Although the number of people with French as their mother tongue
(Francophones) has continued to increase in Canada, their proportion
has declined over the last forty-five years. Between 1951 and 1996,
the number of Francophones rose from 4.1 million to 6.7 million,
but the proportion of Francophones in the population fell from 29%
to 24% (Figure 1 below).
[D] Click for larger version, 19 KB Figure 1. Percentage of Population with French Mother Tongue, Canada and Quebec, 1951 to 1996
The proportional decline is largely explained by the heavy immigration
of people whose mother tongue was a language other than French.
For example, of the 1 039 000 immigrants enumerated in the 1996
Census has having arrived in Canada over the previous five years,
only 3% had French as a mother tongue.
Outside Quebec, children of parents with a French mother tongue
sometimes learn English rather than French in early childhood. The
transmission of French mother tongue is not assured, particularly
when one of the parents has English as a mother tongue. The size
and proportion of the Francophone population are affected by this
phenomenon.
Quebec is the only province in which the majority of the population
has French as its mother tongue. In 1996, 86% of Francophones in
Canada lived in Quebec. They accounted for 82% of the Quebec population.
The situation of Francophones varies widely from province to province.
Quebec is the province with the highest proportion of persons whose
mother tongue is French, followed by New Brunswick. It is in the
latter province and in Ontario that more than three-quarters (76%)
of Francophones living outside Quebec are found. New Brunswick had
242 000 francophones in 1996, representing 33.2% of its population,
compared with 34.0% in 1991 and 33.8% in 1971. In Ontario, there
were about 500 000 francophones, accounting for 4.7% of its population,
down from 5.0% in 1991 and 6.3% in 1971. Since its entry into Confederation
in 1949, Newfoundland’s provincial population has always had
the smallest proportion and lowest number of Francophones (Figure
2 below).
[D] Click for larger version, 16 KB Figure 2. Population with French Mother Tongue, Provinces and Territories, 1996
Between 1991 and 1996, the population with French as its mother
tongue and the proportion of the Canadian population made up by
that group has fallen in all provinces, except Quebec and British
Columbia. In these two provinces, the number of Francophones has
grown while their proportion has decreased. Only in the Yukon has
both the number and the proportion of Francophones in the population
increased.
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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