Focus on Geography Series, 2021 Census of Population
Canada
Knowledge of official languages
Knowledge of official languages, Canada, 2001 to 2021
English only
+6.3%
The variation of English only speakers between 2016 and 2021 was +6.3% (or +1,504,130 people). Between 2001 and 2021, that variation was +26.2% or +5,247,010 people.
French only
-1.4%
The variation of French only speakers between 2016 and 2021 was -1.4% (or -56,795 people). Between 2001 and 2021, that variation was +3.6% or +141,365 people.
English and French
+5.9%
The variation of English and French bilingual people between 2016 and 2021 was +5.9% (or +365,615 people). Between 2001 and 2021, that variation was +25.8% or +1,350,105 people.
Number of languages known
Number of languages known, Canada, 2021 Footnote 1
Mother tongue
English, French and non-official mother tongue, Canada, 2001 to 2021
Languages spoken at home
Languages spoken at home, Canada, 2021 Footnote 2
Non-official languages spoken at home by largest number of people (all mentions), Canada, 2021
Summary — English and French
Knowledge of offical languages, Canada, 2016 and 2021
| 2016 | 2021 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of people | % of population | Number of people | % of population | |
| English only | 23,757,525 | 68.3 | 25,261,655 | 69.0 |
| French only | 4,144,685 | 11.9 | 4,087,890 | 11.2 |
| English and French | 6,216,065 | 17.9 | 6,581,680 | 18.0 |
| Neither English nor French | 648,970 | 1.9 | 689,730 | 1.9 |
Mother tongue (single responses), Canada, 2016 and 2021
| 2016 | 2021 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of people | % of population | Number of people | % of population | |
| English | 19,460,850 | 56.0 | 20,107,200 | 54.9 |
| French | 7,166,705 | 20.6 | 7,189,245 | 19.6 |
Language spoken most often at home (all mentions), Canada, 2016 and 2021
| 2016 | 2021 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of people | % of population | Number of people | % of population | |
| English | 23,677,340 | 68.1 | 24,787,310 | 67.7 |
| French | 7,322,210 | 21.1 | 7,458,140 | 20.4 |
Number of people by first official language spoken, Canada, 2016 and 2021
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