| While about 17% of the population of Canada speak
both English and French, most Canadians speak only one or the other.
Some, mostly immigrants, speak neither of the official languages.
The percentage of the population able to speak English grew between
1951 and 1996 both inside and outside Quebec. In 1996, 98% of people
living outside Quebec and 43% of Quebecers were able to conduct
a conversation in English (Figure 1 below).
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Figure 1. Population with Knowledge of English, Provinces and Territories, 1996
Both the number and the percentage of Canadians able to speak English
rose between 1991 and 1996. During this five-year period, numbers
of English speakers increased in all provinces except Newfoundland
(where there was a 3% decrease in the size of the provincial population),
and the percentages able to conduct a conversation in English increased
in Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Quebec, Manitoba,
Saskatchewan and the Northwest Territories. Declines in percentages
of English speakers in the populations of Ontario and British Columbia
were largely due to the arrival of new immigrants who were unable
to speak English. Despite this decline, the number of English speakers
in each of the provinces actually increased. The most significant
increase was in Ontario, home of 43% of Canada’s English speaking
population-where 621 000 English speakers joined the population
in the five-year period.
In all provinces, except Saskatchewan, an increase was observed in the
number and proportion of persons able to conduct a conversation in French
between 1991 and 1996.
The text for Official Languages is based on the following
publication:
Marmen, Louise and Jean-Pierre Corbeil. Languages in Canada:
1996 Census. New Canadian Perspectives Series. Ottawa: Canadian
Heritage, and Statistics Canada, 1999. Catalogue number: CH3-2-8/1999.
To properly interpret this map, please consult the text Data
and Mapping Notes.
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