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Section Title: Francophone Immigration

Home » Francophone Immigration » National Profile » Demographic Vitality

Demographic Vitality

Section Title: Francophone and Acadian Community Profile of Canada

The French Language in Canada, Less Quebec

The number of Canadians outside of Quebec in 2001 who said French was their native language was 1,020,545. Thus, 14.87% of Francophones in Canada live outside Quebec and make up 4.5% of Canada’s total population.

Population by mother tounge, Canada (less Quebec), 2001: English, 74.6%; French, 4.5%; Non-official languages, 21.0%

Population by mother tongue, 2001, Canada (excluding Quebec)
Mother Tongue Population
French 1,020,545
English 17,000,085
Non-official languages 4,776,620
Total Canada less Quebec 22,513,455

Data from: Statistics Canada
As some people declared having more than one mother tongue, the addition of those numbers exceeds total population.

Provincial and Territorial Distribution

The Francophone population varies enormously from one end of Canada to the other with Ontario having the largest number, followed by New Brunswick. More than three-quarters (76%) of Francophones found outside of Quebec live in these two provinces. Manitoba, Alberta and British Columbia have approximately 50,000 Francophones each while Saskatchewan has fewer than 20,000. There are 35,000 Francophones in Nova Scotia. The areas with the smallest Francophone populations are Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, and the three territories.

French mother tongue, Provinces and territories, 2001 (Less Quebec)
Province/Territory Population %
Newfoundland and Labrador 2,515 0.5
Prince Edward Island 6,110 4.6
Nova Scotia 36,745 4.1
New Brunswick 242,060 33.6
Ontario 533,965 4.7
Manitoba 47,560 4.3
Saskatchewan 19,515 2.0
Alberta 65,995 2.2
British Columbia 63,625 1.6
Yukon 975 3.4
Northwest Territories 1,050 2.8
Nunavut 425 1.6
Canada less Quebec 1,020,545 100.0

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Index | History | Geography | Demographic Vitality | Linguistic Vitality | Economic Vitality | Francophone Diversity | Community Vitality | Sources | Annex
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Last Updated: 2005-06-30 Return to top of page Important Notices