Wednesday, August 17, 2022

Record number of Canadians reporting first language other than English or French: StatsCan

The number of Canadians who predominantly speak a language other than English or French hit a record high in 2021, according to new census data released on Wednesday.


© Lars Hagberg/The Canadian PressPeople gather on Wellington street in front of Parliament Hill during Canada Day in Ottawa on July 1, 2022.

English and French remain the dominant languages in Canada according to Statistics Canada, but the number of people who speak a non-dominant language at home grew to 4.6 million, or roughly 13 per cent of the population.

Meanwhile, at least one in four Canadians reported having at least one first language other than English or French.

The increase is largely due to a rise in the number of Canadians who report speaking predominantly South Asian languages, including Hindi and Punjabi.

In addition, seven in ten Canadians whose first language is one other than English or French said they also speak an official language at home.

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