]] today.<ref name="BungeeCAN" />

====Chiac====
{{Further|Chiac}}

Spoken in the [[Maritime provinces]] (mostly in [[New Brunswick]]), [[Chiac]] is a [[creole language]] with a linguistic base in [[Acadian French]] and [[Atlantic Canadian English|Maritime English]] with significant contributions from [[Miꞌkmaq language|Mi'kmawi'simk]] and the [[Malecite-Passamaquoddy language|Maliseet language]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Leclerc |first1=Jacques |title=Les acadianismes |url=https://www.axl.cefan.ulaval.ca/francophonie/Acadianismes.htm |website=L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde |access-date=15 December 2021 |language=fr |date=15 Dec 2015}}</ref> Notable for its [[code-switching]] between English and French, it is often popularly considered a variant of [[Franglais]], with examples such as: ''Espère-moi su'l'corner, j'traverse le ch'min pi j'viens right back'' (Wait for me at the corner, I'm crossing the road and I'll be right back) and ''On va amarrer ça d'même pour faire sûr que ça tchenne''<ref name="VP">{{Cite book|title=Glossaire du vieux parler acadien|last=Boudreau|first=Éphrem|publisher=Éditions Lambda ACADIE|year=2009|isbn=978-2-923255-06-4|location=Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu|pages=50}}</ref> (We will tie it like this to make sure it stays).<ref name="VP" /> However, Chiac is not simply a ''Franglais''/''Frenglish'' mix of French and English, as it differs distinctly from other French-English mixed-use cases such as those found amongst [[Fransaskois]] or [[Franco-Ontarians|Ontarois]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Chiac {{!}} The Canadian Encyclopedia|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/chiac|access-date=2021-06-15|website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Papen |first1=Robert A |title=Hybrid Languages in Canada Involving French |journal=Journal of Language Contact |date=2014 |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=154–183 |doi=10.1163/19552629-00701007 |s2cid=141988957 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

====Chinook Jargon====
{{Further|Chinook Wawa}}

In British Columbia, [[Yukon]] and throughout the [[Pacific Northwest]], a pidgin language known as the [[Chinook Jargon]] (also rendered "Chinook Wawa") emerged in the early 19th century that was a combination of [[Chinookan languages|Chinookan]], [[Nuu-chah-nulth language|Nootka]], [[Halkomelem|Chehalis]], French and English, with a smattering of words from other languages including [[Hawaiian language|Hawaiian]] and [[Spanish language|Spanish]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Mike Cleven |url=http://www.cayoosh.net/hiyu/ |title=Chinook Jargon website |publisher=Cayoosh.net |access-date=2011-01-18 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514063549/http://www.cayoosh.net/hiyu/ |archive-date=2011-05-14 }}</ref> Later in that century, it had creolized in the Pacific Northwest. Certain words and expressions remain current in [[Pacific Northwest English|local use]], such as [[skookum]], [[Tribal chief|tyee]], and [[saltchuck]], while a few have become part of worldwide English ("high mucketymuck" or "high muckamuck" for a high-ranking and perhaps self-important official).

====Franglais====
A [[portmanteau]] language which is said to combine English and French syntax, grammar and lexicons to form a unique [[interlanguage]], is sometimes ascribed to mandatory basic French education in the Canadian anglophone school systems. Many unilingual anglophone Canadians, for instance, will borrow French words into their sentences. Simple words and phrases like "{{lang|fr|C'est quoi ça?}}" (what is that?) or words like "{{lang|fr|arrête}}" (stop) can alternate with their English counterparts. This phenomenon is more common in the [[Eastern Canada|eastern half of the country]] where there is a greater density of Francophone populations. [[Franglais]] can also refer to the supposed degradation of the French language thanks to the overwhelming impact Canadian English has on the country's Francophone inhabitants, though many linguists would argue that while English vocabulary can be freely borrowed as a stylistic device, the grammar of French has been resistant to influences from English<ref>[[Shana Poplack|Poplack, Shana]] (1988) {{lang|fr|Conséquences linguistiques du contact de langues: un modèle d’analyse variationniste. Langage et société}} 43: 23–48.</ref> and the same conservatism holds true in Canadian English grammar,<ref>[[Shana Poplack|Poplack, Shana]], Walker, James & Malcolmson, Rebecca. 2006. An English "like no other"?: Language contact and change in Quebec. ''Canadian Journal of Linguistics.'' 185–213.</ref> even in Quebec City.

====Haida Jargon====
{{Further|Haida Jargon}}

A pidgin trade language based on Haida, known as [[Haida Jargon]], was used in the 1830s in and around [[Haida Gwaii]]. It was used by speakers of English, Haida, Coast Tsimshian, Heiltsuk, and other languages.

====Loucheux Jargon====
As a result of cultural contact between the [[Gwich'in]] (formerly called "Loucheaux") and Europeans (predominately French [[coureurs des bois]] and [[voyageurs]]), a pidgin language was historically used across [[Denendeh|Gwich'in Nành, Denendeh]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/jarg1234|title=Glottolog Language: Jargon Loucheux|website=glottolog.org|access-date=2022-03-20}}</ref> The language is often called in English "Jargon Loucheux" using the traditional French syntax.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bakker|first=Peter|title=Broken Slavey and Jargon Loucheux: A first exploration. In I. Broch & E. H. Jahr (Eds.), Language contact in the Arctic: Northern pidgins and contact languages.|publisher=Mounton de Gruyter|year=1996|location=Berlin|pages=317–320|language=en}}</ref>

====Michif====
{{Further|Michif}}

[[Michif]] (also known as Mitchif, Mechif, Michif-Cree, Métif, Métchif, and French Cree) is a mixed language which evolved within the Prairie [[Métis in Canada|Métis]] community that was oriented towards Cree and Franco-Catholic culture. It is based on elements of Cree and French along with elements of [[Ojibwe language|Ojibwa]] and [[Assiniboine language|Assiniboine]]. Michif is today spoken by fewer than 1,000 individuals in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and [[North Dakota]]. At its peak, around 1900, Michif was understood by perhaps three times this number.

====Nootka Jargon====
{{Further|Nootka Jargon}}

Based in the late 18th and early 19th centuries and likely one precursor to [[Chinook Wawa]], [[Nootka Jargon]] was a trade language derived from [[Nuu-chah-nulth language|Nuučaan̓uł]], English, Spanish, and Russian, as well as other local languages.

====Slavey Jargon====
{{Further|Slavey Jargon}}

Also known as "Broken Slavey," this language was spoken until the mid-1900s, abruptly diminishing due to the influx of English into [[Denendeh]] and [[Inuit Nunangat]].<ref name="TR">{{Cite journal|last=Mishler|first=Craig|date=2008-09-17|title='That's a Rubbaboo'|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1075/jpcl.23.2.04mis|journal=Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages|volume=23|issue=2|pages=264–287|doi=10.1075/jpcl.23.2.04mis|issn=0920-9034|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Documentation has also shown that the language was spoken by a range of fur traders, postmasters, and their wives, sisters, and daughters, who were often of Métis descent.<ref name="TR" /> The native languages of speakers who used Slavey Jargon were [[Chipewyan language|Denesuline]], French, [[Gwich'in]], [[Inuit language|Inuktitut]], and the languages collectively known as "Slavey" (North: Sahtúgot’įné Yatı̨́, K’ashógot’įne Goxedǝ́, and Shíhgot’įne Yatı̨́; South: Dene Yatıé or Dene Zhatıé and Dené Dháh). The [[Dene people|Dene]], [[Inuit]], French, British, and Métis who spoke the language did so predominately for preaching the gospel, teasing and harassing clergymen, and for interpersonal relationships.<ref name="TR" /> The use of Slavey Jargon can be characterized as an innovation employed by speakers in order to meet several linguistic goals, such as introductions, advice, and disputes.<ref name="TR" /> Mishler specified, "For all these reasons, Slavey Jargon seems inaccurate to characterize it strictly as a trade jargon" (p.&nbsp;277).<ref name="TR" />

Spoken predominately in the [[Liard River|Liard]] and [[Mackenzie River|Dehcho Countries]] of Denendeh, the nouns of the language generally consisted of English, Dënësųłınë́ Yatıé, Sahtúgot’įné / Shíhgot’įne Yatı̨́ / K’ashógot’įne Goxedǝ́, and Dene Yatıé/Zhatıé, whereas the verbs and pronouns are derived from French. Adverbs are typically pulled from Dënësųłınë́ and Gwich’in. There is, however, a lot of variation in Slavey Jargon. Gwich’in verbs can be mixed with French nouns or phonemically modified French sentences exist.<ref name="TR" />

==== Souriquois ====
{{Further|Algonquian–Basque pidgin}}

Spoken alongside the Basque/Breton–Inuit Belle Isle pidgin was another [[pidgin|pidgin language]] that developed in the 16th century amongst the [[Basque people|Basque]] in coastal areas along the [[Gulf of Saint Lawrence]] and the [[Strait of Belle Isle]] as the result of contact between [[History of Basque whaling|Basque whalers]] and local [[Algonquian peoples]], notably the [[Mi'kmaq]].<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.indiana.edu/~anthling/v31-3-4.html#bakker |title='The Language of the Coast Tribes is Half Basque': A Basque-American Indian Pidgin in Use between Europeans and Native Americans in North America, ca. 1540-ca. 1640 |first=Peter |last=Bakker |journal=Anthropological Linguistics |volume=31 |issue=3/4 |year=1989 |pages=117–147 |jstor=30027995 |access-date=2013-04-18 |archive-date=2019-09-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190925031538/http://www.indiana.edu/~anthling/v31-3-4.html#bakker |url-status=dead }}</ref> The name "Souriquois" has an obscure history and most likely refers to region around [[Souris, Prince Edward Island|Souris]] and the [[Basque language|Basque]] suffix ''koa'', perhaps from ''zurikoa'' “that of the whites."<ref>{{cite web |last1=MacGregor |first1=JJ |title=Souris: Of Mice and Mi'kmaq |url=https://www.mayzil.com/main/the-souriquois |website=Mayzil of Prince Edward Island |access-date=21 March 2022 |date=June 9, 2021}}</ref>

=== Sign languages ===
{{See also|Deaf life for Indigenous peoples in Canada|Deafness in Francophone Canada}}
{{multiple image
 | align = right
 | direction = vertical
 | width = 300
 | header = 
 | image1 = Sign Languages of Turtle Island.svg
 | alt1 = Sign languages of North America
 | class1 = bg-transparent
 | caption1 = Map of the various sign languages spoken across North America, excluding [[Francosign languages]]
 | image2 = Francosign Languages of North America.svg
 | alt2 = Francosign languages of North America
 | caption2 = Map of the North American [[Francosign languages]]
}}

Alongside the numerous and varied oral languages, Canada also boasts several [[List of sign languages|sign languages]]. Currently, Canada is home to some five or more [[sign language]]s (that number rising with the probability that [[Plains Indian Sign Language|Plains Sign Talk]] is actually a language family with several languages under its umbrella), belonging to four to six distinct [[language family|language families]], those being: the [[Francosign languages|Francosign]] family, the [[BANZSL]] family, the [[Plains Indian Sign Language|Plains Sign]] family, the [[Inuit Sign Language|Inuit Sign]] isolate, perhaps the [[Coast Salish Sign Language|Coast Salish Sign]] isolate, and perhaps a [[Plateau Sign Language|Plateau Sign]] family composed of [[Secwepemc Sign Language|Secwepemcékst]] and [[Ktunaxa Sign Language]].

As with all sign languages around the world that developed naturally, these are natural, human languages distinct from any oral language. As such, [[American Sign Language]] (unlike [[Manually coded English#Signed English|Signed English]]) is no more a derivation of English than Russian is,<ref>{{cite web|last=Lewis|first=M. Paul|title=American Sign Language|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/language/ase|work=Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Seventeenth edition|publisher=SIL International|editor1-first=Gary F.|editor1-last=Simons|editor2-first=Charles D.|editor2-last=Fennig|year=2013}}</ref> all being distinct languages from one another. Some languages present here were [[trade]] pidgins which were used first as a system of communication across national and linguistic boundaries of First Nations, however, they have since developed into mature languages as children learned them as a first language.

The sign languages of Canada share extremely limited rights within the country in large due to the general population's misinformation on the subject. Ontario is the only province or territory to formally make legal any sign language, enabling the use of American Sign Language, [[Quebec Sign Language]] (LSQ) and "First Nation Sign Language" (which could refer to Plains Sign Talk, [[Oneida Sign Language]], or any other language) in only the domains of education, legislation and judiciary proceedings.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/bills/bills_detail.do?locale=en&BillID=1619&isCurrent=false&BillStagePrintId=|title=Bill 213: An Act to recognize sign language as an official language in Ontario|author=Province of Ontario|date=2007}}</ref> The only other language afforded any other rights is Inuiuuk, which sees interpretation in the [[Legislative Assembly of Nunavut]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/inuit-sign-language-makes-debut-in-nunavut-legislature-1.772092|publisher=CBC|title=Inuit sign language makes debut in Nunavut legislature|date=17 September 2008|access-date=1 August 2015}}</ref> There have been efforts to make LSQ an official language of Quebec, but all efforts have failed.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.assnat.qc.ca/fr/travaux-parlementaires/projets-loi/projet-loi-14-40-1.html|title=Projet de loi n°14 : Loi modifiant la Charte de la langue française, la Charte des droits et libertés de la personne et d'autres dispositions législatives|author=Assemblée Nationale du Québec|date=2013}}</ref>

==== American Sign Language ====
{{Main|American Sign Language}}
The most utilized sign language in Canada, [[American Sign Language]] or ASL, can be found across the country in mostly anglophone regions. The ties with anglophone Canada are not due to ASL and English's similarity, but to cultural similarities and linguistic history (as several ASL words are borrowed from English). As such, ASL can be found in areas where English is not the primary language, such as [[Montreal]] or [[Nunavut]]. ASL is part of the [[French Sign Language family|French Sign Language (Francosign) family]], originating on the [[East Coast of the United States]] from a mix of [[French Sign Language|''Langue des signes françaises'' (LSF)]] and other local languages.

===== Black American Sign Language =====
{{Main|Black American Sign Language}}
Amongst the [[Black Canadians|Black communities]] of Canada, [[Black American Sign Language]] (BASL) is also spoken.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Jean-Baptiste |first1=Christine |title=Black American Sign Language (BASL): Black Deaf Canadians seek more research, support for community {{!}} Globalnews.ca |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/7607371/basl-black-american-sign-language-canada/ |access-date=15 March 2025 |agency=Global News |date=1 February 2021}}</ref>

==== Coast Salish Sign Language ====
There is evidence that Coast Salish citizens speak a distinct sign language.<ref name="BCHSD" />

==== Hand Talk ====
{{Main|Plains Sign Talk}}
Hand Talk was the primary written language and {{lang|la|[[lingua franca]]}} of North America.<ref name="Glyphs">{{cite thesis  |last=McKay-Cody |first=Melanie R. |date=2019 |title=Memory Comes Before Knowledge – North American Indigenous Deaf: Socio-Cultural Study of Rock/Picture Writing, Community, Sign Languages, and Kinship |degree= Doctor of Philosophy|location= [[Norman, Oklahoma]]|publisher= [[University of Oklahoma]]}}</ref> It was used for all international relations, trade, and diplomacy across much of the continent until [[European colonization of the Americas|colonization]].<ref>Davis, Jeffrey. 2006. "A historical linguistic account of sign language among North American Indian groups." In Multilingualism and Sign Languages: From the Great Plains to Australia; Sociolinguistics of the Deaf community, C. Lucas (ed.), Vol. 12, pp. 3–35. Washington, DC: Gallaudet University Press</ref> across the continent and the language stretched across the provinces down through Mexico.<ref>[http://sunsite.utk.edu/pisl/ Hand Talk: American Indian Sign Language] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140806053521/http://sunsite.utk.edu/pisl/ |date=2014-08-06}}.</ref> Its name comes from the language itself ("HANDS" + "TO-TALK-TO") and is preferred by Indigenous communities over other terms like "Plains Sign Language" or "First Nations Sign Languages". In fact, Hand Talk is a complex of several languages, with variants in the Northeast Woodlands, Great Basin, Southwest, and the Great Plains.<ref name="Glyphs"/> It is unknown if [[Plateau Sign Language]] is related.

=====Oneida Sign Language=====
{{Main|Oneida Sign Language}}
Born out of the [[Oneida Nation]], OSL is a mixed language, descended primarily from both Hand Talk and the [[Oneida language|Oneida oral language]], with some additions from ASL.<ref>{{cite web |title=Oneida Sign Language |url=https://oneidalanguage.ca/learn-our-language/speak-oneidalanguage-now/oneida-sign-language/ |website=Onyota'a:ka Lutñu takhwa' Kʌtyohkwoyʌ |publisher=Oneida Language & Cultural Centre |access-date=9 March 2022}}</ref> Onʌyota'a:ká (or Oneida) Sign Language is a young and growing language, spreading especially amongst deaf Oneida citizens.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Albert |first1=Ashley |title=Oneida sign language created to connect deaf community with their culture |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/oneida-sign-language-culture-deaf-1.4605295 |access-date=9 March 2022 |agency=Canadian Broadcasting Corporation |date=15 April 2018}}</ref><ref name="BCHSD" />

==== Inuit Sign Language ====
{{Main|Inuit Sign Language}}
[[Inuit Sign Language]], also known as Atgangmuurngniq or Uukturausingit, is a critically endangered language with some 50 speakers remaining. It is a language isolate and has only be found by researchers in [[Nunavut]]; however, there are theories it extends across the [[Arctic Circle]].<ref name="AmsterdamLing" /> Little is known about its history, but efforts are being made to document and revitalize the language.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nnsl.com/frames/newspapers/2013-02/feb27_13def.html|title=Signs of changing times: Deaf Nunavummiut working to improve quality of life|publisher=Northern News Services Online|date=27 February 2013|access-date=23 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160107200713/http://www.nnsl.com/frames/newspapers/2013-02/feb27_13def.html|archive-date=2016-01-07|url-status=dead}}</ref>
{{multiple image
 | align = right
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 | width = 200
 | header = 
 | image1 = Map of MSL.svg
 | alt1 = Map of Maritime Sign Language
 | class1 = bg-transparent
 | caption1 = 
 | image2 = Map of PSL.svg
 | alt2 = Map of Plateau Sign Language
 | caption2 = 
 | image3 = Map of LSQ.svg
 | alt3 = Map of Quebec Sign Language
 | caption3 = Maps of [[Maritime Sign Language|Maritime]], [[Plateau Sign Language|Plateau]], and [[Quebec Sign Language]]s
}}

==== Maritime Sign Language ====
{{Main|Maritime Sign Language}}
[[Maritime Sign Language]] is a BANZSL language. It was used as the language of education for Deaf populations in [[Nova Scotia]], New Brunswick, and [[Prince Edward Island]] before ASL became available in the mid-20th century. It is still remembered by some elderly people but is [[Endangered language|moribund]]. The language, living alongside ASL, has produced a unique dialect of ASL in [[the Maritimes]] due to mixing of the languages. The exact number of speakers is unknown.

==== Plateau Sign Language ====
{{Main|Plateau Sign Language}}
Another international language, [[Plateau Sign Language]] was/is spoken in the [[Columbia Plateau]] and surrounding regions of British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and Idaho instead of Plains Sign Talk. There are few speakers left, mostly Elders.

===== Ktunaxa Sign Language =====
Called ''ʾa·qanⱡiⱡⱡitnam'' in the [[Ktunaxa language]],<ref>{{cite web |last1=Auld |first1=Francis |title=ʾa·qanⱡiⱡⱡitnam, n. sign language |url=https://www.facebook.com/groups/19608956304/permalink/10154099653586305 |website=Facebook |publisher=Ktunaxa Language Group |date=23 November 2016 |access-date=3 April 2022}}</ref> Ktunaxa Sign Language has historically been spoken in Ktunaxa ɁamakaɁis (Ktunaxa Country).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Robertson |first1=Leslie A. |title=Imagining Difference: Legend, Curse, and Spectacle in a Canadian Mining Town |date=2005 |publisher=UBC Press |location=Vancouver, BC, Canada |isbn=9780774810920 |page=12 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KvkuEJJ3jfsC&dq=%22ktunaxa%22+%22sign+language%22&pg=PA12 |access-date=3 April 2022 |chapter=1. Conversations among Europeans and Other Acts of Possession |quote=His guides and interpreters included a "half Blackfoot" man named Paul and "a Stoney Hunter," both of whom had difficulties, according to Palliser, with Ktunaxa sign language.}}</ref>

===== Secwépemc Sign Language =====
Perhaps related to or descended from the old Plateau Sign Language, Secwepemcékst or Secwépemc Sign Language is spoken by a small number of [[Secwépemc]] citizens.<ref name="BCHSD" />

==== Quebec Sign Language ====
{{Main|Quebec Sign Language}}
Alongside ASL, [[Quebec Sign Language]] or LSQ (''Langue des signes québécoise'') is the second most spoken sign language in the country. Centred mainly around and within Quebec, LSQ can also be found in Ontario, New Brunswick and various other parts of the country, generally around [[Deafness in Francophone Canada|francophone communities]] due to historical ties to the French language. Although approximately 10% of the population of Quebec is deaf or hard-of-hearing, it is estimated that only 50,000 to 60,000 children use LSQ as their native language. LSQ is part of the Francosign family with ASL. As such, both languages are [[Mutual intelligibility|mutually intelligible]].

==== Sawmill Sign Language ====
Spoken by the sawmill workers of BC, this sign language was used by predominately hearing staff during work hours and in socializing with co-workers.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Meissner |first1=Martin |last2=Philpott |first2=Stuart B. |last3=Philpott |first3=Diana |title=The Sign Language of Sawmill Workers in British Columbia |journal=Sign Language Studies |date=December 1975 |volume=9 |issue=1 |pages=291–308 |doi=10.1353/sls.1975.0010 |access-date=15 March 2025}}</ref>

===Canadian dialects of European languages===

==== Acadian French ====
{{Further|Acadian French}}

[[Acadian French]] is a unique form of [[Canadian French]] which incorporates not only distinctly Canadian phrases but also nautical terms, English [[loanword]]s, [[Feature (linguistics)|linguistic features]] found only in older forms of French as well as ones found in the [[Atlantic Canadian English|Maritimer English]] dialect.

===== Brayon French =====
{{Further|Brayon}}

A sub-dialect of [[Acadian French]], Brayon French is spoken by those in [[Madawaska County]] of [[New Brunswick]]. The language is a mix of Acadian and Quebec French with influence from the local [[Mi'kmaq|Mi'kmaw]] and [[Maliseet]] languages, with only slight differentiation from the more standard Acadian French.<ref>{{cite web |title=Acadian Culture in Maine |url=https://acim.umfk.edu/language.html |publisher=University of Maine at Fort Kent |access-date=15 December 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Chiac, Brayon et autres couleurs de l'accent acadien! |url=https://rvf.ca/blogue/2021/03/05/chiac-brayon-et-autres-couleurs-de-laccent-acadien/ |website=Les Rendez-Vous de la Francophonie |publisher=Fondation canadienne pour le dialogue des cultures |access-date=15 December 2021 |archive-date=15 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211215053903/https://rvf.ca/blogue/2021/03/05/chiac-brayon-et-autres-couleurs-de-laccent-acadien/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Le Brayonnaire |url=https://edmundston.ca/images/communiques/2014/BrayonnaireV1.pdf |publisher=City of Edmunston |access-date=15 December 2021}}</ref>

==== Québec French ====
{{Further|Québec French}}

As the most spoken variety of French in Canada, [[Québec French]] contains a significant number of dialects, generally grouped in two: the "old" dialects of the territories at the time of the [[Conquest of New France (1758–1760)|British conquest]] and the "new" dialects that arose post-conquest.

===== Chaouin French =====
{{Further|Chaouin}}

Around 1615 as the [[coureurs des bois]] moved past [[Quebec City|the city of Quebec]], those who settled in ''[[Ndakinna]]'' ([[Abenaki]] land) developed unique features still found today, especially in the [[Bois-Francs]] region South of the [[St Lawrence River|St. Lawrence]].

===== Joual French =====
{{Further|Joual}}

Originally the dialect of the French-speaking [[working class]] in [[Montréal]], the cultural renaissance connected to the [[Quiet Revolution]] have resulted in Joual being spoken by people across the educational and economic spectrum.

===== Màgoua French =====
{{Further|Magoua dialect}}

Possibly deriving from the [[Atikamekw language|Atikamekw]] word for "[[Common loon|loon]]" (''makwa''; standard French: ''huard''), the French spoken by the Magoua community is one of the most conservative French dialects in North America. This [[Post-creole continuum|basilectal]] dialect is found in [[Nitaskinan]] as the [[Trois-Rivières]] region became the first stronghold of the [[coureurs des bois]] outside the [[Quebec City|city of Quebec]] in 1615. Magoua French preserves the sontaient ("étaient") characteristic of Métis French and Cajun French, has a creole-like past tense particle tà, and has old present-tense contraction of a former verb "to be" that behave in the same manner as subject clitics.

==== Métis French ====
{{Further|Métis French}}

Alongside [[Michif]] and [[Bungi Creole|Bungi]], the [[Métis]] dialect of French is one of the traditional languages of the Métis people, and the French-dialect source of the Michif language.<ref>{{cite web |title=Les langues des Métis |url=https://atlasdespeuplesautochtonesducanada.ca/article/les-langues-des-metis/ |website=Atlas des peuples autochtones du Canada |access-date=15 December 2021}}</ref> Métis French is a variety of [[Canadian French]] with some added characters [[Tilde|Ññ]], [[Acute accent|Áá]], [[Acute accent|Óó]], and [[Ææ]] (from older French spellings), such as: {{lang|fr-CA|il ñá ócun nævus sur ce garçon}} English: "there is no birthmark on this boy."<ref name="Papen1" /> There are also significant amounts of words loaned from [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|indigenous]] languages such as [[Ojibwe language|Ojibwemowin]], [[Dane-zaa language|Dane-zaa Ẕáágéʔ (Beaver)]], and several [[Cree language]]s.<ref name="Papen2" /> Like Michif, Métis French is spoken predominantly in Manitoba as well as adjacent provinces and US states.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Doireau |first1=Ophélie |title=Au Manitoba, redonner de la force au mitchif-français |url=https://francopresse.ca/2021/11/01/au-manitoba-redonner-de-la-force-au-mitchif-francais/ |website=Francopresse |access-date=9 March 2022 |date=1 Nov 2021}}</ref> As a general rule, Métis individuals tend to speak one or the other, rarely both.<ref name=MetisFR/>

==== Newfoundland French ====
{{Further|Newfoundland French}}

Tracing their origins to Continental French fishermen who settled in the late 1800s and early 1900s, rather than the Québécois, Newfoundland French (or ''français terre-neuvien'') refers to the French spoken on the [[Port au Port Peninsula]] (part of the so-called “[[French Shore]]”) of Newfoundland. Some Acadians of the Maritimes also settled in the area. For this reason, Newfoundland French is most closely related to the [[Breton people|Breton]] and [[Norman French]] of nearby [[St-Pierre-et-Miquelon]]. Today, heavy contact with Acadian French—and especially widespread bilingualism with Newfoundland English—have taken their toll, and the community is in decline. The degree to which lexical features of Newfoundland French constitute a distinct dialect is not presently known. It is uncertain how many speakers survive; the dialect could be [[moribund language|moribund]]. There is a provincial advocacy organisation ''Fédération des Francophones de Terre-Neuve et du Labrador'', representing both the Peninsular French and Acadian French communities.

==== Ontarois French ====
{{Further|Franco-Ontarian#Franco-Ontarian French}}

Although quite similar to Quebec French, the dialect of the Ontarois or Franco-Ontarians maintains distinctive features. These include the progressive disappearance of the [[subjunctive]], the use of the possessive ''á'', the transfer of rules from English to French, e.g., "''J’ai vu un film sur/à la télévision''" which comes from "I saw a film on television", or "''Je vais à la maison/chez moi''" coming from "I'm going home," and the loaning of English conjunctions such as "so" for ''ça fait que'' or ''alors''.

==== Black English ====
In what is also called Black Canadian, Afro-Canadian, or African Canadian English, there exist several varieties of English spoken by [[Black Canadians]]. The most well-established is the dialect spoken by [[Afro-Nova Scotians]].<ref>{{cite journal |editor1-last=Gold |editor1-first=Elaine |editor2-last=McAlpine |editor2-first=Janice |title=Canadian English: A Linguistic Reader |journal=Strathy Language Unit: Occasional Papers |volume=6 |url=https://www.queensu.ca/strathy/apps/OP6v2.pdf |access-date=23 May 2022 |publisher=Queen’s University |location=Kingston, Ontario |language=en}}</ref> In places like Toronto where there is a large population of [[Afro-Caribbean people|Afro-Caribbean]] descendants and newcomers, localized varieties of Black English take on elements of [[Caribbean English]], as well as mixing with [[African-American Vernacular English|African-American Vernacular English (AAVE)]]. Although AAVE is not nearly as widespread in Canada as it is across the United States, Black Canadians have various lines of connection to the dialect. Sometimes that connection is historical, such as with Black Nova Scotians; sometimes it is hegemonic, where Afro-Canadians adopt speech mannerisms from the larger United States; sometimes it is [[diaspora|diasporic]], where communities of African-American newcomers or African-American descendants coalesce, especially in larger cities.

===== Afro-Nova Scotian English =====
{{Further|African-American English#African Nova Scotian English}}

African Nova Scotian English is spoken by descendants of [[Black Nova Scotians]], black immigrants from the [[United States]]. Though most [[Fugitive slaves in the United States|African American freedom seekers]] in Canada ended up in Ontario through the [[Underground Railroad]], only the dialect of African Nova Scotians retains the influence of West African pidgin.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Clarke |first1=George Elliott |title=Odysseys home: Mapping African-Canadian literature |url=https://archive.org/details/odysseyshomemapp00clar |url-access=registration |publisher=University of Toronto Press |isbn=978-0802081919|date=January 2002 }}</ref> In the 19th century, African Nova Scotian English would have been indistinguishable from English spoken in [[Jamaica]] or [[Suriname]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Clarke |first1=Sandra |title=Focus on Canada |date=1993 |url=https://trove.nla.gov.au/version/12615667 |publisher=Amsterdam; Philadelphia : J. Benjamins Pub. Co |language=en}}</ref> However, it has been increasingly de-creolized since this time, due to interaction and influence from the white Nova Scotian population. [[Racial desegregation|Desegregation]] of the province's school boards in 1964 further accelerated the process of de-creolization. The language is a relative of the [[African-American Vernacular English]], with significant variations unique to the group's history in the area.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mufwene |first1=Salikoko S. |last2=Bailey |first2=Guy |last3=Rickford |first3=John R. |last4=Baugh |first4=John |title=African-American English: Structure, History, and Use |date=1998 |publisher=Psychology Press |isbn=9780415117333 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Cambridge">{{cite journal |last1=Tagliamonte |first1=Sali |last2=Poplack |first2=Shana |title=African American English in the diaspora: Evidence from old-line Nova Scotians |journal=Language Variation and Change |date=1991 |volume=3 |issue=3 |pages=301–339 |doi=10.1017/S0954394500000594 |s2cid=59147893 |language=en |issn=1469-8021|url=http://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/46be/8b3335480643c24ae76f15b33c8be848fa54.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190223113512/http://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/46be/8b3335480643c24ae76f15b33c8be848fa54.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=2019-02-23 }}</ref> There are noted differences in the dialects of those from [[Guysborough County]] (Black Loyalists), and those from [[North Preston]] (Black Refugees), the Guysborough group having been in the province three generations earlier.<ref name="Cambridge" />

Howe and Walker use data from early recordings of African Nova Scotian English, [[Samaná English]], and the recordings of former slaves to demonstrate that speech patterns were inherited from nonstandard colonial English.<ref>{{Citation |last1=Howe |first1=Darin M. |last2=Walker |first2=James A. |editor-last=Poplack |editor-first=Shana |year=2000 |chapter=Negation and the Creole-Origins Hypothesis: Evidence from Early African American English |title=The English History of African American English |page=110}}</ref> The dialect was extensively studied in 1992 by Shana Poplack and Sali Tagliamonte from the University of Ottawa.<ref name="Cambridge"/>

A commonality between African Nova Scotian English and African-American Vernacular English is [[Rhoticity in English|(r)-deletion]]. This rate of deletion is 57% among Black Nova Scotians, and 60% among African Americans in Philadelphia. Meanwhile, in the surrounding mostly white communities of Nova Scotia, (r)-deletion does not occur.<ref>{{cite conference |last1=Walker |first1=James |title=The /r/-ful Truth about African Nova Scotian English |date=October 1995 |url=http://www.yorku.ca/jamesw/rless.pdf |access-date=18 March 2019 |conference=New Ways of Analyzing Variation (NWAVE) conference, University of Pennsylvania}}</ref>

==== Cascadian English ====
{{Further|Pacific Northwest English}}

The English language in British Columbia shares numerous features with the neighbouring states of [[Washington (state)|Washington]] and [[Oregon]], such as the /æɡ/ raising (found words such as bag, vague and bagel). Boreal Cascadian English speakers exhibit more vowel retraction of /æ/ before nasals than people from Toronto, and younger speakers in the Greater Vancouver area do not raise /aʊ/ as much, but keep the drop in intonation, causing "about" to sound slightly like "a baht." The "o" in such words as holy, goal, load, know, etc. is pronounced as a close-mid back rounded vowel, [o], but not as rounded as in the Prairies where there are strong Scandinavian, Slavic and German influences, which can lend to a more stereotypical "Canadian" accent.

==== Indigenous English ====
{{Further|Aboriginal English in Canada}}

The varieties of English spoken by [[Indigenous peoples in Canada|indigenous people]] are [[phonology|phonologically]] influenced by their first or traditional languages. This has resulted in an identifiable dialect spectrum distinct from other Canadian English dialects. Due to the ongoing [[Racism in Canada#Indigenous Peoples|stigmatization]] of indigenous cultures, indigenous children could be wrongly diagnosed as having a speech impairment or a learning disability, when what is identified by medical professionals are simply the dialectal features.<ref>Jessica Ball and B. May Bernhardt, [http://www.ecdip.org/docs/pdf/Dialects%20Clinical%20Linguistics%20article.pdf "First Nations English dialects in Canada: Implications for speech-language pathology"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161105095630/http://www.ecdip.org/docs/pdf/Dialects%20Clinical%20Linguistics%20article.pdf |date=2016-11-05 }}. ''Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics'', August 2008; 22(8): 570–588</ref>

Some written works use indigenous English dialects. For example, [[Maria Campbell|Maria Campbell's]] book ''[[Stories of the Road Allowance People]]'' is a collection of Métis folktales. An excerpt from that work illustrates the type of speech used by Elders in rural Métis communities during her research, but some stories were collected in Cree or other languages and translated into dialectical English by Campbell:

{{Poem quote|
Dere wasen very much he can steal from dah table anyways
'cept da knives and forks.
An Margareet he knowed he wouldn dare take dem
cause dat woman you know
hees gots a hell of a repetation for being a hardheaded woman
when he gets mad.
Dat man he have to be a damn fool to steal from hees table.|''Dah Teef''<ref>Maria Campbell, ''Stories of the Road Allowance People'', Theytus Books (1995), p. 4</ref>}}

==== Lunenburg English ====
{{Further|Lunenburg English}}

Spoken in [[Lunenburg, Nova Scotia|Lunenburg]] and [[Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia]], this [[moribund language|moribund]] dialect is sometimes called "Lunenburg Dutch" due to its rooting in the large [[Electoral Palatinate|Kurpfalzisch]] and [[Württemberg]]isch population who settled the town. Although the German language subsided significantly, the English of the town and county continue to be marked by its influence. Indeed, the pronunciation in Lunenburg county is the only Canadian community to be [[Rhoticity in English|non-rhotic]]. The accent features Canadian raising and so flight [ˈflʌɪt] has a different vowel from fly [ˈflɑɪ], and the noun house [ˈhoʊs] has a different vowel from the verb house [ˈhɑʊz]. In Lunenburg, the phrase ''about a boat'' contains two identical stressed and two identical unstressed vowels: /əˌboʊt ə ˈboʊt/, rather than the Standard Canadian English /əˌbaʊt ə ˈboʊt/, with distinct stressed vowels. Due to German influence, there is a tendency to pronounce /w/ in '''w'''itch the same as /v/ as in '''v'''an. Another example is the lack of the dental fricatives /θ/ and /ð/, which are replaced by the alveolar stops /t/ and /d/ (rendering "thank" and "tank" homophonous as /ˈtæŋk/), and the "t" at the end of words is usually silent: "get" becomes "ge."

For example, here is a sample of a conversation between two people: 

{{Poem quote|
"De kids vere over der in da woods, gettin inda dis an dat."
"Dey never did?"
"Yeah, an now dey gone da get some of dem der apples you see."
"You don't say?"
"No foolin, dey over der now."
"Dey brung some of dem apples over heera da day before."
"Oh, dey vere some good eatin I bet."
"Now look, you make no nevermind, dose vere da best apples I ever did have, dey vas some good."
"Oh, here dey come now, dey bedda know da wash der feet off."}}

==== Maritime English ====
{{Further|Atlantic Canadian English}}

Spoken across the provinces of [[Nova Scotia]], [[New Brunswick]], and [[PEI]], this English dialect has been influenced by [[British English|British]] and [[Irish English]], [[Irish Gaelic|Irish]] and [[Scottish Gaelic]], and some Acadian French, as well as by [[Mi'kmaq language|Mi'kmawi'simk]].

==== Newfoundland English ====
{{Further|Newfoundland English}}

The initial European settlers to Newfoundland were fishermen from the various coastal villages of the English [[West Country]] of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, and Wiltshire beginning in the 1500s (previously they visited in summer and returned). This set the basic speech patterns for those settlers who fanned out into isolated coves and bays along the island's {{convert|6000|mi|abbr=on|order=flip}} of coastline to take advantage of the scattered off-shore fishing areas. [[Labrador]], today the greater part of "Newfoundland", was then sparsely settled. The West Country dialects continued to be spoken in isolated coves and fjords of the island thus preserving varied dialects of what is today referred to as [[Newfoundland English]].

It was not until the 1700s that social disruptions in Ireland sent thousands of Irish from the southeastern counties of Waterford, Wexford, Kilkenny, and Cork and to the Avalon peninsula in the eastern part of Newfoundland where significant Irish influence on the Newfoundland dialects may still be heard.

Some of the Irish immigrants to [[Newfoundland (island)|Newfoundland]] were native speakers of [[Irish language|Irish]] making Newfoundland the only place outside Europe to have [[Irish language in Newfoundland|its own Irish dialect]]. Newfoundland was also the only place outside Europe to have its own distinct name in Irish: ''Talamh an Éisc'', which means 'land of the fish'. The Irish language is now extinct in Newfoundland.

After 400 years, much of the dialectal differences between the isolated settlements has levelled out beginning in the 20th century when faster boats (using gas engines instead of oars or sails), and improved road connections provided easier social contact. As well, influences from mainland North America began to affect the local dialects beginning during WWII when US and Canadian servicemen were stationed in Newfoundland and accelerating after Newfoundland became a Canadian province in 1949. Lack of an official orthography, publications in dialect, speaker attrition and official disinterest in promoting the language has been contributing factors towards a decline of speakers of the older, traditional Newfoundland English in the original settlements.

====Ottawa Valley Twang====
[[Ottawa Valley English|Ottawa Valley Twang]] is the [[accent (sociolinguistics)|accent]], sometimes referred to as a [[dialect]] of English, that is spoken in the [[Ottawa Valley]], in Ontario.<ref>[http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/magazine/so05/indepth/justthefacts.asp Ottawa Valley facts] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120927092719/http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/magazine/so05/indepth/justthefacts.asp |date=September 27, 2012 }} at Canadian Geographic.ca</ref> The Ottawa Valley is considered to be a [[linguistics|linguistic]] [[Enclave and exclave|enclave]] within Ontario.<ref name="one language">{{cite book|last= Ronowicz|first=Eddie|author2=Colin Yallop |title=English: One Language, Different Cultures|pages=145|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4ZvDS2ctPNEC&pg=PA145 | isbn=978-0-8264-7079-9 | year=2006 | publisher=Continuum International Publishing Group}}</ref>

==== Quebec English ====
{{Further|Quebec English}}

The language of [[English-speaking Quebecers]] generally aligns to [[Standard Canadian English]], however established ethnic groups retain certain, distinctive lexical features, such as the dialects spoken by [[Mohawk people|Mohawk]], [[James Bay Cree|Cree]], [[wikt:Nunavimmiut|Inuit]], Irish, Jewish, Italian, and Greek communities. Isolated fishing villages on the [[Basse-Côte-Nord]] speak Newfoundland English, and many [[Gaspésie|Gaspesian]] English-speakers use Maritime English.

==== Toronto slang ====
{{Further|Toronto slang}}

Spoken within the [[Greater Toronto Area]], [[Toronto slang]] is the nuanced, multicultural English spoken in the city. This dialect is heavily influenced by the different communities present, most notably the Jamaican, Trinidadian, Guyanese, and other Caribbean communities and their ways of speaking. There is also influence from West African, East African, and South Asian communities.

==== Canadian Gaelic ====
{{Further|Canadian Gaelic}}

[[Canadian Gaelic]] was spoken by many immigrants who settled in [[Glengarry County, Ontario|Glengarry County (Ontario)]] and [[the Maritimes]]—predominantly in New Brunswick's [[Restigouche River]] valley, central and southeastern Prince Edward Island, and across the whole of northern Nova Scotia—particularly [[Cape Breton]]. While the [[Canadian Gaelic]] dialect has mostly disappeared, regional pockets persist. These are mostly centred on families deeply committed to their Celtic traditions. Nova Scotia currently has 500–1,000 fluent speakers, mostly in northwestern Cape Breton. There have been attempts in Nova Scotia to institute Gaelic immersion on the model of [[French immersion]]. As well, formal post-secondary studies in Gaelic language and culture are available through [[St. Francis Xavier University]], [[Saint Mary's University (Halifax)|Saint Mary's University]], and [[Cape Breton University]]

In 1890, a private member's bill was tabled in the [[Canadian Senate]], calling for Gaelic to be made Canada's third [[Official bilingualism in Canada|official language]]. However, the bill was defeated 42–7.

==== Newfoundland Irish ====
{{Further|Irish language in Newfoundland}}

Newfoundland is home to the largest population of Irish-descendants in Canada and once hosted a thriving [[Irish language|Irish Gaelic]] linguistic community. Although steep declines around the 20th century meant that the Irish language on the Island hardly remains, there exists today strong interest with consistent efforts to revive the language.

Newfoundland Irish has left an impact on the English spoken on the Island, including terms like ''scrob'' "scratch" (Irish {{lang|ga|scríob}}), ''sleveen'' "rascal" (Irish {{lang|ga|slíbhín}}) and ''streel'' "slovenly person" (Irish {{lang|ga|sraoill}}), along with grammatical features like the [[Hiberno-English#Recent past construction|"after" perfect]] as in "she's already after leavin{{'"}} (Irish {{lang|ga|tá sí tar éis imeacht}}).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Clarke |first1=Sandra |last2=Paddock |first2=Harold |last3=MacKenzie |first3=Marguerite |title=Language |url=https://www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/society/language.php |website=Heritage Newfoundland & Labrador |publisher=Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage |access-date=15 December 2021}}</ref> As well, both Newfoundland (''Talamh an Éisc'', ''Land of the Fish'')<ref>Edited by Natasha Sumner and Aidan Doyle (2020), ''North American Gaels: Speech, Song, and Story in the Diaspora'', [[McGill-Queen's University Press]]. Page 80.</ref> and [[St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador|St. John's]] (''Baile Sheáin'')<ref>Edited by Natasha Sumner and Aidan Doyle (2020), ''North American Gaels: Speech, Song, and Story in the Diaspora'', [[McGill-Queen's University Press]]. Page 76.</ref> have distinct names in the [[Irish-language]]. The dialect of Irish spoken in Newfoundland is said to resemble the [[Munster Irish]] of the 18th century.

Events and institutions are increasingly supporting the language with ever larger [[Céilí|Céilithe móra]], students participating in [[Conradh na Gaeilge]] events, people playing [[Gaelic games|Gaelic sports]], and Irish film festivals attracting English- and Irish-speakers alike. There is also an Irish language instructor, appointed every year by the Ireland Canada University Foundation, who works at [[Memorial University]] in [[St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador|St. John's]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.icuf.ie/scholarships/clar-gaeilge/teagascoiri/|title=Teagascóirí Gaeilge|website=Ireland Canada University Foundation|date=March 2013 }}</ref> where the university's Digital Learning Centre provides resources for learning the Irish language.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mun.ca/dlc/resources-for-students/irish-student-resources/|title=Irish Student Resources &#124; Digital Learning Centre|website=Memorial University of Newfoundland}}</ref>

==== Newfoundland Welsh ====
{{Further|Welsh language#Canada}}

Some [[Welsh language|Welsh]] is found in Newfoundland. In part, this is as a result of Welsh settlement since the 17th century. Also, there was an influx of about 1,000 [[Y Wladfa|Patagonian Welsh]], who migrated to Canada from [[Argentina]] after the 1982 [[Falklands War]]. Welsh-Argentines are fluent in Spanish as well as English and Welsh.

==== Canadian Ukrainian ====
{{Further|Canadian Ukrainian}}

Canada is also home to [[Canadian Ukrainian]], a distinct dialect of the [[Ukrainian language]], spoken mostly in [[Western Canada]] by the descendants of first two waves of [[Ukrainian Canadians|Ukrainian settlement in Canada]] who developed in a degree of isolation from their cousins in what was then [[Austria-Hungary]], the [[Russian Empire]], [[Poland]], and the [[Soviet Union]].

==== Doukhobor Russian ====
{{Further|Doukhobor Russian}}

Canada's [[Doukhobor]] community, especially in [[Grand Forks, British Columbia|Grand Forks]] and [[Castlegar, British Columbia]], has kept its [[Doukhobor Russian|distinct dialect]] of [[Russian language|Russian]]. It has a lot in common with [[Southern Russian dialects|South Russian dialects]], showing some common features with Ukrainian. This dialect's versions are becoming extinct in their home regions of [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] and [[Russia]] where the Doukhobors have split into smaller groups.

==== Deitsch ====
{{Further|Pennsylvania Dutch language}}

A variety of [[West Central German]] spoken by the [[Amish|Old Order Amish]], [[Old Order Mennonites]] and other descendants of [[German Canadians|German immigrants in Canada]], [[Pennsylvania Dutch]] or [[Pennsylvania Dutch language|Deitsch]] is closely related to the [[Palatine German language|Palatine dialects]] of the [[Upper Rhine Valley]].<ref>{{cite book | last = Buffington  | first = Alfred F.  |author2=Preston A. Barba | title = A Pennsylvania German Grammar | edition = Revised | publisher = Schlecter's | location = Allentown, PA, USA | year = 1965 | orig-year = 1954 | pages = 137–145 }}</ref> Of the estimated 300,000 speakers, most are found across several US states, whilst there is a sizable community within Ontario.<ref>{{cite web |title=THE AMISH of Southern Ontario |url=https://www.discover-southern-ontario.com/amish.html |website=Discover Southern Ontario |access-date=15 December 2021}}</ref>

==== Hutterisch ====
{{Further|Hutterite German}}

Centred in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, the [[Hutterite]] communities maintain a [[koiné language|distinct form]] of the [[German language]] descended from [[Bavarian language|Bavarian dialects]] spoken in [[Tyrol]] (by founder [[Jacob Hutter]]). The language shifted in the mid-18th century toward a more [[Duchy of Carinthia|Carinthian]] linguistic base upon the deportation of [[Transylvanian Landler|Landler]] from [[Austria]] to [[Transylvania]]. There is only about a 50% intelligibility between [[Pennsylvania Dutch]] speakers and [[Hutterite German|Hutterisch]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/geh|title=Hutterisch|website=Ethnologue}}</ref> Its speaker base belongs to the ''Schmiedleit'', ''Lehrerleit'', and ''Dariusleit'' groups with a few speakers among the older generations of ''Prairieleit'' (the descendants of those Hutterites who chose not to settle in colonies). Hutterite children who grow up in the colonies first learn and speak Hutterisch before learning English. Of the estimated 34,000 speakers in the world (as of 2003), 85% of them live in 370 communities in Canada.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ryan |first1=John |title=Hutterites in Canada |url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/hutterites |website=The Canadian Encyclopedia |access-date=15 December 2021 |date=July 21, 2013}}</ref> Canadian adults are generally literate in [[Early New High German]] (also called "Biblical German", the predecessor to Standard German used by [[Martin Luther]]) that they employ as the written form for Scriptures, however Hutterisch is, for the most part, an unwritten language.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Hutterites in Canada – "Communitarians Are We" |url=http://cafmuseum.techno-science.ca/doc/research/cafm/project-the-hutterites-in-canada.pdf |website=Canada Agriculture and Food Museum |publisher=Canadian Agricultural Museum |access-date=15 December 2021 |archive-date=15 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211215045631/http://cafmuseum.techno-science.ca/doc/research/cafm/project-the-hutterites-in-canada.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==== Plautdietsch ====
{{Further|Plautdietsch language}}

[[Plautdietsch language|Plautdietsch]] is predominantly found in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario where [[Mennonite]] communities settled. The Mennonites, or [[Russian Mennonites]] as they are sometimes called, descend from [[Low Countries|Low country]] [[Anabaptists]] who fled from what is today the Netherlands and Belgium in the 16th century to escape persecution and [[Vistula delta Mennonites|resettled in the Vistula delta]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Jacques |first1=Leclerc |title=Les mennonites |url=https://www.axl.cefan.ulaval.ca/amsudant/mennonites.htm |access-date=15 December 2021 |language=fr|date=18 Dec 2015}}</ref> Their language is a fusion of [[Dutch dialects|Dutch]], [[West Frisian language|West Frisian]] and [[Dutch Low Saxon]] dialects which over time mixed with the [[East Low German]] dialects of [[Werdersch]], [[Nehrungisch]] and [[Dialekt des Weichselgebietes|Weichselisch]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Epp |first=Reuben |date=1987 |title=Plautdietsch: Origins, Development and State of the Mennonite Low German Language |journal=Journal of Mennonite Studies |volume=5 |pages=61–72}}</ref>

==Official bilingualism==
{{Main|Official bilingualism in Canada|Official bilingualism in the public service of Canada}}

===Language policy of the federal government===
[[Image:Montreal-Place Vauquelin, Note.jpg|thumb|A [[Official bilingualism in Canada|bilingual]] sign in [[Montreal]]]]
English and French have equal status in federal courts, the [[Parliament of Canada]], as well as in all federal institutions.

The public has the right, where there is sufficient demand, to receive federal government services in either English or French. Immigrants who are applying for [[Canadian nationality law|Canadian citizenship]] must normally be able to speak either English or French.

The principles of bilingualism in Canada are protected in [[Section 16 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms|sections 16]] to [[Section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms|23]] of the ''[[Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms]]'' of 1982 which establishes that:
* French and English are equal to each other as federal official languages;
* Debate in Parliament may take place in either official language;
* Federal laws shall be printed in both official languages, with equal authority;
* Anyone may deal with any court established by Parliament, in either official language;
* Everyone has the right to receive services from the federal government in his or her choice of official language;
* Members of a minority language group of one of the official languages if learned and still understood (i.e., French speakers in a majority English-speaking province, or vice versa) or received primary school education in that language has the right to have their children receive a public education in their language, where numbers warrant.

Canada's ''Official Languages Act,'' first adopted in 1969 and updated in 1988, gives English and French equal status throughout federal institutions.

===Language policies of Canada's provinces and territories===
{{Main|Language policies of Canada's provinces and territories}}

====Officially bilingual or multilingual: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and the three territories====
New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Canada's three territories have all given official status to more than one language. In the case of New Brunswick, this means perfect equality. In the other cases, the recognition sometimes amounts to a formal recognition of official languages, but limited services in official languages other than English.

The official languages are:
* New Brunswick: English and French. New Brunswick has been officially bilingual since the 1960s. The province's officially bilingual status has been entrenched in the ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' since 1982.
* Nova Scotia: Mi'kmawi'simk is considered the province's official "first language."
* Northwest Territories: Cree, Dënësųłıné, Dene Yatıé / Dene Zhatıé,{{refn|group="nb"|name=Slavey}} English, French, Gwich’in, Inuinnaqtun, Inuktitut, Inuvialuktun, Sahtúgot’įné Yatı̨́ / K’ashógot’įne Goxedǝ́ / Shíhgot’įne Yatı̨́,{{refn|group="nb"|name=Slavey}} and Tłįchǫ.<ref name="nwtlang"/>
* Nunavut: English, Inuktut (Inuktitut, Inuinnaqtun), and French.<ref name="nulang"/>
* Yukon: English and French.

====Officially French-only: Quebec====
Until 1969, Quebec was the only officially bilingual province in Canada and most public institutions functioned in both languages. English was also used in the legislature, government commissions and courts. With the adoption of the ''[[Charter of the French Language]]'' (also known as "Bill 101") by Quebec's [[National Assembly of Quebec|National Assembly]] in August 1977, however, French became Quebec's sole official language. However, the ''Charter of the French Language'' enumerates a defined set of language rights for the English language and for Aboriginal languages, and government services are available, to certain citizens and in certain regions, in English. As well, a series of court decisions have forced the [[Government of Quebec|Quebec government]] to increase its English-language services beyond those provided for under the original terms of the ''Charter of the French Language''. Regional institutions in the [[Nunavik]] region of [[Nord-du-Québec|northern Quebec]] offer services in Inuktitut and Cree.

====''De facto'' English only, or limited French-language services: the other eight provinces====
Most provinces have laws that make either English or both English and French the official language(s) of the legislature and the courts but may also have separate policies in regards to education and the bureaucracy.

For example, in [[Alberta]], English and French are both official languages of debate in the [[Legislative Assembly of Alberta|Legislative Assembly]], but laws may be drafted solely in English and there is no legal requirement that they be translated into French. French can be used in some lower courts and education is offered in both languages, but the bureaucracy functions almost solely in English. Therefore, although Alberta is not officially an English-only province, English has a higher ''de facto'' status than French. Ontario and Manitoba are similar but allow for more services in French at the local level.{{citation needed|date=February 2022}}

==Geographic distribution==
[[File:Diversity of languages in Canada.jpg|upright=1.3|frameless|right]]{{-}}
The following table details the population of each province and territory, with summary national totals, by mother tongue as reported in the Canada 2016 Census.

{{sticky header}} 
{|class="wikitable sortable sticky-header-multi" style=text-align:right" style="margin:1em auto;"
|-
!Province/territory
!Total population
!English
!%
!French
!%
!Other languages
!%
!Official language(s)

|-
|style="text-align:left"|[[Ontario]]
|13,312,870
|9,255,660||69.52%
|568,345||4.27%
|3,865,780||29.04%
|style="text-align:left"|English ({{Lang|la|de facto}})<ref>[[Government of Ontario]], “[https://www.ontario.ca/page/about-ontario About Ontario]” (March 7, 2019).</ref>
|-
|style="text-align:left"|[[Quebec]]
|8,066,555
|718,985||8.91%
|6,377,080||79.06%
|1,173,345||14.54%
|style="text-align:left"|French<ref name="qclang"/>
|-
|style="text-align:left"|[[British Columbia]]
|4,598,415
||3,271,425||71.14%
|71,705||1.56%
|1,360,815||29.59%
|style="text-align:left"|English ({{Lang|la|de facto}})
|-
|style="text-align:left"|[[Alberta]]
|4,026,650
|3,080,865||76.51%
|86,705||2.15%
|952,790||23.66%
|style="text-align:left"|English
|-
|style="text-align:left"|[[Manitoba]]
|1,261,615	
|931,410||73.83%
|46,055||3.65%
|316,120||25.06%
|style="text-align:left"|English
|-
|style="text-align:left"|[[Saskatchewan]]
|1,083,240
|910,865||84.09%
|17,735	||1.64%
|173,475||16.01%
|style="text-align:left"|English
|-
|style="text-align:left"|[[Nova Scotia]]
|912,300
|838,055||91.86%
|33,345||3.66%
|49,165||5.39%
|style="text-align:left"|English ({{Lang|la|de facto}}){{Efn|Nova Scotia has since enacted Miꞌkmaq as the province’s first language|name=NS|group=nb}}
|-
|style="text-align:left"|[[New Brunswick]]
|736,280
|481,690||65.42%
|238,865||32.44%
|25,165||3.42%
|style="text-align:left"|English, French
|-
|style="text-align:left"|[[Newfoundland and Labrador]]
|515,680	
|501,350||97.22%
|3,020||0.59%
|13,035	||2.53%
|style="text-align:left"|English ({{Lang|la|de facto}})
|-
|style="text-align:left"|[[Prince Edward Island]]
|141,020
|128,975||91.46%
|5,395||3.83%
|7,670||5.44%
|style="text-align:left"|English ({{Lang|la|de facto}})
|-
|style="text-align:left"|[[Northwest Territories]]
|41,380	
|32,545	||78.65%
|1,365||3.30%
|8,295||20.05%
|style="text-align:left"|Cree, Dënësųłıné, Dene Yatıé / Zhatıé,{{refn|group="nb"|name=Slavey}} English, French, Gwich’in, Inuinnaqtun, Inuktitut, Inuvialuktun, Sahtúgot’įné Yatı̨́ / K’ashógot’įne Goxedǝ́ / Shíhgot’įne Yatı̨́,{{refn|group="nb"|name=Slavey}} Tłįchǫ<ref name="nwtlang"/>

|-
|style="text-align:left"|[[Yukon]]
|35,555	
|29,765	||83.72%
|1,815||5.10%
|4,665||13.12%
|style="text-align:left"|English, French
|-
|style="text-align:left"|[[Nunavut]]
|35,695	
|11,745||32.90%
|640||1.79%
|24,050||67.38%
|style="text-align:left"|Inuit Language (Inuktitut, Inuinnaqtun), English, French<ref name="nulang">[http://www.justice.gov.nu.ca/apps/docs/download.aspx?file=Consolidated%20Law/Current/633640406483281250-1760189776-conssnu2008c10.pdf Consolidation of (S.Nu. 2008, c.10) (NIF) Official Languages Act]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} and [http://www.justice.gov.nu.ca/apps/docs/download.aspx?file=Consolidated%20Law/Current/634060764873541250-611697957-consSNu2008c17.pdf Consolidation of Inuit Language Protection Act]{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
|- style="background:#9DBEC3;"
|style="text-align:left"|[[Canada]]
|34,767,255	
|20,193,340||58.08%
|7,452,075||21.43%
|7,974,375||22.94%
|style="text-align:left"|English, French
|}
{{refbegin}}Source: Statistics Canada, ''Mother tongue by age (Total), 2016 counts for the population excluding institutional residents of Canada, provinces and territories, 2016 Census ''.<ref name="pop1">{{Cite web|url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/hlt-fst/lang/Table.cfm?Lang=E&T=11&Geo=00|title=Mother tongue by age (Total), 2016 counts for the population excluding institutional residents of Canada, provinces and territories, 2016 Census|date=2 August 2017|access-date=May 25, 2021}}</ref>{{refend}}

== Knowledge of languages ==
{{bar box
|title=Top ten spoken languages in Canada <br /> 2021 census{{efn|The question on knowledge of languages allows for multiple responses. The following figures are from the [[2021 Canadian census|2021 Canadian Census]].}} 
|titlebar=#ddd
|left1=Language
|right1=Percent
|float=right
|bars=
{{bar percent|[[English language|English]]|gray|87.06}}
{{bar percent|[[French language|French]]|gray|29.08}}
{{bar percent|[[Chinese language|Chinese]]{{efn|name=chinese}}|gray|4.21}}
{{bar percent|[[Hindustani language|Hindustani]]{{efn|name=hindustani|2021 census: Combined responses of [[Hindi]] (761,425) and [[Urdu]] (414,870) as they form mutually intelligible registers of the Hindustani language.}}|gray|3.24}}
{{bar percent|[[Spanish language|Spanish]]|gray|3.22}}
{{bar percent|[[Punjabi language|Punjabi]]|gray|2.59}}
{{bar percent|[[Arabic]]|gray|2.31}}
{{bar percent|[[Tagalog language|Tagalog]]|gray|2.03}}
{{bar percent|[[Italian language|Italian]]|gray|1.51}}
{{bar percent|[[German language|German]]|gray|1.15}}
}}
The question on knowledge of languages allows for multiple responses, and first appeared on the [[1991 Canadian census]].{{efn|The 1991 Census was the first to ask Canadians whether they could conduct a conversation in a language other than English or French<ref name="language2001"/>{{rp|50}}}} The following figures are from the 1991 Canadian census, [[2001 Canadian census]], [[2011 Canadian census]], and the [[2021 Canadian census]]. 
{{sticky header}} 
{|class="wikitable sortable sticky-header-multi" style=text-align:center" style="margin:1em auto;" |+Knowledge of Languages in Canada
! rowspan="2" |Language
! colspan="2" |2021<ref name="language2021">{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Statistics Canada |date=2022-08-17 |title=Knowledge of languages by age and gender: Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations with parts |url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810021701 |access-date=2022-10-12 |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca}}</ref>
! colspan="2" |2011<ref name="language2011">{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Statistics Canada |date=2022-08-17 
|title=NHS Profile, Canada, 2011 Non-official language |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/2011/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=PR&Code1=01&Data=Count&SearchText=Canada&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&A1=Non-official%20language&B1=All&Custom=&amp;TABID=1 |access-date=2022-08-24 |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca}}</ref>
! colspan="2" |2001<ref name="language2001">{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Statistics Canada |date=2001 
|title=Languages in Canada: 2001 Census |url=https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/96-326-x/96-326-x2001001-eng.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/96-326-x/96-326-x2001001-eng.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |access-date=2022-08-19 |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca}}</ref><ref name="language2001B">{{cite web|url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/english/census01/products/standard/themes/Rp-eng.cfm?LANG=E&APATH=3&DETAIL=1&DIM=0&FL=A&FREE=0&GC=0&GID=0&GK=0&GRP=1&PID=55666&PRID=0&PTYPE=55430,53293,55440,55496,71090&S=0&SHOWALL=0&SUB=0&Temporal=2001&THEME=41&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF=|title=Topic-based tabulation:Various Non-official Languages Spoken (76), Age Groups (13) and Sex (3) for Population, for Canada, Provinces, Territories, Census Divisions and Census Subdivisions, 2001 Census - 20% Sample Data|access-date=24 August 2022}}</ref>
! colspan="2" |1991<ref name="language1991">{{cite web|url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/English/census91/data/profiles/Rp-eng.cfm?LANG=E&APATH=1&DETAIL=0&DIM=0&FL=A&FREE=0&GC=0&GID=0&GK=0&GRP=1&PID=227&PRID=0&PTYPE=56079&S=0&SHOWALL=0&SUB=0&Temporal=1991&THEME=113&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF=|title=Profile of Urban Forward Sortation Areas|access-date=24 August 2022}}</ref>
|-
![[Population|{{abbr|Pop.|Population}}]]
!{{Abbr|%|percentage}}
!{{abbr|Pop.|Population}}
!{{Abbr|%|percentage}}
!{{abbr|Pop.|Population}}
!{{Abbr|%|percentage}}
!{{abbr|Pop.|Population}}
!{{Abbr|%|percentage}}
|-
| [[English language|English]]
| 31,628,570
| {{Percentage | 31628570 | 36328480 | 2 }}
| 28,360,235<ref name="language2011B">{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Statistics Canada |date=2022-08-17 
|title=Census Profile Language |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=PR&Code1=01&Geo2=PR&Code2=01&Data=Count&SearchText=Canada&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=Language&Custom=&TABID=1 |access-date=2022-08-24 |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca}}</ref>
| {{Percentage | 28360235 | 33121175 | 2 }}
| 25,246,220<ref name="language2001C">{{cite web|url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/english/census01/products/standard/themes/Rp-eng.cfm?LANG=E&APATH=3&DETAIL=0&DIM=0&FL=A&FREE=0&GC=0&GID=0&GK=0&GRP=1&PID=55655&PRID=0&PTYPE=55430,53293,55440,55496,71090&S=0&SHOWALL=0&SUB=0&Temporal=2001&THEME=41&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF=|title=Knowledge of Official Languages (5), Age Groups (13) and Sex (3) for Population, for Canada, Provinces, Territories, Census Divisions, Census Subdivisions and Dissemination Areas, 2001 Census - 20% Sample Data|access-date=23 August 2022}}</ref>
| {{Percentage | 25246220 | 29639030 | 2 }}
| 22,505,415
| {{Percentage | 22505415 | 26994045 | 2 }}
|-
| [[French language|French]]
| 10,563,235
| {{Percentage | 10563235 | 36328480 | 2 }}
| 9,960,585<ref name="language2011B"/>
| {{Percentage | 9960585 | 33121175 | 2 }}
| 9,178,100<ref name="language2001C"/>
| {{Percentage | 9178100 | 29639030 | 2 }}
| 8,508,960
| {{Percentage | 8508960 | 26994045 | 2 }}
|-
| [[Chinese language|Chinese]]{{efn|name=chinese|2021 census: Combined responses of the Chinese languages, including Mandarin (987,300), Cantonese (724,925), Min Nan, Hakka, Wu (Shanghainese), Min Dong, Chinese, n.o.s.,{{refn|group="nb"|name=nos|n.o.s. – not otherwise specified}} and Chinese languages, n.i.e.{{refn|group="nb"|name=nie|n.i.e. – not included elsewhere}}}}
| 1,528,860
| {{Percentage | 1528860 | 36328480 | 2 }}
| 1,297,505
| {{Percentage | 1297505 | 33121175 | 2 }}
| 1,028,445
| {{Percentage | 1028445 | 29639030 | 2 }}
| 557,305
| {{Percentage | 557305 | 26994045 | 2 }}
|-
| [[Hindustani language|Hindustani]]{{efn|name=hindustani|2021 census: Combined responses of [[Hindi]] (761,425) and [[Urdu]] (414,870) as they form mutually intelligible registers of the Hindustani language.}}
| 1,176,295
| {{Percentage | 1176295 | 36328480 | 2 }}
| 576,165
| {{Percentage | 576165 | 33121175 | 2 }}
| 366,740
| {{Percentage | 366740 | 29639030 | 2 }}
| 163,930
| {{Percentage | 163930 | 26994045 | 2 }}
|-
| [[Spanish language|Spanish]]
| 1,171,450
| {{Percentage | 1171450 | 36328480 | 2 }}
| 873,395
| {{Percentage | 873395 | 33121175 | 2 }}
| 610,580
| {{Percentage | 610580 | 29639030 | 2 }}
| 402,430
| {{Percentage | 402430 | 26994045 | 2 }}
|-
| [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]]
| 942,170
| {{Percentage | 942170 | 36328480 | 2 }}
| 545,730
| {{Percentage | 545730 | 33121175 | 2 }}
| 338,720
| {{Percentage | 338720 | 29639030 | 2 }}
| 167,925
| {{Percentage | 167925 | 26994045 | 2 }}
|-
| [[Arabic]]
| 838,045
| {{Percentage | 838045 | 36328480 | 2 }}
| 470,965
| {{Percentage | 470965 | 33121175 | 2 }}
| 290,280
| {{Percentage | 290280 | 29639030 | 2 }}
| 164,380
| {{Percentage | 164380 | 26994045 | 2 }}
|-
| [[Tagalog language|Tagalog]]
| 737,565
| {{Percentage | 737565 | 36328480 | 2 }}
| 491,075
| {{Percentage | 491075 | 33121175 | 2 }}
| 244,690
| {{Percentage | 244690 | 29639030 | 2 }}
| 136,975
| {{Percentage | 136975 | 26994045 | 2 }}
|-
| [[Italian language|Italian]]
| 547,655
| {{Percentage | 547655 | 36328480 | 2 }}
| 595,600
| {{Percentage | 595600 | 33121175 | 2 }}
| 680,970
| {{Percentage | 680970 | 29639030 | 2 }}
| 701,910
| {{Percentage | 701910 | 26994045 | 2 }}
|-
| [[German language|German]]
| 419,195
| {{Percentage | 419195 | 36328480 | 2 }}
| 525,480
| {{Percentage | 525480 | 33121175 | 2 }}
| 635,520
| {{Percentage | 635520 | 29639030 | 2 }}
| 684,955
| {{Percentage | 684955 | 26994045 | 2 }}
|-
| [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]]
| 336,865
| {{Percentage | 336865 | 36328480 | 2 }}
| 266,950
| {{Percentage | 266950 | 33121175 | 2 }}
| 264,990
| {{Percentage | 264990 | 29639030 | 2 }}
| 254,465
| {{Percentage | 254465 | 26994045 | 2 }}
|-
| [[Persian language|Persian]]{{efn|name=persian|2021 census: Combined responses of Iranian Persian (222,160), Dari, and Persian (Farsi), n.o.s.,{{refn|group="nb"|name=nos}} as they form mutually intelligible registers of the Persian language, and as they were all categorized under "Persian" in previous censuses.}}
| 330,725
| {{Percentage | 330725 | 36328480 | 2 }}
| 196,110
| {{Percentage | 196110 | 33121175 | 2 }}
| 111,700
| {{Percentage | 111700 | 29639030 | 2 }}
| 49,380
| {{Percentage | 49380 | 26994045 | 2 }}
|-
| [[Russian language|Russian]]
| 309,235
| {{Percentage | 309235 | 36328480 | 2 }}
| 230,755
| {{Percentage | 230755 | 33121175 | 2 }}
| 157,455
| {{Percentage | 157455 | 29639030 | 2 }}
| 84,050
| {{Percentage | 84050 | 26994045 | 2 }}
|-
| [[Tamil language|Tamil]]
| 237,890
| {{Percentage | 237890 | 36328480 | 2 }}
| 179,465
| {{Percentage | 179465 | 33121175 | 2 }}
| 111,580
| {{Percentage | 111580 | 29639030 | 2 }}
| 37,330
| {{Percentage | 37330 | 26994045 | 2 }}
|-
| [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]]
| 232,800
| {{Percentage | 232800 | 36328480 | 2 }}
| 192,070
| {{Percentage | 192070 | 33121175 | 2 }}
| 165,645
| {{Percentage | 165645 | 29639030 | 2 }}
| 113,115
| {{Percentage | 113115 | 26994045 | 2 }}
|-
| [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]]
| 209,410
| {{Percentage | 209410 | 36328480 | 2 }}
| 118,950
| {{Percentage | 118950 | 33121175 | 2 }}
| 80,835
| {{Percentage | 80835 | 29639030 | 2 }}
| 54,210
| {{Percentage | 54210 | 26994045 | 2 }}
|-
| [[Polish language|Polish]]
| 204,460
| {{Percentage | 204460 | 36328480 | 2 }}
| 217,735
| {{Percentage | 217735 | 33121175 | 2 }}
| 249,695
| {{Percentage | 249695 | 29639030 | 2 }}
| 239,575
| {{Percentage | 239575 | 26994045 | 2 }}
|-
| [[Korean language|Korean]]
| 203,885
| {{Percentage | 203885 | 36328480 | 2 }}
| 149,035
| {{Percentage | 149035 | 33121175 | 2 }}
| 91,610
| {{Percentage | 91610 | 29639030 | 2 }}
| 40,230
| {{Percentage | 40230 | 26994045 | 2 }}
|-
| [[Serbo-Croatian]]{{efn|name=serbocroatian|Including [[Bosnian language|Bosnian]], [[Croatian language|Croatian]], [[Serbian language|Serbian]], and Serbo-Croatian, n.i.e.{{refn|group="nb"|name=nie}}}}
| 155,775
| {{Percentage | 155775 | 36328480 | 2 }}
| 154,700
| {{Percentage | 154700 | 33121175 | 2 }}
| 153,085
| {{Percentage | 153085 | 29639030 | 2 }}
| 100,541
| {{Percentage | 100541 | 26994045 | 2 }}
|-
| [[Greek language|Greek]]
| 145,060
| {{Percentage | 145060 | 36328480 | 2 }}
| 150,620
| {{Percentage | 150620 | 33121175 | 2 }}
| 158,800
| {{Percentage | 158800 | 29639030 | 2 }}
| 161,320
| {{Percentage | 161320 | 26994045 | 2 }}
|-
| [[Haitian Creole]]
| 134,895
| {{Percentage | 134895 | 36328480 | 2 }}
| 128,555
| {{Percentage | 128555 | 33121175 | 2 }}
| 76,140
| {{Percentage | 76140 | 29639030 | 2 }}
| 49,970
| {{Percentage | 49970 | 26994045 | 2 }}
|-
| [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]]
| 131,655
| {{Percentage | 131655 | 36328480 | 2 }}
| 144,260
| {{Percentage | 144260 | 33121175 | 2 }}
| 200,520
| {{Percentage | 200520 | 29639030 | 2 }}
| 249,535
| {{Percentage | 249535 | 26994045 | 2 }}
|-
| [[Bengali language|Bengali]]
| 120,605
| {{Percentage | 120605 | 36328480 | 2 }}
| 69,490
| {{Percentage | 69490 | 33121175 | 2 }}
| 34,650
| {{Percentage | 34650 | 29639030 | 2 }}
| N/A
| <0.1%
|-
| [[Romanian language|Romanian]]
| 116,520
| {{Percentage | 116520 | 36328480 | 2 }}
| 97,180
| {{Percentage | 97180 | 33121175 | 2 }}
| 60,520
| {{Percentage | 60520 | 29639030 | 2 }}
| 30,520
| {{Percentage | 30520 | 26994045 | 2 }}
|-
| [[Dutch language|Dutch]]
| 107,985
| {{Percentage | 107985 | 36328480 | 2 }}
| 135,085
| {{Percentage | 135085 | 33121175 | 2 }}
| 157,875
| {{Percentage | 157875 | 29639030 | 2 }}
| 173,290
| {{Percentage | 173290 | 26994045 | 2 }}
|-
| [[Cree language|Cree]]{{efn|name=cree|2021 census: Total number of speakers of the Cree-Innu languages, previously categorized under "Cree" in past censuses.}}
| 105,850
| {{Percentage | 105850 | 36328480 | 2 }}
| 96,690
| {{Percentage | 96690 | 33121175 | 2 }}
| 97,200
| {{Percentage | 97200 | 29639030 | 2 }}
| 93,825
| {{Percentage | 93825 | 26994045 | 2 }}
|-
| [[Japanese language|Japanese]]
| 98,070
| {{Percentage | 98070 | 36328480 | 2 }}
| 74,690
| {{Percentage | 74690 | 33121175 | 2 }}
| 65,030
| {{Percentage | 65030 | 29639030 | 2 }}
| 45,370
| {{Percentage | 45370 | 26994045 | 2 }}
|-
| [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]
| 83,205
| {{Percentage | 83205 | 36328480 | 2 }}
| 70,695
| {{Percentage | 70695 | 33121175 | 2 }}
| 63,675
| {{Percentage | 63675 | 29639030 | 2 }}
| 52,450
| {{Percentage | 52450 | 26994045 | 2 }}
|-
| [[Turkish language|Turkish]]
| 78,500
| {{Percentage | 78500 | 36328480 | 2 }}
| 44,080
| {{Percentage | 44080 | 33121175 | 2 }}
| 32,520
| {{Percentage | 32520 | 29639030 | 2 }}
| N/A
| <0.1%
|-
| [[Malayalam]]
| 77,910
| {{Percentage | 77910 | 36328480 | 2 }}
| 22,125
| {{Percentage | 22125 | 33121175 | 2 }}
| 9,185
| {{Percentage | 9185 | 29639030 | 2 }}
| N/A
| <0.1%
|-
| [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]]
| 64,625
| {{Percentage | 64625 | 36328480 | 2 }}
| 73,695
| {{Percentage | 73695 | 33121175 | 2 }}
| 89,230
| {{Percentage | 89230 | 29639030 | 2 }}
| 97,410
| {{Percentage | 97410 | 26994045 | 2 }}
|-
| [[Ilocano language|Ilocano]]
| 61,680
| {{Percentage | 61680 | 36328480 | 2 }}
| 21,880
| {{Percentage | 21880 | 33121175 | 2 }}
| N/A
| <0.03%
| N/A
| <0.1%
|-
| [[Somali language|Somali]]
| 59,005
| {{Percentage | 59005 | 36328480 | 2 }}
| 37,115
| {{Percentage | 37115	| 33121175 | 2 }}
| N/A
| <0.03%
| N/A
| <0.1%
|-
| [[Swahili language|Swahili]]
| 57,295
| {{Percentage | 57295 | 36328480 | 2 }}
| 31,690
| {{Percentage | 31690 | 33121175 | 2 }}
| 25,300
| {{Percentage | 25300 | 29639030 | 2 }}
| N/A
| <0.1%
|-
| [[Telugu language|Telugu]]
| 54,685
| {{Percentage | 54685 | 36328480 | 2 }}
| 12,645
| {{Percentage | 12645 | 33121175 | 2 }}
| N/A
| <0.03%
| N/A
| <0.1%
|}

=== Knowledge of official languages ===
{{sticky header}} 
{|class="wikitable sortable sticky-header-multi" style=text-align:center" style="margin:1em auto;" 
|+Knowledge of Official Languages in Canada
! rowspan="2" |Language
! colspan="2" |2021<ref name="language2021B">{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Statistics Canada |date=2022-08-17 
|title=Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population Profile table Canada [Country] |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?LANG=E&GENDERlist=1,2,3&STATISTIClist=1,4&DGUIDlist=2021A000011124&HEADERlist=,15,13,18,12,16,14,17&SearchText=Canada |access-date=2022-08-17 |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca}}</ref>
! colspan="2" |2016<ref name="language2016">{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Statistics Canada |date=2021-10-27 
|title=Census Profile, 2016 Census Canada [Country] and Canada [Country] |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=PR&Code1=01&Geo2=PR&Code2=01&SearchText=Canada&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=Language&TABID=1&type=0 |access-date=2022-08-25 |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca}}</ref>
! colspan="2" |2011<ref name="language2011B"/>
! colspan="2" |2006<ref name="language2006">{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Statistics Canada |date=2020-05-01
|title=Knowledge of Official Languages (5), Number of Non-official Languages Known (5), Age Groups (17A) and Sex (3) for the Population of Canada, Provinces, Territories, Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations, 2006 Census - 20% Sample Data |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/tbt/Rp-eng.cfm?LANG=E&APATH=3&DETAIL=0&DIM=0&FL=A&FREE=0&GC=0&GID=0&GK=0&GRP=1&PID=89188&PRID=0&PTYPE=88971,97154&S=0&SHOWALL=0&SUB=704&Temporal=2006&THEME=70&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF= |access-date=2022-08-25 |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca}}</ref>
! colspan="2" |2001<ref name="language2001"/><ref name="language2001C"/>
! colspan="2" |1996<ref name="language1996">{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Statistics Canada |date=2019-06-04
|title=Population by Knowledge of Official Languages (5) and Sex (3), Showing Age Groups (15A), for Canada, Provinces, Territories and Census Metropolitan Areas, 1991 and 1996 Censuses (20% Sample Data) |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/English/census96/data/tables/Rp-eng.cfm?LANG=E&APATH=3&DETAIL=1&DIM=0&FL=A&FREE=1&GC=0&GID=0&GK=0&GRP=1&PID=1203&PRID=0&PTYPE=89103&S=0&SHOWALL=No&SUB=0&Temporal=2006&THEME=6&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF= |access-date=2022-08-25 |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca}}</ref>
! colspan="2" |1991<ref name="language1991B">{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Statistics Canada |date=2019-03-29 
|title=L9104 -Population by Knowledge of Official Languages (5), showing Age Groups (13b) - Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/English/census91/data/tables/Rp-eng.cfm?LANG=E&APATH=3&DETAIL=1&DIM=0&FL=A&FREE=1&GC=0&GID=0&GK=0&GRP=1&PID=57&PRID=0&PTYPE=4&S=0&SHOWALL=No&SUB=0&Temporal=1991&THEME=110&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF= |access-date=2022-08-25 |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca}}</ref>
! colspan="2" |1981<ref name="language1981">{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Statistics Canada |date=2013-04-03 
|title=1981 Census of Canada : volume 1 - national series : population = Recensement du Canada de 1981 : volume 1 - série nationale : population. Mother tongue, official language and home language. |url=https://publications.gc.ca/site/eng/9.837638/publication.html |access-date=2022-08-25 |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca}}</ref><ref name="language1981B">{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Statistics Canada |date=2020-05-26 |title= Census Profile for Canada, Provinces and Territories, Census Divisions and Census Subdivisions, 1981 Census - Part B |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/English/census81/data/tables/Rp-eng.cfm?LANG=E&APATH=3&DETAIL=1&DIM=0&FL=A&FREE=1&GC=0&GID=0&GK=0&GRP=1&PID=113752&PRID=0&PTYPE=113743&S=0&SHOWALL=No&SUB=0&Temporal=1986&THEME=134&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF= |access-date=2022-08-25 |website=www12.statcan.gc.ca}}</ref>
|-
![[Population|{{abbr|Pop.|Population}}]]
!{{Abbr|%|percentage}}
!{{abbr|Pop.|Population}}
!{{Abbr|%|percentage}}
!{{abbr|Pop.|Population}}
!{{Abbr|%|percentage}}
!{{abbr|Pop.|Population}}
!{{Abbr|%|percentage}}
!{{abbr|Pop.|Population}}
!{{Abbr|%|percentage}}
!{{abbr|Pop.|Population}}
!{{Abbr|%|percentage}}
!{{abbr|Pop.|Population}}
!{{Abbr|%|percentage}}
!{{abbr|Pop.|Population}}
!{{Abbr|%|percentage}}
|-
| [[English language|English]] total
| 31,628,570
| {{Percentage | 31628570 | 36328480 | 2 }}
| 29,973,590
| {{Percentage | 29973590 | 34767255 | 2 }}
| 28,360,235
| {{Percentage | 28360235 | 33121175 | 2 }}
| 26,578,795
| {{Percentage | 26578795 | 31241030 | 2 }}
| 25,246,220
| {{Percentage | 25246220 | 29639030 | 2 }}
| 23,975,565
| {{Percentage | 23975565 | 28528125 | 2 }}
| 22,505,415
| {{Percentage | 22505415 | 26994045 | 2 }}
| 19,804,855
| {{Percentage | 19804855 | 24083495 | 2 }}
|-
| [[French language|French]] total
| 10,563,235
| {{Percentage | 10563235 | 36328480 | 2 }}
| 10,360,750
| {{Percentage | 10360750 | 34767255 | 2 }}
| 9,960,585
| {{Percentage | 9960585 | 33121175 | 2 }}
| 9,590,700
| {{Percentage | 9590700 | 31241030 | 2 }}
| 9,178,100
| {{Percentage | 9178100 | 29639030 | 2 }}
| 8,920,405
| {{Percentage | 8920405 | 28528125 | 2 }}
| 8,508,960
| {{Percentage | 8508960 | 26994045 | 2 }}
| 7,669,205
| {{Percentage | 7669205 | 24083495 | 2 }}
|-
| [[English language|English]] only
| 25,261,655
| {{Percentage | 25261655 | 36328480 | 2 }}
| 23,757,525
| {{Percentage | 23757525 | 34767255 | 2 }}
| 22,564,665
| {{Percentage | 22564665 | 33121175 | 2 }}
| 21,129,945
| {{Percentage | 21129945 | 31241030 | 2 }}
| 20,014,645
| {{Percentage | 20014645 | 29639030 | 2 }}
| 19,134,245
| {{Percentage | 19134245 | 28528125 | 2 }}
| 18,106,760
| {{Percentage | 18106760 | 26994045 | 2 }}
| 16,122,895
| {{Percentage | 16122895 | 24083495 | 2 }}
|-
| [[French language|French]] only
| 4,087,895
| {{Percentage | 4087895 | 36328480 | 2 }}
| 4,144,685
| {{Percentage | 4144685 | 34767255 | 2 }}
| 4,165,015
| {{Percentage | 4165015 | 33121175 | 2 }}
| 4,141,850
| {{Percentage | 4141850 | 31241030 | 2 }}
| 3,946,525
| {{Percentage | 3946525 | 29639030 | 2 }}
| 4,079,085
| {{Percentage | 4079085 | 28528125 | 2 }}
| 4,110,305
| {{Percentage | 4110305 | 26994045 | 2 }}
| 3,987,245
| {{Percentage | 3987245 | 24083495 | 2 }}
|-
| [[English language|English]] &<br />[[French language|French]]
| 6,581,680
| {{Percentage | 6581680 | 36328480 | 2 }}
| 6,216,065
| {{Percentage | 6216065 | 34767255 | 2 }}
| 5,795,570
| {{Percentage | 5795570 | 33121175 | 2 }}
| 5,448,850
| {{Percentage | 5448850 | 31241030 | 2 }}
| 5,231,575
| {{Percentage | 5231575 | 29639030 | 2 }}
| 4,841,320
| {{Percentage | 4841320 | 28528125 | 2 }}
| 4,398,655
| {{Percentage | 4398655 | 26994045 | 2 }}
| 3,681,960
| {{Percentage | 3681960 | 24083495 | 2 }}
|-
| Neither [[English language|English]]<br />nor [[French language|French]]
| 689,725
| {{Percentage | 689725 | 36328480 | 2 }}
| 648,970
| {{Percentage | 648970 | 34767255 | 2 }}
| 595,920
| {{Percentage | 595920 | 33121175 | 2 }}
| 520,385
| {{Percentage | 520385 | 31241030 | 2 }}
| 446,285
| {{Percentage | 446285 | 29639030 | 2 }}
| 473,475
| {{Percentage | 473475 | 28528125 | 2 }}
| 378,320
| {{Percentage | 378320 | 26994045 | 2 }}
| 291,395
| {{Percentage | 291395 | 24083495 | 2 }}
|}
{{clear}}

== Speakers by mother tongue ==
{{bar box
|title=Languages in Canada ([[Mother-tongue|Mother Tongue]]) <br /> 2016 Census
|titlebar=#ddd
|left1=Language
|right1=Percent
|float=right
|bars=
{{bar percent|[[English language|English]]|red|57.8}}
{{bar percent|Non-official|gray|21.1}}
{{bar percent|[[French language|French]]|blue|20.6}}
{{bar percent|English and French|purple|0.5}}
}}
{{sticky header}} 
{|class="wikitable sortable sticky-header-multi" style=text-align:right" style="margin:1em auto;"
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[First language]]
! colspan="2" |[[Canada 2016 Census|2016]]
! colspan="2" |[[Canada 2011 Census|2011]]
! colspan="2" |[[Canada 2006 Census|2006]]
!Notes
|-
![[Population|{{abbr|Pop.|Population}}]]
!{{Abbr|%|percentage}}
!{{abbr|Pop.|Population}}
!{{Abbr|%|percentage}}
!{{abbr|Pop.|Population}}
!{{Abbr|%|percentage}}
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Monolingualism|Single language]] responses||33,947,610||{{Percentage |33947610|34767250|2 }}||32,481,635||{{Percentage |32481635|33121175|2 }}||30,848,270||{{Percentage |30848270|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Official language]]s||26,627,545||{{Percentage |26627545|34767250|2 }}||25,913,955||{{Percentage |25913955|33121175|2 }}||24,700,425||{{Percentage |24700425|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[English language|English]]||19,460,855||{{Percentage |19460855|34767250|2 }}||18,858,980||{{Percentage |18858980|33121175|2 }}||17,882,775||{{Percentage |17882775|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[French language|French]]||7,166,700||{{Percentage |7166700|34767250|2 }}||7,054,975||{{Percentage |7054975|33121175|2 }}||6,817,650||{{Percentage |6817650|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | Non-official languages||7,321,070||{{Percentage |7321070|34767250|2 }}||6,567,680||{{Percentage |6567680|33121175|2 }}||6,147,840||{{Percentage |6147840|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Chinese language|Combined Chinese Responses]] ||1,227,680||{{Percentage |1227680|34767250|2 }}||n/a||n/a||n/a||n/a|| style="text-align: left" | Combined responses of Mandarin, Cantonese, Chinese n.o.s. and Min Nan
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Mandarin Chinese|Mandarin]] ([[Standard Chinese]])||592,035||{{Percentage |592035|34767250|2 }}||248,705||{{Percentage |248705|33121175|2 }}||170,950||{{Percentage |170950|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Cantonese]]||565,275||{{Percentage |565275|34767250|2 }}||372,460||{{Percentage |372460|33121175|2 }}||361,450||{{Percentage |361450|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]]||501,680||{{Percentage |501680|34767250|2 }}||430,705||{{Percentage |430705|33121175|2 }}||367,505||{{Percentage |367505|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Spanish language|Spanish]]||458,850||{{Percentage |458850|34767250|2 }}||410,670||{{Percentage |410670|33121175|2 }}||345,345||{{Percentage |345345|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Tagalog language|Tagalog (Filipino)]]||431,385||{{Percentage |431385|34767250|2 }}||327,445||{{Percentage |327445|33121175|2 }}||235,615||{{Percentage |235615|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Arabic]]||419,895||{{Percentage |419895|34767250|2 }}||327,870||{{Percentage |327870|33121175|2 }}||261,640||{{Percentage |261640|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[German language|German]]||384,040||{{Percentage |384040|34767250|2 }}||409,200||{{Percentage |409200|33121175|2 }}||450,570||{{Percentage |450570|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Italian language|Italian]]||375,645||{{Percentage |375645|34767250|2 }}||407,485||{{Percentage |407485|33121175|2 }}||455,040||{{Percentage |455040|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Hindustani language|Hindustani]]||321,465||{{Percentage |321465|34767250|2 }}||263,345||{{Percentage |263345|33121175|2 }}||224,045||{{Percentage |224045|31241030|2 }}|| style="text-align: left" | Combined responses of Hindi and Urdu
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]]||221,535||{{Percentage |221535|34767250|2 }}||211,335||{{Percentage |211335|33121175|2 }}||219,275||{{Percentage |219275|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Persian language|Persian]] (Farsi)||214,200||{{Percentage |214200|34767250|2 }}||170,045||{{Percentage |170045|33121175|2 }}||134,080||{{Percentage |134080|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Urdu]]||210,820||{{Percentage |210820|34767250|2 }}||172,800||{{Percentage |172800|33121175|2 }}||145,805||{{Percentage |145805|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Russian language|Russian]]||188,255||{{Percentage |188255|34767250|2 }}||164,330||{{Percentage |164330|33121175|2 }}||133,580||{{Percentage |133580|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Polish language|Polish]]||181,705||{{Percentage |181705|34767250|2 }}||191,645||{{Percentage |191645|33121175|2 }}||211,175||{{Percentage |211175|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Vietnamese language|Vietnamese]]||156,430||{{Percentage |156430|34767250|2 }}||144,880||{{Percentage |144880|33121175|2 }}||141,625||{{Percentage |141625|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Korean language|Korean]]||153,425||{{Percentage |153425|34767250|2 }}||137,925||{{Percentage |137925|33121175|2 }}||125,570||{{Percentage |125570|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Tamil language|Tamil]]||140,720||{{Percentage |140720|34767250|2 }}||131,265||{{Percentage |131265|33121175|2 }}||115,880||{{Percentage |115880|31241030|2 }}|| style="text-align: left" | Most of the [[Tamil Canadians|Canadian Tamils]] live in Toronto.
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Hindi]]||110,645||{{Percentage |110645|34767250|2 }}||90,545||{{Percentage |90545|33121175|2 }}||78,240||{{Percentage |78240|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Gujarati language|Gujarati]]||108,775||{{Percentage |108775|34767250|2 }}||91,450||{{Percentage |91450|33121175|2 }}||81,465||{{Percentage |81465|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Greek language|Greek]]||106,520||{{Percentage |106520|34767250|2 }}||108,925||{{Percentage |108925|33121175|2 }}||117,285||{{Percentage |117285|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]]||102,485||{{Percentage |102485|34767250|2 }}||111,540||{{Percentage |111540|33121175|2 }}||134,500||{{Percentage |134500|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Dutch language|Dutch]]||99,015||{{Percentage |99015|34767250|2 }}||110,490||{{Percentage |110490|33121175|2 }}||128,900||{{Percentage |128900|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Romanian language|Romanian]]||96,660||{{Percentage |96660|34767250|2 }}||90,300||{{Percentage |90300|33121175|2 }}||78,495||{{Percentage |78495|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Bengali language|Bengali]]||73,125||{{Percentage |73125|34767250|2 }}||59,370||{{Percentage |59370|33121175|2 }}||45,685||{{Percentage |45685|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Creole language|Creoles]]||72,130||{{Percentage |72130|34767250|2 }}||61,725||{{Percentage |61725|33121175|2 }}||53,515||{{Percentage |53515|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Cree language|Cree]], n.o.s.{{refn|group="nb"|name=nos|n.o.s. – not otherwise specified}}||64,045||{{Percentage |64045|34767250|2 }}||77,900||{{Percentage |77900|33121175|2 }}||78,855||{{Percentage |78855|31241030|2 }}|| style="text-align: left" | In the 2006 Census, this language was referred to simply as 'Cree'.
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]]||61,235||{{Percentage |61235|34767250|2 }}||67,920||{{Percentage |67920|33121175|2 }}||73,335||{{Percentage |73335|31241030|2 }}|| style="text-align: left" | The majority of [[Hungarian Canadians|Hungarian speakers]] in Canada live in Ontario. A community of Hungarian speakers is found within a part of [[Windsor, Ontario]].
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Berber languages]] ([[Kabyle language|Kabyle]])||n/a||n/a||57,855||{{Percentage |57855|33121175|2 }}||25,578||{{Percentage |25578|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Serbian language|Serbian]]||57,345||{{Percentage |57345|34767250|2 }}||56,420||{{Percentage |56420|33121175|2 }}||51,665||{{Percentage |51665|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Croatian language|Croatian]]||48,200||{{Percentage |48200|34767250|2 }}||49,730||{{Percentage |49730|33121175|2 }}||55,330||{{Percentage |55330|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Japanese language|Japanese]]||43,640||{{Percentage |43640|34767250|2 }}||39,985||{{Percentage |39985|33121175|2 }}||40,200||{{Percentage |40200|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Chinese language|Chinese]], n.o.s.{{refn|group="nb"|name=nos}}||38,575||{{Percentage |38575|34767250|2 }}||425,210||{{Percentage |425210|33121175|2 }}||456,705||{{Percentage |456705|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Somali language|Somali]]||36,760||{{Percentage |36760|34767250|2 }}||31,380||{{Percentage |31380|33121175|2 }}||27,320||{{Percentage |27320|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Inuktitut]]||35,215||{{Percentage |35215|34767250|2 }}||33,500||{{Percentage |33500|33121175|2 }}||32,015||{{Percentage |32015|31241030|2 }}|| style="text-align: left" | In the 2006 Census, this language was referred to as 'Inuktitut, n.i.e.'.{{refn|group="nb"|name=nie}}
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Armenian language|Armenian]]||33,455||{{Percentage |33455|34767250|2 }}||29,795||{{Percentage |29795|33121175|2 }}||30,130||{{Percentage |30130|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Turkish language|Turkish]]||32,815||{{Percentage |32815|34767250|2 }}||29,640||{{Percentage |29640|33121175|2 }}||24,745||{{Percentage |24745|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | Min Nan (Chaochow, [[Teochew dialect|Teochow]], Fukien, Taiwanese)||31,795||{{Percentage |31795|34767250|2 }}||n/a||n/a|||n/a||n/a||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Malayalam]]||28,570||{{Percentage |28570|34767250|2 }}||16,080||{{Percentage |16080|33121175|2 }}||11,925||{{Percentage |11925|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Albanian language|Albanian]]||26,895||{{Percentage |26895|34767250|2 }}||23,820||{{Percentage |23820|33121175|2 }}||n/a||n/a||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Ilocano language|Ilocano]]||26,345||{{Percentage |26345|34767250|2 }}||17,915||{{Percentage |17915|33121175|2 }}||13,450||{{Percentage |13450|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Amharic]]||22,465||{{Percentage |22465|34767250|2 }}||18,020||{{Percentage |18020|33121175|2 }}||14,555||{{Percentage |14555|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Czech language|Czech]]||22,295||{{Percentage |22295|34767250|2 }}||23,585||{{Percentage |23585|33121175|2 }}||24,450||{{Percentage |24450|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Khmer language|Khmer (Cambodian)]]||20,130||{{Percentage |20130|34767250|2 }}||19,440||{{Percentage |19440|33121175|2 }}||19,105||{{Percentage |19105|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]]||20,020||{{Percentage |20020|34767250|2 }}||19,050||{{Percentage |19050|33121175|2 }}||16,790||{{Percentage |16790|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]||19,530||{{Percentage |19530|34767250|2 }}||18,450||{{Percentage |18450|33121175|2 }}||17,635||{{Percentage |17635|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Niger–Congo languages]], n.i.e.{{refn|group="nb"|name=nie}}||19,140||{{Percentage |19140|34767250|2 }}||14,075||{{Percentage |14075|33121175|2 }}||n/a||n/a||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Nepali language|Nepali]]||18,275||{{Percentage |18275|34767250|2 }}||8,480||{{Percentage |8480|33121175|2 }}||n/a||n/a||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Ojibwe language|Ojibway]]||17,885||{{Percentage |17885|34767250|2 }}||17,625||{{Percentage |17625|33121175|2 }}||24,190||{{Percentage |24190|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Slovak language|Slovak]]||17,585||{{Percentage |17585|34767250|2 }}||17,580||{{Percentage |17580|33121175|2 }}||18,820||{{Percentage |18820|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Pashto]]||16,910||{{Percentage |16910|34767250|2 }}||12,465||{{Percentage |12465|33121175|2 }}||9,025||{{Percentage |9025|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Macedonian language|Macedonian]]||16,770||{{Percentage |16770|34767250|2 }}||17,245||{{Percentage |17245|33121175|2 }}||18,435||{{Percentage |18435|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Tigrinya language|Tigrigna]]||16,650||{{Percentage |16650|34767250|2 }}||10,220||{{Percentage |10220|33121175|2 }}||7,105||{{Percentage |7105|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Sinhala language|Sinhala]]||16,335||{{Percentage |16335|34767250|2 }}||14,185||{{Percentage |14185|33121175|2 }}||10,180||{{Percentage |10180|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Visayan languages|Bisayan languages]]||n/a||n/a||16,240||{{Percentage |16240|33121175|2 }}||11,240||{{Percentage |11240|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Telugu language|Telugu]]||15,655||{{Percentage |15655|34767250|2 }}||9,315||{{Percentage |9315|33121175|2 }}||6,625||{{Percentage |6625|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Finnish language|Finnish]]||15,295||{{Percentage |15295|34767250|2 }}||17,415||{{Percentage |17415|33121175|2 }}||21,030||{{Percentage |21030|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Yiddish]]||13,555||{{Percentage |13555|34767250|2 }}||15,205||{{Percentage |15205|33121175|2 }}||16,295||{{Percentage |16295|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Akan language|Akan (Twi)]]||13,460||{{Percentage |13460|34767250|2 }}||12,680||{{Percentage |12680|33121175|2 }}||12,780||{{Percentage |12780|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Swahili language|Swahili]]||13,375||{{Percentage |13375|34767250|2 }}||10,090||{{Percentage |10090|33121175|2 }}||7,935||{{Percentage |7935|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Wu Chinese|Wu]] (Shanghainese)||12,920||{{Percentage |12920|34767250|2 }}||n/a||n/a||n/a||n/a||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Oji-Cree language|Oji-Cree]]||12,855||{{Percentage |12855|34767250|2 }}||9,835||{{Percentage |9835|33121175|2 }}||11,690||{{Percentage |11690|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Lao language|Lao]]||12,670||{{Percentage |12670|34767250|2 }}||12,970||{{Percentage |12970|33121175|2 }}||13,940||{{Percentage |13940|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Danish language|Danish]]||12,630||{{Percentage |12630|34767250|2 }}||14,145||{{Percentage |14145|33121175|2 }}||18,735||{{Percentage |18735|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Malay language|Malay]]||12,275||{{Percentage |12275|34767250|2 }}||10,910||{{Percentage |10910|33121175|2 }}||9,490||{{Percentage |9490|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Bosnian language|Bosnian]]||12,210||{{Percentage |12210|34767250|2 }}||11,685||{{Percentage |11685|33121175|2 }}||12,790||{{Percentage |12790|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Sindhi language|Sindhi]]||11,860||{{Percentage |11860|34767250|2 }}||11,330||{{Percentage |11330|33121175|2 }}||10,355||{{Percentage |10355|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Kurdish languages|Kurdish]]||11,705||{{Percentage |11705|34767250|2 }}||9,805||{{Percentage |9805|33121175|2 }}||7,660||{{Percentage |7660|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Hakka Chinese|Hakka]]||10,910||{{Percentage |10910|34767250|2 }}||5,115||{{Percentage |5115|33121175|2 }}||n/a||n/a||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Chipewyan language|Dene]], n.o.s.{{refn|group="nb"|name=nos}}||10,700||{{Percentage |10700|34767250|2 }}||11,215||{{Percentage |11215|33121175|2 }}||9,745||{{Percentage |9745|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Afrikaans]]||10,260||{{Percentage |10260|34767250|2 }}||8,770||{{Percentage |8770|33121175|2 }}||n/a||n/a||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Innu language|Montagnais (Innu)]]||10,230||{{Percentage |10230|34767250|2 }}||10,785||{{Percentage |10785|33121175|2 }}||10,975||{{Percentage |10975|31241030|2 }}|| style="text-align: left" | In the 2006 Census, this language was referred to as 'Montagnais-[[Naskapi language|Naskapi]]'.
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Slovene language|Slovenian]]||9,785||{{Percentage |9785|34767250|2 }}||10,775||{{Percentage |10775|33121175|2 }}||13,135||{{Percentage |13135|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Taiwanese Hokkien|Taiwanese]]||n/a||n/a||9,635||{{Percentage |9635|33121175|2 }}||9,620||{{Percentage |9620|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Serbo-Croatian]]||9,555||{{Percentage |9555|34767250|2 }}||10,155||{{Percentage |10155|33121175|2 }}||12,510||{{Percentage |12510|31241030|2 }}||style="text-align: left"|All varieties of Serbo-Croatian (Bosnian, Croatian, Montenegrin and Serbian) combined would enumerate a total of 127,310 speakers ({{Percentage |127310|34767250|2 }} of total population).
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Languages of Africa|African languages]], n.i.e.{{refn|name=nie|group="nb"}}||n/a||n/a||9,125||{{Percentage |9125|33121175|2 }}||n/a||n/a||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Thai language|Thai]]||9,255||{{Percentage |9255|34767250|2 }}||7,935||{{Percentage |7935|33121175|2 }}||n/a||n/a||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Marathi language|Marathi]]||8,295||{{Percentage |8295|34767250|2 }}||5,830||{{Percentage |5830|33121175|2 }}||n/a||n/a||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Bantu languages]], n.i.e.{{refn|name=nie|group="nb"}}||n/a||n/a||7,150||{{Percentage |7150|33121175|2 }}||n/a||n/a||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]]||7,075||{{Percentage |7075|34767250|2 }}||7,245||{{Percentage |7245|33121175|2 }}||8,335||{{Percentage |8335|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Swedish language|Swedish]]||6,840||{{Percentage |6840|34767250|2 }}||7,350||{{Percentage |7350|33121175|2 }}||8,220||{{Percentage |8220|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Mi'kmaq language|Mi'kmaq]]||6,690||{{Percentage |6690|34767250|2 }}||7,635||{{Percentage |7635|33121175|2 }}||7,365||{{Percentage |7365|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | Tibetan||6,165||{{Percentage |6165|34767250|2 }}||n/a||n/a||n/a||n/a||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Atikamekw language|Atikamekw]]||6,150||{{Percentage |6150|34767250|2 }}||5,820||{{Percentage |5820|33121175|2 }}||5,250||{{Percentage |5250|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Canadian Gaelic]]||n/a||n/a||6,015||{{Percentage |6015|33121175|2 }}||6,015||{{Percentage |6015|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | Fukien ([[Fuzhou dialect]])||n/a||n/a||5,925||{{Percentage |5925|33121175|2 }}||n/a||n/a||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | Rundi ([[Kirundi]])||5,845||{{Percentage |5845|34767250|2 }}||3,975||{{Percentage |3975|33121175|2 }}||n/a||n/a||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Maltese language|Maltese]]||5,565||{{Percentage |5565|34767250|2 }}||6,220||{{Percentage |6220|33121175|2 }}||6,405||{{Percentage |6405|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Estonian language|Estonian]]||5,445||{{Percentage |5445|34767250|2 }}||6,385||{{Percentage |6385|33121175|2 }}||8,240||{{Percentage |8240|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Latvian language|Latvian]]||5,455||{{Percentage |5455|34767250|2 }}||6,200||{{Percentage |6200|33121175|2 }}||7,000||{{Percentage |7000|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Kinyarwanda]] (Rwanda)||5,250||{{Percentage |5250|34767250|2 }}||3,895||{{Percentage |3895|33121175|2 }}||n/a||n/a||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Indo-Iranian languages]], n.i.e.{{refn|name=nie|group="nb"}}||5,180||{{Percentage |5180|34767250|2 }}||5,255||{{Percentage |5255|33121175|2 }}||n/a||n/a||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Oromo language|Oromo]]||4,960||{{Percentage |4960|34767250|2 }}||11,140||{{Percentage |11140|33121175|2 }}||n/a||n/a||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Norwegian language|Norwegian]]||4,615||{{Percentage |4615|34767250|2 }}||5,800||{{Percentage |5800|33121175|2 }}||7,225||{{Percentage |7225|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Tibetic languages|Tibetan languages]]||n/a||n/a||4,640||{{Percentage |4640|33121175|2 }}||n/a||n/a||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Sino-Tibetan languages]], n.i.e.{{refn|name=nie|group="nb"}}||n/a||n/a||4,360||{{Percentage |4360|33121175|2 }}||n/a||n/a||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Sign language]]s, n.i.e.{{refn|name=nie|group="nb"}}||4,125||{{Percentage |4125|34767250|2 }}||3,815||{{Percentage |3815|33121175|2 }}||n/a||n/a||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | Vlaams ([[Flemish dialects|Flemish]])||3,895||{{Percentage |3895|34767250|2 }}||4,690||{{Percentage |4690|33121175|2 }}||5,660||{{Percentage |5660|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Lingala]]||3,810||{{Percentage |3810|34767250|2 }}||3,085||{{Percentage |3085|33121175|2 }}||n/a||n/a||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Burmese language|Burmese]]||3,585||{{Percentage |3585|34767250|2 }}||2,985||{{Percentage |2985|33121175|2 }}||n/a||n/a||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Stoney language|Stoney]]||3,025||{{Percentage |3025|34767250|2 }}||3,050||{{Percentage |3050|33121175|2 }}||n/a||n/a||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Shanghainese]]||n/a||n/a||2,920||{{Percentage |2920|33121175|2 }}||n/a||n/a||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Blackfoot language|Blackfoot]]||2,815||<0.01%||n/a||n/a||3,085||{{Percentage |3085|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Slavic languages]], n.i.e.{{refn|name=nie|group="nb"}}||2,420||{{Percentage |2420|34767250|2 }}||3,630||{{Percentage |3630|33121175|2 }}||n/a||n/a||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Semitic languages]], n.i.e.{{refn|group="nb"|name=nie|n.i.e. – not included elsewhere}}||2,155||{{Percentage |2155|34767250|2 }}||16,970||{{Percentage |16970|33121175|2 }}||n/a||n/a||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Frisian languages|Frisian]]||2,095||<0.01%||n/a||n/a||2,890||{{Percentage |2890|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Dogrib language|Dogrib]] (Tlicho)||1,645||<0.01%||n/a||n/a||2,020||{{Percentage |2020|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Tibeto-Burman languages]], n.i.e.{{refn|name=nie|group="nb"}}||1,405||<0.01%||n/a||n/a||n/a||n/a||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Siouan languages]] ([[Dakota language|Dakota]]/[[Sioux language|Sioux]])||1,265||<0.01%||n/a||n/a||5,585||{{Percentage |5585|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Algonquin language|Algonquin]]||1,260||<0.01%||n/a||n/a||1,920||{{Percentage |1920|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Scottish Gaelic]]||1,095||<0.01%||n/a||n/a||n/a||n/a||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Welsh language|Welsh]]||1,075||<0.01%||n/a||n/a||n/a||n/a||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Carrier language|Carrier]]||1,030||<0.01%||n/a||n/a||1,560||<0.01%||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Inuinnaqtun]] ([[Inuvialuktun]])||1,020||<0.01%||n/a||n/a||365||<0.01%||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Mohawk language|Mohawk]]||985||<0.01%||n/a||n/a||290||<0.01%||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Slavey language|South Slavey]]||950||<0.01%||n/a||n/a||1,605||{{Percentage |1605|31241030|2 }}||style="text-align: left" | Also known as Dene Yatıé or Dene Zhatıé, or Dené Dháh.
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Gitxsan language|Gitxsan (Gitksan)]]||880||<0.01%||n/a||n/a||1,180||<0.01%||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Slavey language|North Slavey]]||765||<0.01%||n/a||n/a||1,065||<0.01%||style="text-align: left" |Also known as Sahtúgot’įné Yatı̨́, K’ashógot’įne Goxedǝ́, and Shíhgot’įne Yatı̨́.
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Chilcotin language|Tsilhqot'in]]||655||<0.01%||n/a||n/a||1,070||<0.01%||style="text-align: left" |Also spelled Chilcotin.
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Celtic languages]], n.i.e.{{refn|name=nie|group="nb"}}||530||<0.01%||n/a||n/a||n/a||n/a||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Chipewyan language|Dënësųłıné]]||n/a||n/a||n/a||n/a||525||<0.01%||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Michif]]||465||<0.01%||n/a||n/a||n/a||n/a||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Shuswap language|Shuswap]] (Secwepemctsin)||445||<0.01%||n/a||n/a||935||<0.01%||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Nisga'a language|Nisga'a]]||400||<0.01%||n/a||n/a||680||<0.01%||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Malecite-Passamaquoddy language|Malecite]]||300||<0.01%||n/a||n/a||535||<0.01%||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Gwich’in language|Kutchin-Gwich’in (Loucheux)]]||260||<0.01%||n/a||n/a||360||<0.01%||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Tlingit language|Tlingit]]||95||<0.01%||n/a||n/a||80||<0.01%||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | Other [[language]]s||n/a||n/a||77,890||{{Percentage |77890|33121175|1 }}||172,650||{{Percentage |172650|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | [[Multilingualism|Multiple language]] responses||818,640||{{Percentage |818640|34767250|2 }}||639,540||{{Percentage |639540|33121175|1 }}||392,760||{{Percentage |392760|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | English and French||165,335||{{Percentage |165335|34767250|2 }}||144,685||{{Percentage |144685|33121175|1 }}||98,630||{{Percentage |98630|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | English and a non-official language||533,260||{{Percentage |533260|34767250|2 }}||396,330||{{Percentage |396330|33121175|1 }}||240,005||{{Percentage |240005|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | French and a non-official language||86,145||{{Percentage |86145|34767250|2 }}||74,430||{{Percentage |74430|33121175|1 }}||43,335||{{Percentage |43335|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | English, French, and a non-official language||33,900||{{Percentage |33900|34767250|2 }}||24,095||{{Percentage |24095|33121175|2 }}||10,790||{{Percentage |10790|31241030|2 }}||
|-
| style="text-align: left" | Total<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=PR&Code1=01&Geo2=PR&Code2=01&Data=Count&SearchText=canada&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&TABID=1|title=Census Profile, 2016 Census – Canada|date=August 2, 2017|website=Statistics Canada}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=PR&Code1=01&Geo2=PR&Code2=01&Data=Count&SearchText=Canada&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=All&Custom=&TABID=1#Note20|title=Census Profile|date=8 February 2012 |access-date=May 18, 2020}}</ref><ref>[http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/tbt/Rp-eng.cfm?TABID=1&LANG=E&APATH=3&DETAIL=0&DIM=0&FL=A&FREE=0&GC=0&GK=0&GRP=1&PID=89202&PRID=0&PTYPE=88971,97154&S=0&SHOWALL=0&SUB=0&Temporal=2006&THEME=70&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF= Topic-based tabulations|Detailed Mother Tongue (103), Knowledge of Official Languages], [[Canada 2006 Census|2006 Census of Canada]]  {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130701114242/http://www12.statcan.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/tbt/Rp-eng.cfm?TABID=1&LANG=E&APATH=3&DETAIL=0&DIM=0&FL=A&FREE=0&GC=0&GK=0&GRP=1&PID=89202&PRID=0&PTYPE=88971%2C97154&S=0&SHOWALL=0&SUB=0&Temporal=2006&THEME=70&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF= |date=July 1, 2013 }}</ref>||34,767,250||{{Percentage |34767250|34767250|2 }}||33,121,175||{{Percentage |33121175|33121175|1 }}||31,241,030||{{Percentage |31241030|31241030|2 }}||
|}

== Language used most often at work ==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ [[Language]] used most often at work
|-
!Language
!% of total population (2006)<ref name=languagesatwork2006>[http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/tbt/Rp-eng.cfm?LANG=E&APATH=3&DETAIL=0&DIM=0&FL=A&FREE=0&GC=0&GID=0&GK=0&GRP=1&PID=92002&PRID=0&PTYPE=88971,97154&S=0&SHOWALL=0&SUB=0&Temporal=2006&THEME=70&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF= Statistics Canada – Language used at work1 by frequency of language used at work and mother tongue, 2006 counts]</ref>
!% of total population (2016)<ref name=languagesatwork2016>{{Cite web|url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=PR&Code1=01&Geo2=PR&Code2=01&SearchText=Canada&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=Language+of+work&TABID=1&type=0|title=Census Profile, 2016 Census - Canada [Country] and Canada [Country]|first=Statistics Canada|last=Government of Canada|date=February 8, 2017|website=www12.statcan.gc.ca}}</ref>
|-
|English
| align="right" |{{Percentage | 14064105 | 18418100 | 2}}
| align="right" |{{Percentage | 15265335 | 19956255 | 2}}
|-
|French
| align="right" |{{Percentage | 3724975 | 18418100 | 2}}
| align="right" |{{Percentage | 3825215 | 19956255 | 2}}
|-
|Non-official
| align="right" |{{Percentage | 273830 | 18418100 | 2}}
| align="right" |{{Percentage | 275430 | 19956255 | 2}}
|-
|English and French
| align="right" |{{Percentage | 252300 | 18418100 | 2}}
| align="right" |{{Percentage | 412680 | 19956255 | 2}}
|-
|English and non-official
| align="right" |{{Percentage | 86820 | 18418100 | 2}}
| align="right" |{{Percentage | 154285 | 19956255 | 2}}
|-
|Other{{efn|French and non-official language OR <br /> English, French and non-official language}}
| align="right" |{{Percentage | 16075 | 18418100 | 2}}
| align="right" |{{Percentage | 23305 | 19956255 | 2}}
|}

== Language used most often at home ==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Language used most often at home
|-
!Language
!% of total population (2006)<ref>The percentage figures cited are the top languages spoken as a [[home language]] in Canada, shown as a percentage of total single responses. Source: Statistics Canada, ''2006 Census Profile of Federal Electoral Districts (2003 Representation Order): Language, Mobility and Migration and Immigration and Citizenship.'' Ottawa, 2007, pp. 6–10. Data available online at: {{cite web
| url = http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/tbt/Rp-eng.cfm?TABID=0&LANG=E&A=R&APATH=3&DETAIL=0&DIM=0&FL=A&FREE=0&GC=01&GID=837928&GK=1&GRP=1&O=D&PID=94817&PRID=0&PTYPE=88971,97154&S=0&SHOWALL=0&SUB=702&Temporal=2006&THEME=70&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF=&D1=0&D2=0&D3=0&D4=0&D5=0&D6=0
| title = Detailed Language Spoken Most Often at Home
| date = April 8, 2008
| work = 2006 Census of Canada: Topic-based tabulations
| publisher = Statistics Canada
| access-date = January 15, 2010
}}</ref>
!% of total population (2016)<ref name=languagesathome2016>{{cite web|title=Census Profile, 2016 Census Canada [Country] and Canada [Country] Language spoken most often at home| date=8 February 2017 |url=https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=PR&Code1=01&Geo2=PR&Code2=01&SearchText=Canada&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=01&B1=Language&TABID=1&type=0}}</ref>
|-
|English
| align="right" |{{Percentage | 20584775 | 31241030 | 2}}
| align="right" |{{Percentage | 22162865 | 34767250 | 2}}
|-
|French
| align="right" |{{Percentage | 6608125 | 31241030 | 2}}
| align="right" |{{Percentage | 6943800 | 34767250 | 2}}
|-
|Non-official
| align="right" |{{Percentage | 3472130 | 31241030 | 2}}
| align="right" |{{Percentage | 3997195 | 34767250 | 2}}
|-
|English and non-official
| align="right" |{{Percentage | 406455 | 31241030 | 2}}
| align="right" |{{Percentage | 1284975 | 34767250 | 2}}
|-
|English and French
| align="right" |{{Percentage | 94060 | 31241030 | 2}}
| align="right" |{{Percentage | 160185 | 34767250 | 2}}
|-
|Other{{efn|French and non-official language OR <br />  English, French and non-official language}}
| align="right" |{{Percentage | 75485 | 31241030 | 2}}
| align="right" |{{Percentage | 218230 | 34767250 | 2}}
|}

==See also==
{{Portal|Canada|Languages}}
{{Div col|colwidth=15em}}
* [[Demographics of Canada]]
* [[Immigration to Canada]]
* [[Franco-Albertans]]
* [[Franco-Columbian]]
* [[Franco-Manitoban]]
* [[Franco-Ontarian]]
* [[Fransaskois]]
* [[Franco-Ténois]]
* [[Franco-Newfoundlander]]
* [[Franco-Yukonnais]]
* [[Quebec English]]
* [[Quebec French]]
* [[Newfoundland French]]
* [[Italian language in Canada]]
{{Div col end}}

== Explanatory notes==
{{Reflist|group=can|15em}}
{{Reflist|group=lan|15em}}
{{Reflist|group="nb"}}
{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|25em}}

==Further reading==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Boberg |first=Charles |year=2010 |title=The English Language in Canada: Status, History and Comparative Analysis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uW2rM_6I3gMC&pg=PA242 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-511-78981-6}}
* {{cite book |last=Edwards |first=John R. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rgnJRCjuyKcC&pg=PA125|title=Language in Canada |publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1998|isbn=0-521-56328-3 }}
* {{cite book |author1=Geological Survey of Canada |year=1884 |author2=William Fraser Tolmie|author3=George Mercer Dawson|title=Comparative vocabularies of the Indian tribes of British Columbia: with a map illustrating distribution|url=https://archive.org/details/comparativevoca00dawsgoog|access-date=25 August 2012 |publisher=Dawson Bros.}}
* {{Cite book |last=Kosel |first=Jochen |year=2009 |title=The Language Situation in Canada with Special Regard to Quebec |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hkVZOHj-i2AC&pg=PP1 |publisher=RWTH Aachen University |isbn=978-3-640-65926-5 }}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Languages of Canada}}
* [http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=CA Ethnologue report for Canada]
* [https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/11-630-x/11-630-x2018001-eng.htm The evolution of language populations in Canada, by mother tongue, from 1901 to 2016] (Statistics Canada)
* [http://geogratis.gc.ca/api/en/nrcan-rncan/ess-sst/e5b417f0-8893-11e0-9885-6cf049291510.html The Atlas of Canada – Mother tongue] English
* [http://geogratis.gc.ca/api/en/nrcan-rncan/ess-sst/e5d9a14f-8893-11e0-88ab-6cf049291510.html The Atlas of Canada – Mother tongue] French
* [http://geogratis.gc.ca/api/en/nrcan-rncan/ess-sst/e540e3c0-8893-11e0-96c1-6cf049291510.html The Atlas of Canada – English-French Bilingualism]
* [http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2006/dp-pd/prof/92-594/Index.cfm?Lang=E 2006 Census: Aboriginal data]
* [http://www.muturzikin.com/cartecanada.htm Linguistic maps of Canada] with 50 indigenous languages
* [http://www.noslangues-ourlanguages.gc.ca/index-eng.php Language Portal of Canada] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131018092016/http://noslangues-ourlanguages.gc.ca/index-eng.php |date=2013-10-18 }}
* [https://indigenouslanguagepolicy.ca/summary/ Comparative Summary]
{{People of Canada}}
{{Languages of Canada}}
{{North America in topic|Languages of}}
{{English official language clickable map}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Languages Of Canada}}
[[Category:Languages of Canada| ]]
[[Category:Demographics of Canada]]