Languages of Canada

Languages of Canada
Languages of Canada
	Sign in Yellowknife featuring English, French, Dënësųłıné, Cree, Dene Yatıé/Zhatıé, Gwichʼin, Inuktitut, Inuvialuktun / Inuinnaqtun, Sahtúgot’įné Yatı̨́ / Shíhgot’įne Yatı̨́ / K’ashógot’įne Goxedǝ́, and Tłįchǫ Yatıì
Official	English and French
Semi-official	Northwest Territories: Cree, Dënësųłıné, Dene Yatıé/Zhatıé, Gwich’in, Inuinnaqtun, Inuktitut, Inuvialuktun, Sahtúgot’įné Yatı̨́ / Shíhgot’įne Yatı̨́ / K’ashógot’įne Goxedǝ́, Tłįchǫ Yatıì; Nova Scotia: Mi'kmawi'simk; Nunavut: Inuktut (Inuinnaqtun, Inuktitut)
Indigenous	Approx. 104 (by language family): Algic (23); Inuit (13); Iroquoian (7); Na-Dene (24); Plains Sign (2); Plateau Sign (2); Salishan (17); Siouan (3); Tsimshian (4); Wakashan (6); Isolates (3: Haida, Inuit Sign Language, Ktunaxa);
Regional	Deitsch; Gaelic; Hutterisch; Irish; Plautdietsch; Russian; ;
Vernacular	Canadian English; Canadian French; Add'l languages
Minority	Mandarin; Cantonese; Punjabi; Spanish; Arabic; Tagalog (Filipino); German; Italian; Hindustani; Portuguese;
Signed	Signed English, Signed French;; American Sign Language (ASL); Quebec Sign Language (LSQ); MSL; IUR; Prairie Hand Talk; OSL; PSL; KSL; Secwepemcékst;
Keyboard layout	QWERTY; US English; ; Canadian French; ; Canadian Multilingual Standard (rare); ; Inuktitut Naqittaut;

A multitude of languages have always been spoken in Canada. Prior to Confederation, the territories that would become Canada were home to over 70 distinct languages across 12 or so language families. Today, a majority of those indigenous languages are still spoken; however, most are endangered and only about 0.6% of the Canadian population report an indigenous language as their mother tongue.^{[nb 3]} Since the establishment of the Canadian state, English and French have been the co-official languages and are, by far, the most-spoken languages in the country.

According to the 2016 census, English and French are the mother tongues of 56.0% and 21.4% of Canadians respectively.^[4] In total, 86.2% of Canadians have a working knowledge of English, while 29.8% have a working knowledge of French.^[5] Under the Official Languages Act of 1969, both English and French have official status throughout Canada in respect of federal government services and most courts. All federal legislation is enacted bilingually. Provincially, only in New Brunswick are both English and French official to the same extent. French is Quebec's official language,^[6] although legislation is enacted in both French and English and court proceedings may be conducted in either language. English is the official language of Ontario, Manitoba and Alberta, but government services are available in French in many regions of each, particularly in regions and cities where Francophones form the majority. Legislation is enacted in both languages and courts conduct cases in both. In 2022, Nova Scotia recognized Mi'kmawi'simk as the first language of the province,^[1]^[2] and maintains two provincial language secretariats: the Office of Acadian Affairs and Francophonie (French language) and the Office of Gaelic Affairs (Canadian Gaelic). The remaining provinces (British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador) do not have an official provincial language per se but government is primarily English-speaking. Territorially, both the Northwest Territories and Nunavut have official indigenous languages alongside French and English: Inuktut (Inuktitut and Inuinnaqtun) in Nunavut^[7] and, in the NWT, nine others (Cree, Dënësųłıné, Dene Yatıé/Zhatıé,^{[nb 1]} Gwich’in, Inuinnaqtun, Inuktitut, Inuvialuktun, Sahtúgot’įné Yatı̨́ / Shíhgot’įne Yatı̨́ / K’ashógot’įne Goxedǝ́,^{[nb 1]} and Tłįchǫ Yatıì).^[9]

Canada's official languages commissioner (the federal government official charged with monitoring the two languages) said in 2009, "[I]n the same way that race is at the core of what it means to be American and at the core of an American experience and class is at the core of British experience, I think that language is at the core of Canadian experience."^[10] To assist in more accurately monitoring the two official languages, Canada's census collects a number of demolinguistic descriptors not enumerated in the censuses of most other countries, including home language, mother tongue, first official language, and language of work.

Canada's linguistic diversity extends beyond English, French and numerous indigenous languages. "In Canada, 4.7 million people (14.2% of the population) reported speaking a language other than English or French most often at home and 1.9 million people (5.8%) reported speaking such a language on a regular basis as a second language (in addition to their main home language, English or French). In all, 20.0% of Canada's population reported speaking a language other than English or French at home. For roughly 6.4 million people, the other language was an immigrant language, spoken most often or on a regular basis at home, alone or together with English or French whereas for more than 213,000 people, the other language was an indigenous language. Finally, the number of people reporting sign languages as the languages spoken at home was nearly 25,000 people (15,000 most often and 9,800 on a regular basis)."^{[nb 4]}

The two official languages

Home language: rates of language use 1971–2011

The percentage of the population speaking English, French or both languages most often at home has declined since 1986; the decline has been greatest for French. The proportion of the population who speak neither English nor French in the home has increased. Geographically, this trend remains constant, as usage of English and French have declined in both English and French speaking regions of the country, but French has declined more rapidly both inside and outside Quebec. The table below shows the percentage of the total Canadian population who speak Canada's official languages most often at home from 1971 to 2006.^[13] Note that there are nuances between "language most spoken at home", "mother-language" and "first official language": data is collected for all three, which together provide a more detailed and complete picture of language-use in Canada.

Use of English

In 2011, just under 21.5 million Canadians, representing 65% of the population, spoke English most of the time at home, while 58% declared it their mother language.^[14] English is the major language everywhere in Canada except Quebec and Nunavut, and most Canadians (85%) can speak English.^[15] While English is not the preferred language in Quebec, 36.1% of Québécois can speak English.^[16] Nationally, Francophones are five times more likely to speak English than Anglophones are to speak French – 44% and 9% respectively.^[17] Only 3.2% of Canada's English-speaking population resides in Quebec—mostly in Montreal.^{[nb 5]}

In 2011, 28.4 million Canadians had knowledge of English while only 21.6 million Canadians spoke it most often at home.^[18]^[19]

Use of French

In 2011, just over 7.1 million Canadians spoke French most often at home, this was a rise of 4.2%, although the proportion of people in Canada who spoke French "most often" at home fell slightly from 21.7% to 21.5% . Of these, about 6.1 million or 85% resided in Quebec.^[20] Outside Quebec, the largest French-speaking populations are found in New Brunswick (which is home to 3.1% of Canada's Francophones) and Ontario (4.2%, residing primarily in the eastern and northeastern parts of the province and in Toronto and Ottawa). Overall, 22% of people in Canada declare French to be their mother language, while one in three Canadians speak French and 70% are unilingual Anglophones.^{[nb 6]} Smaller indigenous French-speaking communities exist in some other provinces.^[21] For example, a vestigial community exists on Newfoundland's Port au Port Peninsula, a remnant of the "French Shore" along the island's west coast.

The percentage of the population who speak French both by mother tongue and home language has decreased over the past three decades. Whereas the number of those who speak English at home is higher than the number of people whose mother tongue is English, the opposite is true for Francophones. There are fewer people who speak French at home, than learned French after birth.^[22]

Ethnic diversity is growing in French Canada but still lags behind the English-speaking parts of the country. In 2006, 91.5% of Quebecers considered themselves to be of either "French" or "Canadian" origin. As a result of the growth in immigration, since the 1970s, from countries in which French is a widely used language, 3.4% of Quebecers indicated that they were of Haitian, Belgian, Swiss, Lebanese or Moroccan origin.^[23] Other groups of non-francophone immigrants (Irish Catholics, Italian, Portuguese, etc.) have also assimilated into French over the generations. The Irish, who started arriving in large numbers in Quebec in the 1830s, were the first such group, which explains why it has been possible for Quebec to have had five premiers of Irish ethnic origin: John Jones Ross (1884–87), Edmund James Flynn (1896–97), Daniel Johnson Sr. (1966–68), Pierre-Marc Johnson (1985), and Daniel Johnson Jr. (1994).

In 1991, due to linguistic assimilation of Francophones outside Quebec, over one million Canadians who claimed English as their mother tongue were of French ethnic origin (1991 Census).

Bilingualism and multilingualism versus English–French bilingualism

Ability of Canadians to speak English and French 1931–2001^[24]
Rate of bilingualism (French and English) in Quebec and the rest of Canada, 1941–2006^[25]

According to the 2011 census, 98.2% of Canadian residents have knowledge of one or both of the country's two official languages,^[15] Between 2006 and 2011, the number of persons who reported being able to conduct a conversation in both of Canada's official languages increased by nearly 350,000 to 5.8 million. The bilingualism rate of the Canadian population edged up from 17.4% in 2006 to 17.5% in 2011.^[11] This growth of English-French bilingualism in Canada was mainly due to the increased number of Quebecers who reported being able to conduct a conversation in English and French.^[11]

Bilingualism with regard to nonofficial languages also increased, most individuals speaking English plus an immigrant language such as Punjabi or Mandarin.^[26]

Geographic distribution of English–French bilingualism

Geographical distribution of bilingual Canadians as compared to total Canadian population 1941–2006. (sources in table below)
The Bilingual Belt. In most of Canada, either English or French is predominant. Only in the intermittent "belt" stretching between northern Ontario and northern New Brunswick, and in a few other isolated pockets, do the two languages mix on a regular basis.
  English
  English and French (Bilingual Belt)
  French
  Sparsely populated areas (< 0.4 persons per km²)

Proportion of bilingual Canadians in Quebec and the rest of Canada compared to overall population distribution 1941–2016
Year	# Bilingual Canadians	% Quebec	% Rest of Canada	Total # Canadians	% Quebec	% Rest of Canada
1941^[27]^[28]	1,472,858	59.9%	39.5%	11,506,700	29.0%	71.0%
1951^[29]	1,727,400	60.1%	39.9%	14,009,400	28.9%	71.1%
1961^[30]	2,231,200	60.0%	40.0%	18,238,200	28.8%	71.2%
1971^[31]	2,900,150	57.4%	42.6%	21,568,310	27.9%	72.1%
1981^[32]	3,681,955	56.1%	43.9%	24,083,495	26.4%	73.6%
1986^[33]	4,056,155	54.9%	45.1%	25,022,005	25.8%	74.2%
1991^[34]	4,398,655	54.9%	45.1%	26,994,045	25.2%	74.8%
1996^[35]	4,841,320	55.0%	45.0%	28,528,120	24.2%	75.8%
2001^[36]	5,231,575	55.6%	44.0%	29,639,030	24.0%	76.0%
2006^[37]	5,448,850	55.4%	44.6%	31,241,030	23.8%	76.2%
2016^[38]	6,251,485	57.9%	42.1%	34,767,255	23.2%	76.8%

According to the 2011 census, 94.3% of Quebecers have knowledge of French, and 47.2% have knowledge of English.^[15] Bilingualism (of the two official languages) is largely limited to Quebec itself, and to a strip of territory sometimes referred to as the "bilingual belt", that stretches east from Quebec into northern New Brunswick and west into parts of Ottawa and northeastern Ontario. 85% of bilingual Canadians live within Quebec, Ontario and New Brunswick.^[15] A majority of all bilingual Canadians, (57.4%) are themselves Quebecers,^[15] and a high percentage of the bilingual population in the rest of Canada resides in close proximity to the Quebec border.

Similarly, the rate of bilingualism in Quebec has risen higher, and more quickly than in the rest of Canada. In Quebec, the rate of bilingualism has increased from 26% of the population being able to speak English and French in 1951 to 42.5% in 2011.^[15] As of 2011, in the rest of Canada (excluding Quebec) the rate of bilingualism was 7.5%.^[15]

Percentage of French-English bilingualism by province/territory (2016 census)
Province/territory	% of population	Total number	Ref.
Quebec	44.5%	3,586,410	^[39]
New Brunswick	34%	249,950	^[40]
Northwest Territories	14%	4,900	^[41]
Prince Edward Island	13%	17,840	^[42]
Ontario	11.2%	1,490,390	^[43]
Nova Scotia	10.5%	95,380	^[44]
Yukon	10.3%	4,275	^[45]
Manitoba	9%	108,460	^[46]
Alberta	7%	264,720	^[47]
British Columbia	7%	314,925	^[48]
Saskatchewan	5%	51,560	^[49]
Newfoundland and Labrador	5%	25,940	^[50]
Nunavut	4.3%	1,525	^[51]
Canada—Total	17.9%	6,216,065	^[39]

English–French bilingualism rates

English–French bilingualism is highest among members of local linguistic minorities. It is very uncommon for Canadians to be capable of speaking only the minority official language of their region (French outside Quebec or English in Quebec). Only 1.5% of Canadians are able to speak only the minority official language, and of these most (90%) live in the bilingual belt.^[52]

As the table below shows, rates of bilingualism are much higher among individuals who belong to the linguistic minority group for their region of Canada, than among members of the local linguistic majority. For example, within Quebec around 37% of bilingual Canadians are Francophones, whereas Francophones only represent 4.5% of the population outside Quebec.^[53]

Rates of French-English bilingualism among linguistic groups.^[54]
	Anglophones	Francophones	Allophones
Quebec	66.1%	36.6%	50.4%
Rest of Canada	7.1%	85.1%	5.7%

Official language minority communities

French-speaking Canadians from outside Quebec and English-speaking Quebecers are, together, the official language minority communities. These communities are:

Official language minority communities
Jurisdiction	Community
Quebec	Anglo-Quebecers
Ontario	Franco-Ontarians / Ontarois
Manitoba	Franco-Manitobans
Saskatchewan	Fransaskois
Alberta	Franco-Albertans
British Columbia	Franco-Colombians
Yukon	Franco-Yukonnais
Northwest Territories	Franco-Ténois
Nunavut	Franco-Nunavois
Newfoundland and Labrador	Franco-Terreneuviens
New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia	Acadiens
New Brunswick (Madawaska)	Brayons
Michif Piyii:^a Manitoba, Alberta, British Columbia, Northwest Territories, Ontario, Saskatchewan	Métis^[55]^[56]^[57]
Notes:^a The Métis homeland.^[58]^[59]^[60]

French outside Quebec

The language continuity index represents the relationship between the number of people who speak French most often at home and the number for whom French is their mother tongue. A continuity index of less than one indicates that French has more losses than gains – that more people with French as a mother tongue speak another language at home. Outside Quebec, New Brunswick has the highest French language continuity ratio. British Columbia and Saskatchewan have the lowest French language continuity ratio and thus the lowest retention of French. From 1971 to 2011, the overall ratio for French language continuity outside Quebec declined from 0.73 to 0.45. Declines were the greatest for Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland.

French language continuity ratio 1971–2011^[61]^[62]
Province/Territory	1971	1981	1991	1996	2001	2006	2011	2021
New Brunswick	0.92	0.93	0.93	0.92	0.91	0.91	0.89	0.89
Quebec	-	-	1.01	1.01	1.02	1.03	1.03	1.03
Nunavut	-	-	-	-	0.54	0.57	0.58	0.65
Canada	-	-	0.96	0.96	0.96	0.97	0.97	0.98
Ontario	0.73	0.72	0.63	0.61	0.60	0.60	0.57	0.55
Nova Scotia	0.69	0.69	0.59	0.57	0.56	0.53	0.51	0.46
Prince Edward Island	0.60	0.64	0.53	0.53	0.48	0.49	0.47	0.45
Manitoba	0.65	0.60	0.49	0.47	0.46	0.45	0.42	0.40
Yukon	0.30	0.45	0.43	0.46	0.46	0.49	0.57	0.58
Northwest Territories	0.50	0.51	0.47	0.43	0.39	0.46	0.51	0.54
Newfoundland and Labrador	0.63	0.72	0.47	0.42	0.42	0.36	0.46	0.39
Alberta	0.49	0.49	0.36	0.32	0.33	0.33	0.36	0.35
Saskatchewan	0.50	0.41	0.33	0.29	0.26	0.26	0.26	0.25
British Columbia	0.30	0.35	0.28	0.29	0.29	0.30	0.29	0.30

Non-official languages spoken in Canada

Indigenous languages

Canada is home to a rich variety of indigenous languages, most of which are spoken nowhere else. There are 14 indigenous language groups in Canada with about 100 distinct languages and dialects, including many sign languages.^[63] Almost all indigenous languages in Canada are considered endangered, with the exception of Inuktitut, Inuinnaqtun, and the Cree varieties Naskapi, Atikamekw, East Cree, and Plains Cree.^[64] Prior to colonization, multilingualism was common across indigenous nations, many of whom often seasonally migrated. However, the reserve system created more permanent stationary bands, which have generally selected only one of their various ancestral languages to try to preserve in the face of increasing Anglicization, Francization,^[65] or Amslanization (the process by which American Sign Language replaces local sign languages).^[66] In addition, the residential school system attempted to institutionally exterminate languages and cultures from coast to coast to coast. The cruel methods (such as physical and sexual abuse, as well as death rates as high as one in twenty children^[67]) resulted in a sharp declines in language use across all nations,^[68] including amongst deaf and signing communities.^[69]

Robert Falcon Ouellette, a Cree Member of Parliament, played a pivotal role in promoting indigenous languages within the Canadian Parliament and Canadian House of Commons. He was instrumental in obtaining unanimous consent from all political parties to change the standing orders to allow indigenous languages to be spoken in the House of Commons, with full translation services provided. This historic change enabled Ouellette to deliver a speech in Cree, marking the first use of an indigenous language in the House on Jan 28, 2019.^[70] ^[71] ^[72]

Furthermore, Bill C-91, the Indigenous Languages Act passed in 2019, was enacted to support and revitalize indigenous languages across Canada. This legislation, aims to reclaim, revitalize, and maintain indigenous languages through sustainable funding and the establishment of the Office of the Commissioner of Indigenous Languages. Ouellette was the chair of the indigenous caucus in the House of Commons and helped ensure it passage before the election of 2019. ^[73] ^[74] ^[75] ^[76]

Two of Canada's territories give official status to native languages. In Nunavut, Inuktitut and Inuinnaqtun, known collectively as Inuktut, are official languages alongside the national languages of English and French, and Inuktitut is a common vehicular language in territorial government.^[77]^[78] In the Northwest Territories, the Official Languages Act declares that there are eleven different languages: Cree, Dënësųłıné, Dene Yatıé / Dene Zhatıé,^{[nb 1]} English, French, Gwich’in, Inuinnaqtun, Inuktitut, Inuvialuktun, Sahtúgot’įné Yatı̨́ / K’ashógot’įne Goxedǝ́ / Shíhgot’įne Yatı̨́,^{[nb 1]} and Tłįchǫ.^[9] Besides English and French, these languages are not vehicular in government; official status entitles citizens to receive services in them on request and to deal with the government in them.^[79]

Awaiting royal assent in October 2022 on Treaty Day, Nova Scotia has affirmed Mi'kmawi'simk as the "First Language" of the province through a bill titled the "Mi'kmaw Language Act" (No. 148). The Act establishes a language committee co-developed and co-run by Miꞌkmaw Kinaꞌmatnewey as well as ensuring "government support for the preservation, revitalization, promotion and protection of the Mi’kmaw language for generations to come," collaboratively developing strategy between the Mi'kmaq of Nova Scotia and the Government of Nova Scotia.^[2]

According to the 2016 census, less than one per cent of Canadians (213,225) reported an indigenous language as their mother tongue, and less than one per cent of Canadians (137,515) reported an indigenous language as the language spoken most often at home.^[80] Whilst most Canadian indigenous languages are endangered and their current speaker numbers are frequently low, the number of speakers has grown and even outpaced the number with an indigenous mother tongue, indicating that many people continue to learn the languages even if not initially raised with them.^[81]

Given the destruction of indigenous state structures, academics usually classify indigenous peoples of Canada by region into "culture areas", or by their language family.^[82]

Arctic cultural area (Inuit languages, including Inuit Sign Language)
Subarctic culture area (Na-Dene and Algonquian languages)
Eastern Woodlands (Northeast) cultural area (Algonquian and Iroquoian languages)
Plains cultural area (Algonquian, Plains Sign, and Siouan languages)
Northwest Plateau cultural area (Ktunaxa, Na-Dene, and Salishan languages, including Secwepemcékst^[83] and Plateau Sign Language)
Northwest Coast cultural area (Haida, Salishan, Tsimshianic, and Wakashan languages, possibly including Coast Salish Sign Language^[83])

Indigenous languages	No. of speakers	Mother tongue	Home language
Cree (n.o.s.)^{[nb 7]}^[a]	99,950	78,855	47,190
Inuktitut	35,690	32,010	25,290
Ojibwemowin	32,460	11,115	11,115
Innu–Naskapi	11,815	10,970	9,720
Denesuline	11,130	9,750	7,490
Oji-Cree (Anishininimowin)	12,605	8,480	8,480
Mi'kmawi'simk	8,750	7,365	3,985
Siouan languages (Dakota/Nakota)	6,495	5,585	3,780
Atikamekw	5,645	5,245	4,745
Blackfoot	4,915	3,085	3,085
Tłįchǫ	2,645	2,015	1,110
Algonquin (Omàmìwininìmowin)	2,685	1,920	385
Dakelh	2,495	1,560	605
Gitxsanimaax	1,575	1,175	320
Tsilhqot'in	1,400	1,070	435
Sahtúgot’įné Yatı̨́ / K’ashógot’įne Goxedǝ́ / Shíhgot’įne Yatı̨́^{[nb 1]}	1,235	650	650
Dené Dháh / Dene Yatıé / Dene Zhatıé^{[nb 1]}	2,315	600	600
Wəlastəkey latowewakən	790	535	140
Inuinnaqtun	580	370	70
Gwich’in	570	355	25
Kanienʼkéha	615	290	20
Secwepemctsín	1,650	250	250
Nisg̱a'a	1,090	250	250
Tlingit	175	0	0
Atgangmuurngniq	47^[84]	Unknown	Unknown
Onʌyota'a:ká Sign Language^[b]	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Plains Sign Talk^[b]	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown
Secwepemcékst^[b]	Unknown	Unknown	Unknown

Source: Statistics Canada, 2006 Census Profile of Federal Electoral Districts (2003 Representation Order): Language, Mobility and Migration and Immigration and Citizenship Ottawa, 2007, pp. 2, 6, 10.^[63]
^a There exist numerous Cree languages, such as Plains Cree (nêhiyawêwin ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐍᐏᐣ), Woods Cree (nīhithawīwin ᓃᐦᐃᖬᐑᐏᐣ), Swampy Cree (E: nêhinawêwin ᓀᐦᐃᓇᐌᐎᐣ, W: ininîmowin ᐃᓂᓃᒧᐎᓐ), Moose Cree (ililîmowin ᐃᓕᓖᒧᐎᓐ), and East Cree (N: Iyiniu-Ayamiwin ᐄᓅ ᐊᔨᒨᓐ S: Iyiyiu-Ayamiwin ᐄᔨᔫ ᐊᔨᒨᓐ).
^b Although small in number,^[83] these languages have been included without data to show the disparity in information between oral and sign languages. The Canadian Association of the Deaf state that, in their opinion, "no fully credible census of Deaf, deafened, and hard of hearing people has ever been conducted in Canada." By extension, there exists no credible data on sign languages, especially of indigenous sign languages.^[85]

Glottolog 4.3 (2020) counted 13 independent indigenous language families and/or isolates in Canada.^[86] A potential fourteenth family, that of the sign languages of the Plateau, possibly hosting languages like Secwepemcékst and Ktunaxa Sign Language, remains unlisted by Glottolog. It remains unknown to academia the extent which sign languages are spoken and how they relate to and across linguistic families.^[85]

Pidgins, mixed languages, & trade languages

In Canada, as elsewhere in the world of European colonization, the frontier of European exploration and settlement tended to be a linguistically diverse and fluid place, as cultures using different languages met and interacted. The need for a common means of communication between the indigenous inhabitants and new arrivals for the purposes of trade and (in some cases) intermarriage led to the development of hybrid languages. These languages tended to be highly localized, were often spoken by only a small number of individuals who were frequently capable of speaking another language, and often persisted only briefly, before being wiped out by the arrival of a large population of permanent settlers, speaking either English or French.

Belle Isle Pidgin

Spoken until about 1760, this pidgin was spoken between Breton and Basque fishermen and NunatuKavummiut of NunatuKavut (Labrador).

Bungee

Named from the Ojibwe word bangii meaning "a little bit,"^[87]^[88] the meagrely documented Bungi Creole (also known as Bungee, Bungy, Bungie, Bungay, and as the Red River Dialect) is a mixed language predominantly anchored in English that evolved within the Prairie Métis community, specifically the Countryborn or Anglo-Métis. Due to the multicultural nature of the Red River Settlement, Bungi was influenced by Scottish English, Nehiyawewin, Nakawemowin, the Orcadian dialect of Scots, Norn, Scottish Gaelic, and Canadian French.^[89]^[90]^[91] The vocabulary and word order were primarily English, but the speech was lilting like that of Gaelic speakers, with pronunciation and structural shifts coming from the Cree languages, such as: shawl becoming sawl, she becoming see, and the popular greeting I’m well, you but?.^[92] Bungi reached its peak in the nineteenth century, with about 5,000 Countryborn native speakers of the dialect in 1870. However, over the next century, standard Canadian English gradually replaced it; and by the late 1980s, only a handful of elderly speakers remained. It is generally considered to be asleep today.^[92]

Chiac

Spoken in the Maritime provinces (mostly in New Brunswick), Chiac is a creole language with a linguistic base in Acadian French and Maritime English with significant contributions from Mi'kmawi'simk and the Maliseet language.^[93] Notable for its code-switching between English and French, it is often popularly considered a variant of Franglais, with examples such as: Espère-moi su'l'corner, j'traverse le ch'min pi j'viens right back (Wait for me at the corner, I'm crossing the road and I'll be right back) and On va amarrer ça d'même pour faire sûr que ça tchenne^[94] (We will tie it like this to make sure it stays).^[94] However, Chiac is not simply a Franglais/Frenglish mix of French and English, as it differs distinctly from other French-English mixed-use cases such as those found amongst Fransaskois or Ontarois.^[95]^[96]

Chinook Jargon

In British Columbia, Yukon and throughout the Pacific Northwest, a pidgin language known as the Chinook Jargon (also rendered "Chinook Wawa") emerged in the early 19th century that was a combination of Chinookan, Nootka, Chehalis, French and English, with a smattering of words from other languages including Hawaiian and Spanish.^[97] Later in that century, it had creolized in the Pacific Northwest. Certain words and expressions remain current in local use, such as skookum, tyee, and saltchuck, while a few have become part of worldwide English ("high mucketymuck" or "high muckamuck" for a high-ranking and perhaps self-important official).

Franglais

A portmanteau language which is said to combine English and French syntax, grammar and lexicons to form a unique interlanguage, is sometimes ascribed to mandatory basic French education in the Canadian anglophone school systems. Many unilingual anglophone Canadians, for instance, will borrow French words into their sentences. Simple words and phrases like "C'est quoi ça?" (what is that?) or words like "arrête" (stop) can alternate with their English counterparts. This phenomenon is more common in the eastern half of the country where there is a greater density of Francophone populations. Franglais can also refer to the supposed degradation of the French language thanks to the overwhelming impact Canadian English has on the country's Francophone inhabitants, though many linguists would argue that while English vocabulary can be freely borrowed as a stylistic device, the grammar of French has been resistant to influences from English^[98] and the same conservatism holds true in Canadian English grammar,^[99] even in Quebec City.

Haida Jargon

A pidgin trade language based on Haida, known as Haida Jargon, was used in the 1830s in and around Haida Gwaii. It was used by speakers of English, Haida, Coast Tsimshian, Heiltsuk, and other languages.

Loucheux Jargon

As a result of cultural contact between the Gwich'in (formerly called "Loucheaux") and Europeans (predominately French coureurs des bois and voyageurs), a pidgin language was historically used across Gwich'in Nành, Denendeh.^[100] The language is often called in English "Jargon Loucheux" using the traditional French syntax.^[101]

Michif

Michif (also known as Mitchif, Mechif, Michif-Cree, Métif, Métchif, and French Cree) is a mixed language which evolved within the Prairie Métis community that was oriented towards Cree and Franco-Catholic culture. It is based on elements of Cree and French along with elements of Ojibwa and Assiniboine. Michif is today spoken by fewer than 1,000 individuals in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and North Dakota. At its peak, around 1900, Michif was understood by perhaps three times this number.

Nootka Jargon

Based in the late 18th and early 19th centuries and likely one precursor to Chinook Wawa, Nootka Jargon was a trade language derived from Nuučaan̓uł, English, Spanish, and Russian, as well as other local languages.

Slavey Jargon

Also known as "Broken Slavey," this language was spoken until the mid-1900s, abruptly diminishing due to the influx of English into Denendeh and Inuit Nunangat.^[102] Documentation has also shown that the language was spoken by a range of fur traders, postmasters, and their wives, sisters, and daughters, who were often of Métis descent.^[102] The native languages of speakers who used Slavey Jargon were Denesuline, French, Gwich'in, Inuktitut, and the languages collectively known as "Slavey" (North: Sahtúgot’įné Yatı̨́, K’ashógot’įne Goxedǝ́, and Shíhgot’įne Yatı̨́; South: Dene Yatıé or Dene Zhatıé and Dené Dháh). The Dene, Inuit, French, British, and Métis who spoke the language did so predominately for preaching the gospel, teasing and harassing clergymen, and for interpersonal relationships.^[102] The use of Slavey Jargon can be characterized as an innovation employed by speakers in order to meet several linguistic goals, such as introductions, advice, and disputes.^[102] Mishler specified, "For all these reasons, Slavey Jargon seems inaccurate to characterize it strictly as a trade jargon" (p. 277).^[102]

Spoken predominately in the Liard and Dehcho Countries of Denendeh, the nouns of the language generally consisted of English, Dënësųłınë́ Yatıé, Sahtúgot’įné / Shíhgot’įne Yatı̨́ / K’ashógot’įne Goxedǝ́, and Dene Yatıé/Zhatıé, whereas the verbs and pronouns are derived from French. Adverbs are typically pulled from Dënësųłınë́ and Gwich’in. There is, however, a lot of variation in Slavey Jargon. Gwich’in verbs can be mixed with French nouns or phonemically modified French sentences exist.^[102]

Souriquois

Spoken alongside the Basque/Breton–Inuit Belle Isle pidgin was another pidgin language that developed in the 16th century amongst the Basque in coastal areas along the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the Strait of Belle Isle as the result of contact between Basque whalers and local Algonquian peoples, notably the Mi'kmaq.^[103] The name "Souriquois" has an obscure history and most likely refers to region around Souris and the Basque suffix koa, perhaps from zurikoa “that of the whites."^[104]

Sign languages

Alongside the numerous and varied oral languages, Canada also boasts several sign languages. Currently, Canada is home to some five or more sign languages (that number rising with the probability that Plains Sign Talk is actually a language family with several languages under its umbrella), belonging to four to six distinct language families, those being: French Sign Language family, BANZSL family, the Plains Sign family, the Inuit Sign isolate, perhaps the Coast Salish Sign isolate, and perhaps a Plateau Sign family composed of Secwepemcékst and Ktunaxa Sign Language.

As with all sign languages around the world that developed naturally, these are natural, human languages distinct from any oral language. As such, American Sign Language (unlike Signed English) is no more a derivation of English than Russian is,^[105] all being distinct languages from one another. Some languages present here were trade pidgins which were used first as a system of communication across national and linguistic boundaries of First Nations, however, they have since developed into mature languages as children learned them as a first language.

The sign languages of Canada share extremely limited rights within the country in large due to the general population's misinformation on the subject. Ontario is the only province or territory to formally make legal any sign language, enabling the use of American Sign Language, Quebec Sign Language (LSQ) and "First Nation Sign Language" (which could refer to Plains Sign Talk, Oneida Sign Language, or any other language) in only the domains of education, legislation and judiciary proceedings.^[106] The only other language afforded any other rights is Inuiuuk, which sees interpretation in the Legislative Assembly of Nunavut.^[107] There have been efforts to make LSQ an official language of Quebec, but all efforts have failed.^[108]

American Sign Language

The most spoken sign language in Canada, American Sign Language or ASL, can be found across the country in mostly anglophone regions. The ties with anglophone Canada are not due to ASL and English's similarity, but to cultural similarities and linguistic history (as several ASL words are borrowed from English). As such, ASL can be found in areas where English is not the primary language, such as Montreal or Nunavut. ASL is part of the French Sign Language (Francosign) family, originating on the East Coast of the United States from a mix of Langue des signes françaises (LSF) and other local languages.

Coast Salish Sign Language

There is evidence that Coast Salish citizens speak a distinct sign language.^[83]

Hand Talk

Originally a trade pidgin, Plains Sign Talk, also known as Plains Standard or Prairie Sign Language, became a full language after children began to learn the language as a first language across many Nations.^{[citation needed]} From "HANDS" and "TO TALK TO," Hand Talk was used as a lingua franca across linguistic and national boundaries^[109] across the continent and the language stretched across the provinces down through Mexico.^[110] As Plains Sign Talk was so widespread and was a spectrum of dialects and accents, it probably hosted several languages under its umbrella. One is potentially Navajo Sign Language which is in use by a sole Navajo clan.^[111]

Oneida Sign Language

Born out of the Oneida Nation, OSL is a mixed language, descended primarily from both Prairie Sign Language (or Hand Talk) and the oral Oneida language, with some additions from ASL.^[112] Onʌyota'a:ká (or Oneida) Sign Language is a young and growing language, spreading especially amongst deaf Oneida citizens.^[113]^[83]

Inuit Sign Language

Inuit Sign Language, also known as Atgangmuurngniq or Uukturausingit, is a critically endangered language with some 50 speakers remaining. It is a language isolate and has only be found by researchers in Nunavut; however, there are theories it extends across the Arctic Circle.^[84] Little is known about its history, but efforts are being made to document and revitalize the language.^[114]

Maritime Sign Language

Maritime Sign Language is a BANZSL language. It was used as the language of education for Deaf populations in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island before ASL became available in the mid-20th century. It is still remembered by some elderly people but is moribund. The language, living alongside ASL, has produced a unique dialect of ASL in The Maritimes due to mixing of the languages. The exact number of speakers is unknown.

Plateau Sign Language

Another trade pidgin that may have become a separate language, Plateau Sign Language replaced Plains Sign Talk in the Columbia Plateau and surrounding regions of British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. It is now extinct.

Ktunaxa Sign Language

Called ʾa·qanⱡiⱡⱡitnam in the Ktunaxa language,^[115] Ktunaxa Sign Language has historically been spoken in Ktunaxa ɁamakaɁis (Ktunaxa Country).^[116]

Secwépemc Sign Language

Perhaps related to or descended from the old Plateau Sign Language, Secwepemcékst or Secwépemc Sign Language is spoken by a small number of Secwépemc citizens.^[83]

Quebec Sign Language

Alongside ASL, Quebec Sign Language or LSQ (Langue des signes québécoise) is the second most spoken sign language in the country. Centred mainly around and within Quebec, LSQ can also be found in Ontario, New Brunswick and various other parts of the country, generally around francophone communities due to historical ties to the French language. Although approximately 10% of the population of Quebec is deaf or hard-of-hearing, it is estimated that only 50,000 to 60,000 children use LSQ as their native language. LSQ is part of the Francosign family with ASL. As such, both languages are mutually intelligible.

Canadian dialects of European languages

Acadian French

Acadian French is a unique form of Canadian French which incorporates not only distinctly Canadian phrases but also nautical terms, English loanwords, linguistic features found only in older forms of French as well as ones found in the Maritimer English dialect.

Brayon French

A sub-dialect of Acadian French, Brayon French is spoken by those in Madawaska County of New Brunswick. The language is a mix of Acadian and Quebec French with influence from the local Mi'kmaw and Maliseet languages, with only slight differentiation from the more standard Acadian French.^[117]^[118]^[119]

Québec French

As the most spoken variety of French in Canada, Québec French contains a significant number of dialects, generally grouped in two: the "old" dialects of the territories at the time of the British conquest and the "new" dialects that arose post-conquest.

Chaouin French

Around 1615 as the coureurs des bois moved past the city of Quebec, those who settled in Ndakinna (Abenaki land) developed unique features still found today, especially in the Bois-Francs region South of the St. Lawrence.

Joual French

Originally the dialect of the French-speaking working class in Montréal, the cultural renaissance connected to the Quiet Revolution have resulted in Joual being spoken by people across the educational and economic spectrum.

Màgoua French

Possibly deriving from the Atikamekw word for "loon" (makwa; standard French: huard), the French spoken by the Magoua community is one of the most conservative French dialects in North America. This basilectal dialect is found in Nitaskinan as the Trois-Rivières region became the first stronghold of the coureurs des bois outside the city of Quebec in 1615. Magoua French preserves the sontaient ("étaient") characteristic of Métis French and Cajun French, has a creole-like past tense particle tà, and has old present-tense contraction of a former verb "to be" that behave in the same manner as subject clitics.

Métis French

Alongside Michif and Bungi, the Métis dialect of French is one of the traditional languages of the Métis people, and the French-dialect source of the Michif language.^[120] Métis French is a variety of Canadian French with some added characters Ññ, Áá, Óó, and Ææ (from older French spellings), such as: il ñá ócun nævus sur ce garçon English: "there is no birthmark on this boy."^[56] There are also significant amounts of words loaned from indigenous languages such as Ojibwemowin, Dane-zaa Ẕáágéʔ (Beaver), and several Cree languages.^[57] Like Michif, Métis French is spoken predominantly in Manitoba as well as adjacent provinces and US states.^[121] As a general rule, Métis individuals tend to speak one or the other, rarely both.^[55]

Newfoundland French

Tracing their origins to Continental French fishermen who settled in the late 1800s and early 1900s, rather than the Québécois, Newfoundland French (or français terre-neuvien) refers to the French spoken on the Port au Port Peninsula (part of the so-called “French Shore”) of Newfoundland. Some Acadians of the Maritimes also settled in the area. For this reason, Newfoundland French is most closely related to the Breton and Norman French of nearby St-Pierre-et-Miquelon. Today, heavy contact with Acadian French—and especially widespread bilingualism with Newfoundland English—have taken their toll, and the community is in decline. The degree to which lexical features of Newfoundland French constitute a distinct dialect is not presently known. It is uncertain how many speakers survive; the dialect could be moribund. There is a provincial advocacy organisation Fédération des Francophones de Terre-Neuve et du Labrador, representing both the Peninsular French and Acadian French communities.

Ontarois French

Although quite similar to Quebec French, the dialect of the Ontarois or Franco-Ontarians maintains distinctive features. These include the progressive disappearance of the subjunctive, the use of the possessive á, the transfer of rules from English to French, e.g., "J’ai vu un film sur/à la télévision" which comes from "I saw a film on television", or "Je vais à la maison/chez moi" coming from "I'm going home," and the loaning of English conjunctions such as "so" for ça fait que or alors.

Black English

In what is also called Black Canadian, Afro-Canadian, or African Canadian English, there exist several varieties of English spoken by Black Canadians. The most well-established is the dialect spoken by Afro-Nova Scotians.^[122] In places like Toronto where there is a large population of Afro-Caribbean descendants and newcomers, localized varieties of Black English take on elements of Caribbean English, as well as mixing with African-American Vernacular English (AAVE). Although AAVE is not nearly as widespread in Canada as it is across the United States, Black Canadians have various lines of connection to the dialect. Sometimes that connection is historical, such as with Black Nova Scotians; sometimes it is hegemonic, where Afro-Canadians adopt speech mannerisms from the larger United States; sometimes it is diasporic, where communities of African-American newcomers or African-American descendants coalesce, especially in larger cities.

Afro-Nova Scotian English

African Nova Scotian English is spoken by descendants of Black Nova Scotians, black immigrants from the United States. Though most African American freedom seekers in Canada ended up in Ontario through the Underground Railroad, only the dialect of African Nova Scotians retains the influence of West African pidgin.^[123] In the 19th century, African Nova Scotian English would have been indistinguishable from English spoken in Jamaica or Suriname.^[124] However, it has been increasingly de-creolized since this time, due to interaction and influence from the white Nova Scotian population. Desegregation of the province's school boards in 1964 further accelerated the process of de-creolization. The language is a relative of the African-American Vernacular English, with significant variations unique to the group's history in the area.^[125]^[126] There are noted differences in the dialects of those from Guysborough County (Black Loyalists), and those from North Preston (Black Refugees), the Guysborough group having been in the province three generations earlier.^[126]

Howe and Walker use data from early recordings of African Nova Scotian English, Samaná English, and the recordings of former slaves to demonstrate that speech patterns were inherited from nonstandard colonial English.^[127] The dialect was extensively studied in 1992 by Shana Poplack and Sali Tagliamonte from the University of Ottawa.^[126]

A commonality between African Nova Scotian English and African-American Vernacular English is (r)-deletion. This rate of deletion is 57% among Black Nova Scotians, and 60% among African Americans in Philadelphia. Meanwhile, in the surrounding mostly white communities of Nova Scotia, (r)-deletion does not occur.^[128]

Cascadian English

The English language in British Columbia shares numerous features with the neighbouring states of Washington and Oregon, such as the /æɡ/ raising (found words such as bag, vague and bagel). Boreal Cascadian English speakers exhibit more vowel retraction of /æ/ before nasals than people from Toronto, and younger speakers in the Greater Vancouver area do not raise /aʊ/ as much, but keep the drop in intonation, causing "about" to sound slightly like "a baht." The "o" in such words as holy, goal, load, know, etc. is pronounced as a close-mid back rounded vowel, [o], but not as rounded as in the Prairies where there are strong Scandinavian, Slavic and German influences, which can lend to a more stereotypical "Canadian" accent.

Indigenous English

The varieties of English spoken by indigenous people are phonologically influenced by their first or traditional languages. This has resulted in an identifiable dialect spectrum distinct from other Canadian English dialects. Due to the ongoing stigmatization of indigenous cultures, indigenous children could be wrongly diagnosed as having a speech impairment or a learning disability, when what is identified by medical professionals are simply the dialectal features.^[129]

Some written works use indigenous English dialects. For example, Maria Campbell's book Stories of the Road Allowance People is a collection of Métis folktales. An excerpt from that work illustrates the type of speech used by Elders in rural Métis communities during her research, but some stories were collected in Cree or other languages and translated into dialectical English by Campbell:

Dere wasen very much he can steal from dah table anyways
'cept da knives and forks.
An Margareet he knowed he wouldn dare take dem
cause dat woman you know
hees gots a hell of a repetation for being a hardheaded woman
when he gets mad.
Dat man he have to be a damn fool to steal from hees table.

— Dah Teef^[130]

Lunenburg English

Spoken in Lunenburg and Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia, this moribund dialect is sometimes called "Lunenburg Dutch" due to its rooting in the large Kurpfalzisch and Württembergisch population who settled the town. Although the German language subsided significantly, the English of the town and county continue to be marked by its influence. Indeed, the pronunciation in Lunenburg county is the only Canadian community to be non-rhotic. The accent features Canadian raising and so flight [ˈflʌɪt] has a different vowel from fly [ˈflɑɪ], and the noun house [ˈhoʊs] has a different vowel from the verb house [ˈhɑʊz]. In Lunenburg, the phrase about a boat contains two identical stressed and two identical unstressed vowels: /əˌboʊt ə ˈboʊt/, rather than the Standard Canadian English /əˌbaʊt ə ˈboʊt/, with distinct stressed vowels. Due to German influence, there is a tendency to pronounce /w/ in witch the same as /v/ as in van. Another example is the lack of the dental fricatives /θ/ and /ð/, which are replaced by the alveolar stops /t/ and /d/ (rendering "thank" and "tank" homophonous as /ˈtæŋk/), and the "t" at the end of words is usually silent: "get" becomes "ge."

For example, here is a sample of a conversation between two people:

"De kids vere over der in da woods, gettin inda dis an dat."
"Dey never did?"
"Yeah, an now dey gone da get some of dem der apples you see."
"You don't say?"
"No foolin, dey over der now."
"Dey brung some of dem apples over heera da day before."
"Oh, dey vere some good eatin I bet."
"Now look, you make no nevermind, dose vere da best apples I ever did have, dey vas some good."
"Oh, here dey come now, dey bedda know da wash der feet off."

Maritime English

Spoken across the provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and PEI, this English dialect has been influenced by British and Irish English, Irish and Scottish Gaelic, and some Acadian French, as well as by Mi'kmawi'simk.

Newfoundland English

The initial European settlers to Newfoundland were fishermen from the various coastal villages of the English West Country of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, and Wiltshire beginning in the 1500s (previously they visited in summer and returned). This set the basic speech patterns for those settlers who fanned out into isolated coves and bays along the island's 9,700 km (6,000 mi) of coastline to take advantage of the scattered off-shore fishing areas. Labrador, today the greater part of "Newfoundland", was then sparsely settled. The West Country dialects continued to be spoken in isolated coves and fjords of the island thus preserving varied dialects of what is today referred to as Newfoundland English.

It was not until the 1700s that social disruptions in Ireland sent thousands of Irish from the southeastern counties of Waterford, Wexford, Kilkenny, and Cork and to the Avalon peninsula in the eastern part of Newfoundland where significant Irish influence on the Newfoundland dialects may still be heard.

Some of the Irish immigrants to Newfoundland were native speakers of Irish making Newfoundland the only place outside Europe to have its own Irish dialect. Newfoundland was also the only place outside Europe to have its own distinct name in Irish: Talamh an Éisc, which means 'land of the fish'. The Irish language is now extinct in Newfoundland.

After 400 years, much of the dialectal differences between the isolated settlements has levelled out beginning in the 20th century when faster boats (using gas engines instead of oars or sails), and improved road connections provided easier social contact. As well, influences from mainland North America began to affect the local dialects beginning during WWII when US and Canadian servicemen were stationed in Newfoundland and accelerating after Newfoundland became a Canadian province in 1949. Lack of an official orthography, publications in dialect, speaker attrition and official disinterest in promoting the language has been contributing factors towards a decline of speakers of the older, traditional Newfoundland English in the original settlements.

Ottawa Valley Twang

Ottawa Valley Twang is the accent, sometimes referred to as a dialect of English, that is spoken in the Ottawa Valley, in Ontario.^[131] The Ottawa Valley is considered to be a linguistic enclave within Ontario.^[132]

Quebec English

The language of English-speaking Quebecers generally aligns to Standard Canadian English, however established ethnic groups retain certain, distinctive lexical features, such as the dialects spoken by Mohawk, Cree, Inuit, Irish, Jewish, Italian, and Greek communities. Isolated fishing villages on the Basse-Côte-Nord speak Newfoundland English, and many Gaspesian English-speakers use Maritime English.

Toronto slang

Spoken within the Greater Toronto Area, Toronto slang is the nuanced, multicultural English spoken in the city. This dialect is heavily influenced by the different communities present, most notably the Jamaican, Trinidadian, Guyanese, and other Caribbean communities and their ways of speaking. There is also influence from West African, East African, and South Asian communities.

Canadian Gaelic

Canadian Gaelic was spoken by many immigrants who settled in Glengarry County (Ontario) and the Maritimes—predominantly in New Brunswick's Restigouche River valley, central and southeastern Prince Edward Island, and across the whole of northern Nova Scotia—particularly Cape Breton. While the Canadian Gaelic dialect has mostly disappeared, regional pockets persist. These are mostly centred on families deeply committed to their Celtic traditions. Nova Scotia currently has 500–1,000 fluent speakers, mostly in northwestern Cape Breton. There have been attempts in Nova Scotia to institute Gaelic immersion on the model of French immersion. As well, formal post-secondary studies in Gaelic language and culture are available through St. Francis Xavier University, Saint Mary's University, and Cape Breton University

In 1890, a private member's bill was tabled in the Canadian Senate, calling for Gaelic to be made Canada's third official language. However, the bill was defeated 42–7.

Newfoundland Irish

Newfoundland is home to the largest population of Irish-descendants in Canada and once hosted a thriving Irish Gaelic linguistic community. Although steep declines around the 20th century meant that the Irish language on the Island hardly remains, there exists today strong interest with consistent efforts to revive the language.

Newfoundland Irish has left an impact on the English spoken on the Island, including terms like scrob "scratch" (Irish scríob), sleveen "rascal" (Irish slíbhín) and streel "slovenly person" (Irish sraoill), along with grammatical features like the "after" perfect as in "she's already after leavin'" (Irish tá sí tar éis imeacht).^[133] As well, both Newfoundland (Talamh an Éisc, Land of the Fish)^[134] and St. John's (Baile Sheáin)^[135] have distinct names in the Irish-language. The dialect of Irish spoken in Newfoundland is said to resemble the Munster Irish of the 18th century.

Events and institutions are increasingly supporting the language with ever larger Céilithe móra, students participating in Conradh na Gaeilge events, people playing Gaelic sports, and Irish film festivals attracting English- and Irish-speakers alike. There is also an Irish language instructor, appointed every year by the Ireland Canada University Foundation, who works at Memorial University in St. John's,^[136] where the university's Digital Learning Centre provides resources for learning the Irish language.^[137]

Newfoundland Welsh

Some Welsh is found in Newfoundland. In part, this is as a result of Welsh settlement since the 17th century. Also, there was an influx of about 1,000 Patagonian Welsh, who migrated to Canada from Argentina after the 1982 Falklands War. Welsh-Argentines are fluent in Spanish as well as English and Welsh.

Canadian Ukrainian

Canada is also home to Canadian Ukrainian, a distinct dialect of the Ukrainian language, spoken mostly in Western Canada by the descendants of first two waves of Ukrainian settlement in Canada who developed in a degree of isolation from their cousins in what was then Austria-Hungary, the Russian Empire, Poland, and the Soviet Union.

Doukhobor Russian

Canada's Doukhobor community, especially in Grand Forks and Castlegar, British Columbia, has kept its distinct dialect of Russian. It has a lot in common with South Russian dialects, showing some common features with Ukrainian. This dialect's versions are becoming extinct in their home regions of Georgia and Russia where the Doukhobors have split into smaller groups.

Deitsch

A variety of West Central German spoken by the Old Order Amish, Old Order Mennonites and other descendants of German immigrants in Canada, Pennsylvania Dutch or Deitsch is closely related to the Palatine dialects of the Upper Rhine Valley.^[138] Of the estimated 300,000 speakers, most are found across several US states, whilst there is a sizable community within Ontario.^[139]

Hutterisch

Centred in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba, the Hutterite communities maintain a distinct form of the German language descended from Bavarian dialects spoken in Tyrol (by founder Jacob Hutter). The language shifted in the mid-18th century toward a more Carinthian linguistic base upon the deportation of Landler from Austria to Transylvania. There is only about a 50% intelligibility between Pennsylvania Dutch speakers and Hutterisch.^[140] Its speaker base belongs to the Schmiedleit, Lehrerleit, and Dariusleit groups with a few speakers among the older generations of Prairieleit (the descendants of those Hutterites who chose not to settle in colonies). Hutterite children who grow up in the colonies first learn and speak Hutterisch before learning English. Of the estimated 34,000 speakers in the world (as of 2003), 85% of them live in 370 communities in Canada.^[141] Canadian adults are generally literate in Early New High German (also called "Biblical German", the predecessor to Standard German used by Martin Luther) that they employ as the written form for Scriptures, however Hutterisch is, for the most part, an unwritten language.^[142]

Plautdietsch

Plautdietsch is predominantly found in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario where Mennonite communities settled. The Mennonites, or Russian Mennonites as they are sometimes called, descend from Low country Anabaptists who fled from what is today the Netherlands and Belgium in the 16th century to escape persecution and resettled in the Vistula delta.^[143] Their language is a fusion of Dutch, West Frisian and Dutch Low Saxon dialects which over time mixed with the East Low German dialects of Werdersch, Nehrungisch and Weichselisch.^[144]

Official multilingualism

Language policy of the federal government

English and French have equal status in federal courts, the Parliament of Canada, as well as in all federal institutions.

The public has the right, where there is sufficient demand, to receive federal government services in either English or French. Immigrants who are applying for Canadian citizenship must normally be able to speak either English or French.

The principles of bilingualism in Canada are protected in sections 16 to 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms of 1982 which establishes that:

French and English are equal to each other as federal official languages;
Debate in Parliament may take place in either official language;
Federal laws shall be printed in both official languages, with equal authority;
Anyone may deal with any court established by Parliament, in either official language;
Everyone has the right to receive services from the federal government in his or her choice of official language;
Members of a minority language group of one of the official languages if learned and still understood (i.e., French speakers in a majority English-speaking province, or vice versa) or received primary school education in that language has the right to have their children receive a public education in their language, where numbers warrant.

Canada's Official Languages Act, first adopted in 1969 and updated in 1988, gives English and French equal status throughout federal institutions.

Language policies of Canada's provinces and territories

Officially bilingual or multilingual: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and the three territories

New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Canada's three territories have all given official status to more than one language. In the case of New Brunswick, this means perfect equality. In the other cases, the recognition sometimes amounts to a formal recognition of official languages, but limited services in official languages other than English.

The official languages are:

New Brunswick: English and French. New Brunswick has been officially bilingual since the 1960s. The province's officially bilingual status has been entrenched in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms since 1982.
Nova Scotia: Mi'kmawi'simk is considered the province's official "first language."
Northwest Territories: Cree, Dënësųłıné, Dene Yatıé / Dene Zhatıé,^{[nb 1]} English, French, Gwich’in, Inuinnaqtun, Inuktitut, Inuvialuktun, Sahtúgot’įné Yatı̨́ / K’ashógot’įne Goxedǝ́ / Shíhgot’įne Yatı̨́,^{[nb 1]} and Tłįchǫ.^[9]
Nunavut: English, Inuktut (Inuktitut, Inuinnaqtun), and French.^[145]
Yukon: English and French.

Officially French-only: Quebec

Until 1969, Quebec was the only officially bilingual province in Canada and most public institutions functioned in both languages. English was also used in the legislature, government commissions and courts. With the adoption of the Charter of the French Language (also known as "Bill 101") by Quebec's National Assembly in August 1977, however, French became Quebec's sole official language. However, the Charter of the French Language enumerates a defined set of language rights for the English language and for Aboriginal languages, and government services are available, to certain citizens and in certain regions, in English. As well, a series of court decisions have forced the Quebec government to increase its English-language services beyond those provided for under the original terms of the Charter of the French Language. Regional institutions in the Nunavik region of northern Quebec offer services in Inuktitut and Cree.

De facto English only, or limited French-language services: the other eight provinces

Most provinces have laws that make either English or both English and French the official language(s) of the legislature and the courts but may also have separate policies in regards to education and the bureaucracy.

For example, in Alberta, English and French are both official languages of debate in the Legislative Assembly, but laws may be drafted solely in English and there is no legal requirement that they be translated into French. French can be used in some lower courts and education is offered in both languages, but the bureaucracy functions almost solely in English. Therefore, although Alberta is not officially an English-only province, English has a higher de facto status than French. Ontario and Manitoba are similar but allow for more services in French at the local level.^{[citation needed]}

Geographic distribution

The following table details the population of each province and territory, with summary national totals, by mother tongue as reported in the Canada 2016 Census.

Province/territory	Total population	English	%	French	%	Other languages	%	Official language(s)
Ontario	13,312,870	9,255,660	69.52%	568,345	4.27%	3,865,780	29.04%	English (de facto)^[146]
Quebec	8,066,555	718,985	8.91%	6,377,080	79.06%	1,173,345	14.54%	French^[6]
British Columbia	4,598,415	3,271,425	71.14%	71,705	1.56%	1,360,815	29.59%	English (de facto)
Alberta	4,026,650	3,080,865	76.51%	86,705	2.15%	952,790	23.66%	English
Manitoba	1,261,615	931,410	73.83%	46,055	3.65%	316,120	25.06%	English
Saskatchewan	1,083,240	910,865	84.09%	17,735	1.64%	173,475	16.01%	English
Nova Scotia	912,300	838,055	91.86%	33,345	3.66%	49,165	5.39%	English (de facto)^[a]
New Brunswick	736,280	481,690	65.42%	238,865	32.44%	25,165	3.42%	English, French
Newfoundland and Labrador	515,680	501,350	97.22%	3,020	0.59%	13,035	2.53%	English (de facto)
Prince Edward Island	141,020	128,975	91.46%	5,395	3.83%	7,670	5.44%	English (de facto)
Northwest Territories	41,380	32,545	78.65%	1,365	3.30%	8,295	20.05%	Cree, Dënësųłıné, Dene Yatıé / Zhatıé,^{[nb 1]} English, French, Gwich’in, Inuinnaqtun, Inuktitut, Inuvialuktun, Sahtúgot’įné Yatı̨́ / K’ashógot’įne Goxedǝ́ / Shíhgot’įne Yatı̨́,^{[nb 1]} Tłįchǫ^[9]
Yukon	35,555	29,765	83.72%	1,815	5.10%	4,665	13.12%	English, French
Nunavut	35,695	11,745	32.90%	640	1.79%	24,050	67.38%	Inuit Language (Inuktitut, Inuinnaqtun), English, French^[145]
Canada	34,767,255	20,193,340	58.08%	7,452,075	21.43%	7,974,375	22.94%	English, French

Source: Statistics Canada, Mother tongue by age (Total), 2016 counts for the population excluding institutional residents of Canada, provinces and territories, 2016 Census .^[14]

Knowledge of languages

Top ten spoken languages in Canada 2021 census^[b]
Language			Percent
English			87.06%
French			29.08%
Chinese^[c]			4.21%
Hindustani^[d]			3.24%
Spanish			3.22%
Punjabi			2.59%
Arabic			2.31%
Tagalog			2.03%
Italian			1.51%
German			1.15%

The question on knowledge of languages allows for multiple responses, and first appeared on the 1991 Canadian census.^[e] The following figures are from the 1991 Canadian census, 2001 Canadian census, 2011 Canadian census, and the 2021 Canadian census.

Knowledge of Languages in Canada
Language	2021^[148]		2011^[149]		2001^[147]^[150]		1991^[151]
Language	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
English	31,628,570	87.06%	28,360,235^[152]	85.63%	25,246,220^[153]	85.18%	22,505,415	83.37%
French	10,563,235	29.08%	9,960,585^[152]	30.07%	9,178,100^[153]	30.97%	8,508,960	31.52%
Chinese^[c]	1,528,860	4.21%	1,297,505	3.92%	1,028,445	3.47%	557,305	2.06%
Hindustani^[d]	1,176,295	3.24%	576,165	1.74%	366,740	1.24%	163,930	0.61%
Spanish	1,171,450	3.22%	873,395	2.64%	610,580	2.06%	402,430	1.49%
Punjabi	942,170	2.59%	545,730	1.65%	338,720	1.14%	167,925	0.62%
Arabic	838,045	2.31%	470,965	1.42%	290,280	0.98%	164,380	0.61%
Tagalog	737,565	2.03%	491,075	1.48%	244,690	0.83%	136,975	0.51%
Italian	547,655	1.51%	595,600	1.8%	680,970	2.3%	701,910	2.6%
German	419,195	1.15%	525,480	1.59%	635,520	2.14%	684,955	2.54%
Portuguese	336,865	0.93%	266,950	0.81%	264,990	0.89%	254,465	0.94%
Persian^[f]	330,725	0.91%	196,110	0.59%	111,700	0.38%	49,380	0.18%
Russian	309,235	0.85%	230,755	0.7%	157,455	0.53%	84,050	0.31%
Tamil	237,890	0.65%	179,465	0.54%	111,580	0.38%	37,330	0.14%
Vietnamese	232,800	0.64%	192,070	0.58%	165,645	0.56%	113,115	0.42%
Gujarati	209,410	0.58%	118,950	0.36%	80,835	0.27%	54,210	0.2%
Polish	204,460	0.56%	217,735	0.66%	249,695	0.84%	239,575	0.89%
Korean	203,885	0.56%	149,035	0.45%	91,610	0.31%	40,230	0.15%
Serbo-Croatian^[g]	155,775	0.43%	154,700	0.47%	153,085	0.52%	100,541	0.37%
Greek	145,060	0.4%	150,620	0.45%	158,800	0.54%	161,320	0.6%
Haitian Creole	134,895	0.37%	128,555	0.39%	76,140	0.26%	49,970	0.19%
Ukrainian	131,655	0.36%	144,260	0.44%	200,520	0.68%	249,535	0.92%
Bengali	120,605	0.33%	69,490	0.21%	34,650	0.12%	N/A	<0.1%
Romanian	116,520	0.32%	97,180	0.29%	60,520	0.2%	30,520	0.11%
Dutch	107,985	0.3%	135,085	0.41%	157,875	0.53%	173,290	0.64%
Cree^[h]	105,850	0.29%	96,690	0.29%	97,200	0.33%	93,825	0.35%
Japanese	98,070	0.27%	74,690	0.23%	65,030	0.22%	45,370	0.17%
Hebrew	83,205	0.23%	70,695	0.21%	63,675	0.21%	52,450	0.19%
Turkish	78,500	0.22%	44,080	0.13%	32,520	0.11%	N/A	<0.1%
Malayalam	77,910	0.21%	22,125	0.07%	9,185	0.03%	N/A	<0.1%
Hungarian	64,625	0.18%	73,695	0.22%	89,230	0.3%	97,410	0.36%
Ilocano	61,680	0.17%	21,880	0.07%	N/A	<0.03%	N/A	<0.1%
Somali	59,005	0.16%	37,115	0.11%	N/A	<0.03%	N/A	<0.1%
Swahili	57,295	0.16%	31,690	0.1%	25,300	0.09%	N/A	<0.1%
Telugu	54,685	0.15%	12,645	0.04%	N/A	<0.03%	N/A	<0.1%

Knowledge of official languages

Knowledge of Official Languages in Canada
Language	2021^[154]		2016^[155]		2011^[152]		2006^[156]		2001^[147]^[153]		1996^[157]		1991^[158]		1981^[159]^[160]
Language	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
English total	31,628,570	87.06%	29,973,590	86.21%	28,360,235	85.63%	26,578,795	85.08%	25,246,220	85.18%	23,975,565	84.04%	22,505,415	83.37%	19,804,855	82.23%
French total	10,563,235	29.08%	10,360,750	29.8%	9,960,585	30.07%	9,590,700	30.7%	9,178,100	30.97%	8,920,405	31.27%	8,508,960	31.52%	7,669,205	31.84%
English only	25,261,655	69.54%	23,757,525	68.33%	22,564,665	68.13%	21,129,945	67.64%	20,014,645	67.53%	19,134,245	67.07%	18,106,760	67.08%	16,122,895	66.95%
French only	4,087,895	11.25%	4,144,685	11.92%	4,165,015	12.58%	4,141,850	13.26%	3,946,525	13.32%	4,079,085	14.3%	4,110,305	15.23%	3,987,245	16.56%
English & French	6,581,680	18.12%	6,216,065	17.88%	5,795,570	17.5%	5,448,850	17.44%	5,231,575	17.65%	4,841,320	16.97%	4,398,655	16.29%	3,681,960	15.29%
Neither English nor French	689,725	1.9%	648,970	1.87%	595,920	1.8%	520,385	1.67%	446,285	1.51%	473,475	1.66%	378,320	1.4%	291,395	1.21%

Speakers by mother tongue

Languages in Canada (Mother Tongue) 2016 Census
Language			Percent
English			55.97%
French			20.61%
Non-official			21.06%
English and French			0.48%

First language	2016		2011		2006		Notes
First language	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
Single language responses	33,947,610	97.64%	32,481,635	98.07%	30,848,270	98.74%
Official languages	26,627,545	76.59%	25,913,955	78.24%	24,700,425	79.06%
English	19,460,855	55.97%	18,858,980	56.94%	17,882,775	57.24%
French	7,166,700	20.61%	7,054,975	21.3%	6,817,650	21.82%
Non-official languages	7,321,070	21.06%	6,567,680	19.83%	6,147,840	19.68%
Combined Chinese Responses	1,227,680	3.53%	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	Combined responses of Mandarin, Cantonese, Chinese n.o.s. and Min Nan
Mandarin (Standard Chinese)	592,035	1.7%	248,705	0.75%	170,950	0.55%
Cantonese	565,275	1.63%	372,460	1.12%	361,450	1.16%
Punjabi	501,680	1.44%	430,705	1.3%	367,505	1.18%
Spanish	458,850	1.32%	410,670	1.24%	345,345	1.11%
Tagalog (Filipino)	431,385	1.24%	327,445	0.99%	235,615	0.75%
Arabic	419,895	1.21%	327,870	0.99%	261,640	0.84%
German	384,040	1.1%	409,200	1.24%	450,570	1.44%
Italian	375,645	1.08%	407,485	1.23%	455,040	1.46%
Hindustani	321,465	0.92%	263,345	0.8%	224,045	0.72%	Combined responses of Hindi and Urdu
Portuguese	221,535	0.64%	211,335	0.64%	219,275	0.7%
Persian (Farsi)	214,200	0.62%	170,045	0.51%	134,080	0.43%
Urdu	210,820	0.61%	172,800	0.52%	145,805	0.47%
Russian	188,255	0.54%	164,330	0.5%	133,580	0.43%
Polish	181,705	0.52%	191,645	0.58%	211,175	0.68%
Vietnamese	156,430	0.45%	144,880	0.44%	141,625	0.45%
Korean	153,425	0.44%	137,925	0.42%	125,570	0.4%
Tamil	140,720	0.4%	131,265	0.4%	115,880	0.37%	Most of the Canadian Tamils live in Toronto.
Hindi	110,645	0.32%	90,545	0.27%	78,240	0.25%
Gujarati	108,775	0.31%	91,450	0.28%	81,465	0.26%
Greek	106,520	0.31%	108,925	0.33%	117,285	0.38%
Ukrainian	102,485	0.29%	111,540	0.34%	134,500	0.43%
Dutch	99,015	0.28%	110,490	0.33%	128,900	0.41%
Romanian	96,660	0.28%	90,300	0.27%	78,495	0.25%
Bengali	73,125	0.21%	59,370	0.18%	45,685	0.15%
Creoles	72,130	0.21%	61,725	0.19%	53,515	0.17%
Cree, n.o.s.^{[nb 7]}	64,045	0.18%	77,900	0.24%	78,855	0.25%	In the 2006 Census, this language was referred to simply as 'Cree'.
Hungarian	61,235	0.18%	67,920	0.21%	73,335	0.23%	The majority of Hungarian speakers in Canada live in Ontario. A community of Hungarian speakers is found within a part of Windsor, Ontario.
Berber languages (Kabyle)	n/a	n/a	57,855	0.17%	25,578	0.08%
Serbian	57,345	0.16%	56,420	0.17%	51,665	0.17%
Croatian	48,200	0.14%	49,730	0.15%	55,330	0.18%
Japanese	43,640	0.13%	39,985	0.12%	40,200	0.13%
Chinese, n.o.s.^{[nb 7]}	38,575	0.11%	425,210	1.28%	456,705	1.46%
Somali	36,760	0.11%	31,380	0.09%	27,320	0.09%
Inuktitut	35,215	0.1%	33,500	0.1%	32,015	0.1%	In the 2006 Census, this language was referred to as 'Inuktitut, n.i.e.'.^{[nb 8]}
Armenian	33,455	0.1%	29,795	0.09%	30,130	0.1%
Turkish	32,815	0.09%	29,640	0.09%	24,745	0.08%
Min Nan (Chaochow, Teochow, Fukien, Taiwanese)	31,795	0.09%	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Malayalam	28,570	0.08%	16,080	0.05%	11,925	0.04%
Albanian	26,895	0.08%	23,820	0.07%	n/a	n/a
Ilocano	26,345	0.08%	17,915	0.05%	13,450	0.04%
Amharic	22,465	0.06%	18,020	0.05%	14,555	0.05%
Czech	22,295	0.06%	23,585	0.07%	24,450	0.08%
Khmer (Cambodian)	20,130	0.06%	19,440	0.06%	19,105	0.06%
Bulgarian	20,020	0.06%	19,050	0.06%	16,790	0.05%
Hebrew	19,530	0.06%	18,450	0.06%	17,635	0.06%
Niger–Congo languages, n.i.e.^{[nb 8]}	19,140	0.06%	14,075	0.04%	n/a	n/a
Nepali	18,275	0.05%	8,480	0.03%	n/a	n/a
Ojibway	17,885	0.05%	17,625	0.05%	24,190	0.08%
Slovak	17,585	0.05%	17,580	0.05%	18,820	0.06%
Pashto	16,910	0.05%	12,465	0.04%	9,025	0.03%
Macedonian	16,770	0.05%	17,245	0.05%	18,435	0.06%
Tigrigna	16,650	0.05%	10,220	0.03%	7,105	0.02%
Sinhala	16,335	0.05%	14,185	0.04%	10,180	0.03%
Bisayan languages	n/a	n/a	16,240	0.05%	11,240	0.04%
Telugu	15,655	0.05%	9,315	0.03%	6,625	0.02%
Finnish	15,295	0.04%	17,415	0.05%	21,030	0.07%
Yiddish	13,555	0.04%	15,205	0.05%	16,295	0.05%
Akan (Twi)	13,460	0.04%	12,680	0.04%	12,780	0.04%
Swahili	13,375	0.04%	10,090	0.03%	7,935	0.03%
Wu (Shanghainese)	12,920	0.04%	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Oji-Cree	12,855	0.04%	9,835	0.03%	11,690	0.04%
Lao	12,670	0.04%	12,970	0.04%	13,940	0.04%
Danish	12,630	0.04%	14,145	0.04%	18,735	0.06%
Malay	12,275	0.04%	10,910	0.03%	9,490	0.03%
Bosnian	12,210	0.04%	11,685	0.04%	12,790	0.04%
Sindhi	11,860	0.03%	11,330	0.03%	10,355	0.03%
Kurdish	11,705	0.03%	9,805	0.03%	7,660	0.02%
Hakka	10,910	0.03%	5,115	0.02%	n/a	n/a
Dene, n.o.s.^{[nb 7]}	10,700	0.03%	11,215	0.03%	9,745	0.03%
Afrikaans	10,260	0.03%	8,770	0.03%	n/a	n/a
Montagnais (Innu)	10,230	0.03%	10,785	0.03%	10,975	0.04%	In the 2006 Census, this language was referred to as 'Montagnais-Naskapi'.
Slovenian	9,785	0.03%	10,775	0.03%	13,135	0.04%
Taiwanese	n/a	n/a	9,635	0.03%	9,620	0.03%
Serbo-Croatian	9,555	0.03%	10,155	0.03%	12,510	0.04%	All varieties of Serbo-Croatian (Bosnian, Croatian, Montenegrin and Serbian) combined would enumerate a total of 127,310 speakers (0.37% of total population).
African languages, n.i.e.^{[nb 8]}	n/a	n/a	9,125	0.03%	n/a	n/a
Thai	9,255	0.03%	7,935	0.02%	n/a	n/a
Marathi	8,295	0.02%	5,830	0.02%	n/a	n/a
Bantu languages, n.i.e.^{[nb 8]}	n/a	n/a	7,150	0.02%	n/a	n/a
Lithuanian	7,075	0.02%	7,245	0.02%	8,335	0.03%
Swedish	6,840	0.02%	7,350	0.02%	8,220	0.03%
Mi'kmaq	6,690	0.02%	7,635	0.02%	7,365	0.02%
Tibetan	6,165	0.02%	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Atikamekw	6,150	0.02%	5,820	0.02%	5,250	0.02%
Canadian Gaelic	n/a	n/a	6,015	0.02%	6,015	0.02%
Fukien (Fuzhou dialect)	n/a	n/a	5,925	0.02%	n/a	n/a
Rundi (Kirundi)	5,845	0.02%	3,975	0.01%	n/a	n/a
Maltese	5,565	0.02%	6,220	0.02%	6,405	0.02%
Estonian	5,445	0.02%	6,385	0.02%	8,240	0.03%
Latvian	5,455	0.02%	6,200	0.02%	7,000	0.02%
Kinyarwanda (Rwanda)	5,250	0.02%	3,895	0.01%	n/a	n/a
Indo-Iranian languages, n.i.e.^{[nb 8]}	5,180	0.01%	5,255	0.02%	n/a	n/a
Oromo	4,960	0.01%	11,140	0.03%	n/a	n/a
Norwegian	4,615	0.01%	5,800	0.02%	7,225	0.02%
Tibetan languages	n/a	n/a	4,640	0.01%	n/a	n/a
Sino-Tibetan languages, n.i.e.^{[nb 8]}	n/a	n/a	4,360	0.01%	n/a	n/a
Sign languages, n.i.e.^{[nb 8]}	4,125	0.01%	3,815	0.01%	n/a	n/a
Vlaams (Flemish)	3,895	0.01%	4,690	0.01%	5,660	0.02%
Lingala	3,810	0.01%	3,085	0.01%	n/a	n/a
Burmese	3,585	0.01%	2,985	0.01%	n/a	n/a
Stoney	3,025	0.01%	3,050	0.01%	n/a	n/a
Shanghainese	n/a	n/a	2,920	0.01%	n/a	n/a
Blackfoot	2,815	<0.01%	n/a	n/a	3,085	0.01%
Slavic languages, n.i.e.^{[nb 8]}	2,420	0.01%	3,630	0.01%	n/a	n/a
Semitic languages, n.i.e.^{[nb 8]}	2,155	0.01%	16,970	0.05%	n/a	n/a
Frisian	2,095	<0.01%	n/a	n/a	2,890	0.01%
Dogrib (Tlicho)	1,645	<0.01%	n/a	n/a	2,020	0.01%
Tibeto-Burman languages, n.i.e.^{[nb 8]}	1,405	<0.01%	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Siouan languages (Dakota/Sioux)	1,265	<0.01%	n/a	n/a	5,585	0.02%
Algonquin	1,260	<0.01%	n/a	n/a	1,920	0.01%
Scottish Gaelic	1,095	<0.01%	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Welsh	1,075	<0.01%	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Carrier	1,030	<0.01%	n/a	n/a	1,560	<0.01%
Inuinnaqtun (Inuvialuktun)	1,020	<0.01%	n/a	n/a	365	<0.01%
Mohawk	985	<0.01%	n/a	n/a	290	<0.01%
South Slavey	950	<0.01%	n/a	n/a	1,605	0.01%	Also known as Dene Yatıé or Dene Zhatıé, or Dené Dháh.
Gitxsan (Gitksan)	880	<0.01%	n/a	n/a	1,180	<0.01%
North Slavey	765	<0.01%	n/a	n/a	1,065	<0.01%	Also known as Sahtúgot’įné Yatı̨́, K’ashógot’įne Goxedǝ́, and Shíhgot’įne Yatı̨́.
Tsilhqot'in	655	<0.01%	n/a	n/a	1,070	<0.01%	Also spelled Chilcotin.
Celtic languages, n.i.e.^{[nb 8]}	530	<0.01%	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Dënësųłıné	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	525	<0.01%
Michif	465	<0.01%	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Shuswap (Secwepemctsin)	445	<0.01%	n/a	n/a	935	<0.01%
Nisga'a	400	<0.01%	n/a	n/a	680	<0.01%
Malecite	300	<0.01%	n/a	n/a	535	<0.01%
Kutchin-Gwich’in (Loucheux)	260	<0.01%	n/a	n/a	360	<0.01%
Tlingit	95	<0.01%	n/a	n/a	80	<0.01%
Other languages	n/a	n/a	77,890	0.2%	172,650	0.55%
Multiple language responses	818,640	2.35%	639,540	1.9%	392,760	1.26%
English and French	165,335	0.48%	144,685	0.4%	98,630	0.32%
English and a non-official language	533,260	1.53%	396,330	1.2%	240,005	0.77%
French and a non-official language	86,145	0.25%	74,430	0.2%	43,335	0.14%
English, French, and a non-official language	33,900	0.1%	24,095	0.07%	10,790	0.03%
Total^[161]^[162]^[163]	34,767,250	100%	33,121,175	100%	31,241,030	100%

Language used most often at work

Language used most often at work
Language	% of total population (2006)^[164]	% of total population (2016)^[165]
English	76.36%	76.49%
French	20.22%	19.17%
Non-official	1.49%	1.38%
English and French	1.37%	2.07%
English and non-official	0.47%	0.77%
Other^[i]	0.09%	0.12%

Language used most often at home

Language used most often at home
Language	% of total population (2006)^[166]	% of total population (2016)^[167]
English	65.89%	63.75%
French	21.15%	19.97%
Non-official	11.11%	11.5%
English and non-official	1.3%	3.7%
English and French	0.3%	0.46%
Other^[j]	0.24%	0.63%

Explanatory notes

^
Canadian English:
- Atlantic English
  - Maritimer
  - Newfoundlander
  - Lunenburg
- Black English
- Cascadian English
- Indigenous English
- Ontario English
  - Ottawa Valley
  - Toronto
- Quebec English
^
Canadian French:
^
Mixed & trade languages:
- Mixed languages:
  - Franglais
    - Chiac
  - Michif
  - Bungi
- Jargons:
  - Chinook Wawa
  - Haida Jargon
  - Labrador Inuit Pidgin French
  - Loucheux Jargon
  - Nootka Jargon
  - Slavey Jargon
  - Souriquois

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k Also known as the "Slavey language(s)," these languages are grouped into the North (Sahtúgot’įné Yatı̨́ spoken by the Sahtu Dene, the Hare Dene dialect of K’ashógot’įne Goxedǝ́, and the northern mountain dialect of Shíhgot’įne Yatı̨́) and South (Dene Yatıé or Dene Zhatıé, and Dené Dháh used predominately by the Dene Tha' in Alberta). There is a sizeable push to end of the use of the name Slave or Slavey in relation to these Dene nations.^[8]
^ First Language of Nova Scotia^[1]^[2]
^ 200,725 Canadians, or less than one per cent of the population, report an Aboriginal language as their mother tongue.^[3]
^ Nearly 148,000 people reported speaking both a language other than English or French most often and a second language other than English or French on a regular basis at home. The term "immigrant languages" refers to languages (other than English, French and Aboriginal languages) whose presence in Canada is originally due to immigration. The document entitled Aboriginal languages in Canada, Catalogue no. 98‑314‑X2011003, in the Census in Brief series, provides more detailed information on this subject.^[11]
^ 18,858,908 Canadians identify their mother tongue as English. 599,230 Québécois identify their mother tongue as English and of that 309,885 live in Montreal.^[18]
^ Of the 33,121,175 Canadians only 9,960,590 report to having knowledge of the French language.^[15]
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f n.o.s. – not otherwise specified
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m n.i.e. – not included elsewhere

^ Nova Scotia has since enacted Miꞌkmaq as the province’s first language
^ The question on knowledge of languages allows for multiple responses. The following figures are from the 2021 Canadian Census.
^ ^a ^b 2021 census: Combined responses of the Chinese languages, including Mandarin (987,300), Cantonese (724,925), Min Nan, Hakka, Wu (Shanghainese), Min Dong, Chinese, n.o.s.,^{[nb 7]} and Chinese languages, n.i.e.^{[nb 8]}
^ ^a ^b 2021 census: Combined responses of Hindi (761,425) and Urdu (414,870) as they form mutually intelligible registers of the Hindustani language.
^ The 1991 Census was the first to ask Canadians whether they could conduct a conversation in a language other than English or French^[147]^: 50
^ 2021 census: Combined responses of Iranian Persian (222,160), Dari, and Persian (Farsi), n.o.s.,^{[nb 7]} as they form mutually intelligible registers of the Persian language, and as they were all categorized under "Persian" in previous censuses.
^ Including Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, and Serbo-Croatian, n.i.e.^{[nb 8]}
^ 2021 census: Total number of speakers of the Cree-Innu languages, previously categorized under "Cree" in past censuses.
^ French and non-official language OR
English, French and non-official language
^ French and non-official language OR
English, French and non-official language

References

^ ^a ^b "Legislation Enshrines Mi'kmaw as Nova Scotia's First Language". Province of Nova Scotia (in English and Mi'kmaw). L'nu Affairs. 7 April 2022. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c Mi'kmaw Language Act (Bill 148). Nova Scotia Legislature. 1 October 2022.
^ "2011 Census of Canada: Topic-based tabulations – Mother Tongue - Detailed Aboriginal Languages (85), Languages Spoken Most Often at Home - Detailed Aboriginal Languages (85), Other Languages Spoken Regularly at Home - Aboriginal Languages (12), Age Groups (13A), Sex (3) and Area of Residence (6) for the Population Excluding Institutional Residents of Canada, Provinces and Territories, 2011 Census". 24 October 2012. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
^ Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2017-08-02). "Language Highlight Tables, 2016 Census - Mother tongue by age (Total), % distribution (2016) for the population excluding institutional residents of Canada, provinces and territories, 2016 Census – 100% Data". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2019-12-18.
^ Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2017-08-02). "Language Highlight Tables, 2016 Census - Knowledge of official languages by age (Total), % distribution (2016) for the population excluding institutional residents of Canada, provinces and territories, 2016 Census – 100% Data". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2019-12-18.
^ ^a ^b Office Québécois de la langue française. "Status of the French language". Government of Quebec. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
^ "Official Languages". Department of Culture and Heritage. The Government of Nunavut. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
^ Mandeville, Curtis (21 July 2016). "Goodbye Great Slave Lake? Movement to decolonize N.W.T. maps is growing". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Official Languages". Northwest Territories Education, Culture and Employment. Government of the Northwest Territories. Retrieved 19 July 2014.
^ Official Languages Commissioner Graham Fraser is quoted in The Hill Times, August 31, 2009, p. 14.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Linguistic Characteristics of Canadians". Retrieved May 18, 2020.
^ 1981: Statistics Canada, 1981, Population by Selected Mother Tongues and Sex, Showing Official Language and Home Language, for Canada and Provinces, Urban and Rural, (table 2), 1981 Census.
1986: Statistics Canada, 1986, Population by Selected Mother Tongues and Sex, Showing Official Language and Home Language, for Canada and Provinces, Urban and Rural, (table 2), 1986 Census.
1991: Statistics Canada, 1991, 2B Profile, 1991 – Provinces and Territories in Canada (table), 1991 (2b) detailed questionnaire, Provinces to Municipalities (database), using E-Stat (distributor), [1] (accessed 10.05.26).
1996: Statistics Canada, Mother Tongue, Home Languages, Official and Non-official languages, 1996 – Provinces and Territories in Canada (table), 1996 Census of Population (Provinces, Census Divisions, Municipalities) (database), Using E-Stat (distributor), [2] (accessed 10.05.26).
2001: Statistics Canada, Languages, Mobility and Migration, 2001 – Provinces and Territories in Canada (table), 2001 Census of Population (Provinces, Census Divisions, Municipalities) (Database), Using E-STAT (Distributor). [3] (accessed 10.05.26).
2006: Statistics Canada, Cumulative Profile, 2006 – Provinces and Territories in Canada (table), 2006 Census of Population (Provinces, Census Divisions, Municipalities) (database), Using E-STAT (distributor), [4]. Retrieved 10.05.26.
^ Given the large discrepancies in the data for both official languages and neither language in 1971 and 1981, it is reasonable to assume that the manner in which the data collected for these years was different from for 1986–2006
^ ^a ^b "Mother tongue by age (Total), 2016 counts for the population excluding institutional residents of Canada, provinces and territories, 2016 Census". 2 August 2017. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h "Population by knowledge of official languages, age groups (total), 2011 counts, for Canada, provinces and territories". Retrieved May 18, 2020.
^ "La dynamique des langues en quelques chiffres : Tableaux". Archived from the original on 2016-12-07. Retrieved 2014-03-17.
^ Marmen, Louise and Corbeil, Jean-Pierre, "New Canadian Perspectives, Languages in Canada 2001 Census," Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication, Statistics Canada Cat. No. Ch3-2/8-2004, (Canadian Heritage, 2004), pg. 60.
^ ^a ^b "Census Data Navigator". Retrieved May 18, 2020.
^ 1931–1991: Statistics Canada, The 1997 Canada Year Book, "3.14 Official Language Knowledge," Catalogue No. 11-402XPE/1997.
1996: Statistics Canada. Population by Knowledge of Official Languages (20% sample data), (table), 1996 Census of Population (Provinces, Census Divisions, Municipalities) (database), Using E-STAT (distributor). [5] (accessed: June 28, 2010).
2001: Statistics Canada. Languages, Mobility and Migration, 2001 – Provinces and Territories in Canada (table), 2001 Census of Population (Provinces, Census Divisions, Municipalities) (database), Using E-STAT (distributor). [6] (accessed: June 28, 2010)
2006: Statistics Canada. Languages, Mobility and Migration, 2006 – Provinces and Territories in Canada (table), 2006 Census of Population (Provinces, Census Divisions, Municipalities) (database), Using E-STAT (distributor). [7] (accessed: June 28, 2010).
^ "French and the francophonie in Canada". Retrieved May 18, 2020.
^ "Census Program". 15 January 2001. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
^ Statistics Canada, The Evolving Linguistic Portrait, 2006 Census, Catalogue no. 97-555-XIE, Ottawa, December 2007, pp. 15–16.
^ Statistics Canada, Place of birth for the immigrant population by period of immigration, 2006 counts and percentage distribution, for Canada, provinces and territories – 20% sample data, 2006 Census of Population . Archived May 24, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
^ 1931–1991: Statistics Canada, The 1997 Canada Year Book, "3.14 Official Language Knowledge," Catalogue No. 11-402XPE/1997. 1996: Statistics Canada. Population by Knowledge of Official Languages (20% sample data), (table), 1996 Census of Population (Provinces, Census Divisions, Municipalities) (database), Using E-STAT (distributor). [8] (accessed: June 28, 2010).
2001: Statistics Canada. Languages, Mobility and Migration, 2001 – Provinces and Territories in Canada (table), 2001 Census of Population (Provinces, Census Divisions, Municipalities) (database), Using E-STAT (distributor). [9] (accessed: June 28, 2010)
2006: Statistics Canada. Languages, Mobility and Migration, 2006 – Provinces and Territories in Canada (table), 2006 Census of Population (Provinces, Census Divisions, Municipalities) (database), Using E-STAT (distributor). [10] (accessed: June 28, 2010).
^ 1941: Dominion Bureau of Statistics, "Table II. Percentage Distribution of the Population Classified According to Sex, by Official Language, For Canada and the Provinces, 1941," Eighth Census of Canada, 1941.
1951: Dominion Bureau of Statistics, "Table 54. Population by a) official language and sex, and b) mother tongue and sex, for provinces and territories, 1951," Ninth Census of Canada.
1961: Statistics Canada, "Table 64. Population by a) official language and sex, and b) mother tongue and sex, for provinces and territories, 1961," 1961 Census of Canada, Catalogue:92-549, Vol: I – Part: 2.
1971: Statistics Canada, "Table 26. Population by A) Official Language, B) Language Most Often Spoken at Home, and Sex, For Canada and Provinces, 1971," 1971 Census of Canada, Catalogue 92-726 Vol: 1-Part:3.
1981: Statistics Canada, "Table 3. Population by Selected Mother Tongues, age groups and sex, Showing Official Language and Home Language for Canada and Provinces, Urban and Rural, 1981," 1981 Census of Canada, Catalogue 92–910 (Volume 1).
1986: Statistics Canada, "Table 7. Population by Official Languages and Sex, for Canada, Provinces and Territories, 1986 Census – 20% Sample Data," 1986 Census, Catalogue 93–103.
1991: Statistics Canada, "Table 1A. Population by Knowledge of Official Languages and Sex, for Canada, Provinces and Territories, 1991 – 20% Sample Data," 1991 Census, Catalogue 93–318.
1996: Statistics Canada, "Table 1. Selected Characteristics for Census Subdivisions, 1996 Census – 100% Data and 20% Sample Data," 1996 Census, Catalogue 95-186-XPB.
2001: Statistics Canada, Languages, Mobility and Migration, 2001 – Provinces and Territories in Canada (table), 2001 Census of Population (Provinces, Census Divisions, Municipalities) (Database), Using E-STAT (Distributor). [11] (accessed 10.05.26).
2006: Statistics Canada, Cumulative Profice, 2006 – Provinces and Territories in Canada (table), 2006 Census of Population (Provinces, Sensus Divisions, Municipalities) (database), Using E-STAT (distributor), [12] Retrieved 10.05.26.
^ Bilingualism growing, but not in French and English
^ Dominion Bureau of Statistics, "Table II. Percentage Distribution of the Population Classified According to Sex, by Official Language, For Canada and the Provinces, 1941," Eighth Census of Canada, 1941.
^ Series A2:Population of Canada, by province, census dates, 1851 to 1976 (retrieved, July 19, 2010).
^ Dominion Bureau of Statistics, "Table 54. Population by a) official language and sex, and b) mother tongue and sex, for provinces and territories, 1951," Ninth Census of Canada.
^ Statistics Canada, "Table 64. Population by a) official language and sex, and b) mother tongue and sex, for provinces and territories, 1961," 1961 Census of Canada, Catalogue:92-549, Vol: I – Part: 2.
^ Statistics Canada, "Table 26. Population by A) Official Language, B) Language Most Often Spoken at Home, and Sex, For Canada and Provinces, 1971," 1971 Census of Canada, Catalogue 92-726 Vol: 1-Part:3.
^ Statistics Canada, "Table 3. Population by Selected Mother Tongues, age groups and sex, Showing Official Language and Home Language for Canada and Provinces, Urban and Rural, 1981," 1981 Census of Canada, Catalogue 92–910 (Volume 1).
^ Statistics Canada, "Table 7. Population by Official Languages and Sex, for Canada, Provinces and Territories, 1986 Census – 20% Sample Data," 1986 Census, Catalogue 93–103.
^ Statistics Canada, "Table 1A. Population by Knowledge of Official Languages and Sex, for Canada, Provinces and Territories, 1991 – 20% Sample Data," 1991 Census, Catalogue 93–318.
^ Statistics Canada, "Table 1. Selected Characteristics for Census Subdivisions, 1996 Census – 100% Data and 20% Sample Data," 1996 Census, Catalogue 95-186-XPB.
^ Statistics Canada, Languages, Mobility and Migration, 2001 – Provinces and Territories in Canada (table), 2001 Census of Population (Provinces, Census Divisions, Municipalities) (Database), Using E-STAT (Distributor). [13] (accessed 10.05.26).
^ Statistics Canada, Cumulative Profile, 2006 – Provinces and Territories in Canada (table), 2006 Census of Population (Provinces, Census Divisions, Municipalities) (database), Using E-STAT (distributor), [14], retrieved 10.05.26.
^ "Knowledge of official languages by age (Total), 2016 counts for the population excluding institutional residents of Canada, provinces and territories, 2016 Census – 100% Data". Statistics Canada. August 2, 2017.
^ ^a ^b "Fast figures on Canada's official languages (2016)". www.clo-ocol.gc.ca. Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages. 4 July 2019. Archived from the original on 24 July 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
^ "Infographic: The French presence in New Brunswick". www.clo-ocol.gc.ca. Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages. 13 September 2018. Archived from the original on 23 January 2021. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
^ "Infographic: The French presence in Northwest Territories". www.clo-ocol.gc.ca. Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages. 13 September 2018. Archived from the original on 24 July 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
^ "Infographic: The French presence in Prince Edward Island". www.clo-ocol.gc.ca. Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages. 13 September 2018. Archived from the original on 24 July 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
^ "Infographic: The French presence in Ontario". www.clo-ocol.gc.ca. Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages. 13 September 2018. Archived from the original on 24 July 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
^ "Infographic: The French presence in Nova Scotia". www.clo-ocol.gc.ca. Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages. 13 September 2018. Archived from the original on 24 July 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
^ "Infographic: The French presence in Yukon". www.clo-ocol.gc.ca. Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages. 13 September 2018. Archived from the original on 24 July 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
^ "Infographic: The French presence in Manitoba". www.clo-ocol.gc.ca. Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages. 13 September 2018. Archived from the original on 25 April 2023. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
^ "Infographic: The French presence in Alberta". www.clo-ocol.gc.ca. Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages. 13 September 2018. Archived from the original on 25 April 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
^ "Infographic: The French presence in British Columbia". www.clo-ocol.gc.ca. Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages. 13 September 2018. Archived from the original on 25 April 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
^ "Infographic: The French presence in Saskatchewan". www.clo-ocol.gc.ca. Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages. 13 September 2018. Archived from the original on 10 June 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
^ "Infographic: The French presence in Newfoundland and Labrador". www.clo-ocol.gc.ca. Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages. 13 September 2018. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
^ "Infographic: The French presence in Nunavut". www.clo-ocol.gc.ca. Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages. 13 September 2018. Archived from the original on 24 July 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
^ Statistics Canada. "Cumulative Profile, 2006 – Canada (308 electoral districts)" (table), 2006 Census of Population (Federal Electoral Districts, 2003 Representation Order) (database), using E-STAT (distributor). [15] (accessed: June 28, 2010).
^ O'Keefe, Michael, "Francophone Minorities: Assimilation and Community Vitality, second edition", New Canadian Percpectives, Canadian Heritage, (Cat. no. CH3-2/2001), 2001.
^ Bilingualism Rate in Canada, Site for Language Management in Canada Archived February 13, 2009, at the Wayback Machine (SLMC).
^ ^a ^b Doireau, Ophélie (1 Nov 2021). "Au Manitoba, redonner de la force au mitchif-français". FrancoPresse. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
^ ^a ^b Papen, Robert A (1993). "La Variation dialectale dans le parler français des Métis de l'Ouest canadien". Francophonies d'Amérique. 3. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
^ ^a ^b Papen, Robert A (1984). "Quelques remarques sur un parler français méconnu de l'Ouest canadien: le métis" (PDF). Revue québécoise de linguistique. 14 (1): 113. doi:10.7202/602530ar. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
^ O'Toole, Darren (9 November 2017). "Toward a Métis homeland". Canadian Geographic. The Royal Canadian Geographical Society. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
^ Teillet, Jean. "The Boundaries of the Métis Nation" (PDF). The Métis Nation Self-Determination Gateway. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
^ "Michif Piyii (Métis)". native-land.ca. Native Land Digital. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
^ "La Francophonie Canadienne" (PDF). stat.gouv.qc.ca (in French). Ottawa, Ontario: Statistics Canada. October 3, 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 3, 2003.
^ O'Keefe, Michael, "Francophone Minorities: Assimilation and Community Vitality, second edition", New Canadian Perspectives, Canadian Heritage, (Cat. no. CH3-2/2001), 2001, pg. 55.
^ ^a ^b "Aboriginal languages". Statistics Canada. Retrieved 2009-10-05.
^ "Ethnologue: Languages of the World". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2021-10-14.
^ McLead, Neal. (2000). "Plains Cree Identity: Borderlands, Ambiguous Genealogies and Narrative Irony" (PDF). The Canadian Journal of Native Studies. XX (2). Dallas, TX: SIL International. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-10-14. Retrieved 2013-04-18.
^ Bone, Tracey A.; Wilkinson, Erin; Ferndale, Danielle; Adams, Rodney (19 April 2021). "Indigenous and Deaf People and the Implications of Ongoing Practices of Colonization: A Comparison of Australia and Canada". Humanity & Society. 46 (3): 495–521. doi:10.1177/01605976211001575. S2CID 234851479.
^ Hopper, Tristin (29 May 2021). "Why so many children died at Indian Residential Schools". National Post. Postmedia National Inc. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
^ Hanson, Erin; Gamez, Daniel P.; Manuel, Alexa. "The Residential School System". Indigenous Foundations. First Nations and Indigenous Studies at the University of British Columbia. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
^ Elgar, Margaret Fern (19 September 1997). A Comparative Study of Native Residential Schools and the Residential Schools for the Deaf in Canada (PDF) (Master of Anthropology). Carleton University. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
^ "Honouring Indigenous Languages within Parliament – Canadian Parliamentary Review – la Revue parlementaire canadienne". 8 August 2019.
^ "Indigenous Winnipeg MP delivers speech in Cree in House of Commons - Winnipeg | Globalnews.ca".
^ Cecco, Leyland (27 January 2019). "Sound of native languages in parliament to mark win for indigenous Canadians". The Guardian.
^ "Government Bill (House of Commons) C-91 (42-1) - Royal Assent - Indigenous Languages Act - Parliament of Canada".
^ https://lop.parl.ca/staticfiles/PublicWebsite/Home/ResearchPublications/HillStudies/PDF/2015-131-E.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}
^ https://www.canlii.org/en/commentary/doc/2019CanLIIDocs3786#!fragment/zoupio-_Toc3Page3/BQCwhgziBcwMYgK4DsDWszIQewE4BUBTADwBdoAvbRABwEtsBaAfX2zgGYAFMAc0I4BKADTJspQhACKiQrgCe0AORLhEQmFwIZcxSrUatIAMp5SAIUUAlAKIAZGwDUAggDkAwjeGkwAI2ik7IKCQA ^{[bare URL]}
^ "Meet Robert-Falcon Ouellette: Veteran, former parliamentarian, and professor".
^ "What are the Official Languages of Nunavut". Office of the Languages Commissioner of Nunavut. Archived from the original on 2017-08-08. Retrieved 2017-08-14.
^ "Official Languages Act, SNu 2008, c 10". Retrieved May 18, 2020.
^ Gordon, Raymond G Jr. (2005). Ethnologue: Languages of the world (Web Version online by SIL International, formerly known as the Summer Institute of Linguistics) (15 ed.). Dallas, TX: SIL International. ISBN 1-55671-159-X. Retrieved 2009-11-16. Since 2015 demands have been made to recognize all Aboriginal languages as official languages in Canada.
^ "Aboriginal mother tongue, Aboriginal language spoken most often at home and Other Aboriginal language(s) spoken regularly at home for the population excluding institutional residents of Canada, provinces and territories, 2016 Census". 2 August 2017. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
^ Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2017-10-25). "Census in Brief: The Aboriginal languages of First Nations people, Métis and Inuit". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2021-10-14.
^ Handbook of the North American Indians. Smithsonian Institution. 2008. p. 1. ISBN 978-0-16-004574-5. Retrieved 2010-08-11.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Recognize Indigenous Sign Languages – Reconnaître les Langues des Signes Autochtones" (PDF). BC Hummingbird Society for the Deaf (BCHSD). 9 March 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
^ ^a ^b Schuit, Joke; Baker, Anne; Pfau, Roland. "Inuit Sign Language: a contribution to sign language typology". Universiteit van Amsterdam. Archived from the original on 19 September 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
^ ^a ^b "Statistics on Deaf Canadians". CAD. Canadian Association of the Deaf – Association des Sourds du Canada. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
^ Harald Hammarström, Robert Forkel, Martin Haspelmath & Sebastian Bank, eds., Glottolog, ver. 4.3 (Jena: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, 2020).
^ "bangii". The Ojibwe People's Dictionary. Ojibwe People's Dictionary. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
^ Brown, Jennifer S.H. "Michif". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
^ Bakker, Peter; Papen, Robert A. (1996). "125. Languages of the Metis". In Wurm, Stephen Adolphe; Mühlhäusler, Peter; Tryon, Darrell T. (eds.). Atlas of Languages of Intercultural Communication in the Pacific, Asia, and the Americas. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. pp. 1177–78. ISBN 9783110134179. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
^ Bakker, Peter; Papen, Robert A. "Michif and other languages of the Canadian Métis". Virtual Museum of Métis History and Culture. Gabriel Dumont Institute of Native Studies and Applied Research. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
^ Blain, Eleanor M. (1989). The Bungee Dialect of the Red River Settlement (MA). Winnipeg: University of Manitoba. p. 14.
^ ^a ^b "Bungee, Bungi". Our Languages. Government of Canada. 6 December 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
^ Leclerc, Jacques (15 Dec 2015). "Les acadianismes". L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde (in French). Retrieved 15 December 2021.
^ ^a ^b Boudreau, Éphrem (2009). Glossaire du vieux parler acadien. Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu: Éditions Lambda ACADIE. p. 50. ISBN 978-2-923255-06-4.
^ "Chiac | The Canadian Encyclopedia". www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Retrieved 2021-06-15.
^ Papen, Robert A (2014). "Hybrid Languages in Canada Involving French". Journal of Language Contact. 7 (1): 154–183. doi:10.1163/19552629-00701007. S2CID 141988957.
^ Mike Cleven. "Chinook Jargon website". Cayoosh.net. Archived from the original on 2011-05-14. Retrieved 2011-01-18.
^ Poplack, Shana (1988) Conséquences linguistiques du contact de langues: un modèle d’analyse variationniste. Langage et société 43: 23–48.
^ Poplack, Shana, Walker, James & Malcolmson, Rebecca. 2006. An English "like no other"?: Language contact and change in Quebec. Canadian Journal of Linguistics. 185–213.
^ "Glottolog Language: Jargon Loucheux". glottolog.org. Retrieved 2022-03-20.
^ Bakker, Peter (1996). Broken Slavey and Jargon Loucheux: A first exploration. In I. Broch & E. H. Jahr (Eds.), Language contact in the Arctic: Northern pidgins and contact languages. Berlin: Mounton de Gruyter. pp. 317–320.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Mishler, Craig (2008-09-17). "'That's a Rubbaboo'". Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages. 23 (2): 264–287. doi:10.1075/jpcl.23.2.04mis. ISSN 0920-9034.
^ Bakker, Peter (1989). "'The Language of the Coast Tribes is Half Basque': A Basque-American Indian Pidgin in Use between Europeans and Native Americans in North America, ca. 1540-ca. 1640". Anthropological Linguistics. 31 (3/4): 117–147. JSTOR 30027995. Archived from the original on 2019-09-25. Retrieved 2013-04-18.
^ MacGregor, JJ (June 9, 2021). "Souris: Of Mice and Mi'kmaq". Mayzil of Prince Edward Island. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
^ Lewis, M. Paul (2013). Simons, Gary F.; Fennig, Charles D. (eds.). "American Sign Language". Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Seventeenth edition. SIL International.
^ Province of Ontario (2007). "Bill 213: An Act to recognize sign language as an official language in Ontario".
^ "Inuit sign language makes debut in Nunavut legislature". CBC. 17 September 2008. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
^ Assemblée Nationale du Québec (2013). "Projet de loi n°14 : Loi modifiant la Charte de la langue française, la Charte des droits et libertés de la personne et d'autres dispositions législatives".
^ Davis, Jeffrey. 2006. "A historical linguistic account of sign language among North American Indian groups." In Multilingualism and Sign Languages: From the Great Plains to Australia; Sociolinguistics of the Deaf community, C. Lucas (ed.), Vol. 12, pp. 3–35. Washington, DC: Gallaudet University Press
^ Hand Talk: American Indian Sign Language Archived 2014-08-06 at the Wayback Machine.
^ Samuel J. Supalla (1992) The Book of Name Signs, p. 22
^ "Oneida Sign Language". Onyota'a:ka Lutñu takhwa' Kʌtyohkwoyʌ. Oneida Language & Cultural Centre. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
^ Albert, Ashley (15 April 2018). "Oneida sign language created to connect deaf community with their culture". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
^ "Signs of changing times: Deaf Nunavummiut working to improve quality of life". Northern News Services Online. 27 February 2013. Archived from the original on 2016-01-07. Retrieved 23 August 2015.
^ Auld, Francis (23 November 2016). "ʾa·qanⱡiⱡⱡitnam, n. sign language". Facebook. Ktunaxa Language Group. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
^ Robertson, Leslie A. (2005). "1. Conversations among Europeans and Other Acts of Possession". Imagining Difference: Legend, Curse, and Spectacle in a Canadian Mining Town. Vancouver, BC, Canada: UBC Press. p. 12. ISBN 9780774810920. Retrieved 3 April 2022. His guides and interpreters included a "half Blackfoot" man named Paul and "a Stoney Hunter," both of whom had difficulties, according to Palliser, with Ktunaxa sign language.
^ "Acadian Culture in Maine". University of Maine at Fort Kent. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
^ "Chiac, Brayon et autres couleurs de l'accent acadien!". Les Rendez-Vous de la Francophonie. Fondation canadienne pour le dialogue des cultures. Archived from the original on 15 December 2021. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
^ "Le Brayonnaire" (PDF). City of Edmunston. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
^ "Les langues des Métis". Atlas des peuples autochtones du Canada. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
^ Doireau, Ophélie (1 Nov 2021). "Au Manitoba, redonner de la force au mitchif-français". Francopresse. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
^ Gold, Elaine; McAlpine, Janice (eds.). "Canadian English: A Linguistic Reader" (PDF). Strathy Language Unit: Occasional Papers. 6. Kingston, Ontario: Queen’s University. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
^ Clarke, George Elliott (January 2002). Odysseys home: Mapping African-Canadian literature. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-0802081919.
^ Clarke, Sandra (1993). Focus on Canada. Amsterdam; Philadelphia : J. Benjamins Pub. Co.
^ Mufwene, Salikoko S.; Bailey, Guy; Rickford, John R.; Baugh, John (1998). African-American English: Structure, History, and Use. Psychology Press. ISBN 9780415117333.
^ ^a ^b ^c Tagliamonte, Sali; Poplack, Shana (1991). "African American English in the diaspora: Evidence from old-line Nova Scotians" (PDF). Language Variation and Change. 3 (3): 301–339. doi:10.1017/S0954394500000594. ISSN 1469-8021. S2CID 59147893. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-02-23.
^ Howe, Darin M.; Walker, James A. (2000), "Negation and the Creole-Origins Hypothesis: Evidence from Early African American English", in Poplack, Shana (ed.), The English History of African American English, p. 110
^ Walker, James (October 1995). The /r/-ful Truth about African Nova Scotian English (PDF). New Ways of Analyzing Variation (NWAVE) conference, University of Pennsylvania. Retrieved 18 March 2019.
^ Jessica Ball and B. May Bernhardt, "First Nations English dialects in Canada: Implications for speech-language pathology" Archived 2016-11-05 at the Wayback Machine. Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics, August 2008; 22(8): 570–588
^ Maria Campbell, Stories of the Road Allowance People, Theytus Books (1995), p. 4
^ Ottawa Valley facts Archived September 27, 2012, at the Wayback Machine at Canadian Geographic.ca
^ Ronowicz, Eddie; Colin Yallop (2006). English: One Language, Different Cultures. Continuum International Publishing Group. p. 145. ISBN 978-0-8264-7079-9.
^ Clarke, Sandra; Paddock, Harold; MacKenzie, Marguerite. "Language". Heritage Newfoundland & Labrador. Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
^ Edited by Natasha Sumner and Aidan Doyle (2020), North American Gaels: Speech, Song, and Story in the Diaspora, McGill-Queen's University Press. Page 80.
^ Edited by Natasha Sumner and Aidan Doyle (2020), North American Gaels: Speech, Song, and Story in the Diaspora, McGill-Queen's University Press. Page 76.
^ "Teagascóirí Gaeilge". Ireland Canada University Foundation.
^ "Irish Student Resources | Digital Learning Centre". Memorial University of Newfoundland.
^ Buffington, Alfred F.; Preston A. Barba (1965) [1954]. A Pennsylvania German Grammar (Revised ed.). Allentown, PA, USA: Schlecter's. pp. 137–145.
^ "THE AMISH of Southern Ontario". Discover Southern Ontario. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
^ "Hutterisch". Ethnologue.
^ Ryan, John (July 21, 2013). "Hutterites in Canada". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
^ "The Hutterites in Canada – "Communitarians Are We"" (PDF). Canada Agriculture and Food Museum. Canadian Agricultural Museum. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 December 2021. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
^ Jacques, Leclerc (18 Dec 2015). "Les mennonites" (in French). Retrieved 15 December 2021.
^ Epp, Reuben (1987). "Plautdietsch: Origins, Development and State of the Mennonite Low German Language". Journal of Mennonite Studies. 5: 61–72.
^ ^a ^b Consolidation of (S.Nu. 2008, c.10) (NIF) Official Languages Act^{[permanent dead link‍]} and Consolidation of Inuit Language Protection Act^{[permanent dead link‍]}
^ Government of Ontario, “About Ontario” (March 7, 2019).
^ ^a ^b ^c Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2001). "Languages in Canada: 2001 Census" (PDF). www12.statcan.gc.ca. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-10-09. Retrieved 2022-08-19.
^ Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2022-08-17). "Knowledge of languages by age and gender: Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations with parts". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2022-10-12.
^ Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2022-08-17). "NHS Profile, Canada, 2011 Non-official language". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2022-08-24.
^ "Topic-based tabulation:Various Non-official Languages Spoken (76), Age Groups (13) and Sex (3) for Population, for Canada, Provinces, Territories, Census Divisions and Census Subdivisions, 2001 Census - 20% Sample Data". Retrieved 24 August 2022.
^ "Profile of Urban Forward Sortation Areas". Retrieved 24 August 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2022-08-17). "Census Profile Language". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2022-08-24.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Knowledge of Official Languages (5), Age Groups (13) and Sex (3) for Population, for Canada, Provinces, Territories, Census Divisions, Census Subdivisions and Dissemination Areas, 2001 Census - 20% Sample Data". Retrieved 23 August 2022.
^ Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2022-08-17). "Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population Profile table Canada [Country]". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2022-08-17.
^ Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2021-10-27). "Census Profile, 2016 Census Canada [Country] and Canada [Country]". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2022-08-25.
^ Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2020-05-01). "Knowledge of Official Languages (5), Number of Non-official Languages Known (5), Age Groups (17A) and Sex (3) for the Population of Canada, Provinces, Territories, Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations, 2006 Census - 20% Sample Data". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2022-08-25.
^ Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2019-06-04). "Population by Knowledge of Official Languages (5) and Sex (3), Showing Age Groups (15A), for Canada, Provinces, Territories and Census Metropolitan Areas, 1991 and 1996 Censuses (20% Sample Data)". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2022-08-25.
^ Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2019-03-29). "L9104 -Population by Knowledge of Official Languages (5), showing Age Groups (13b) - Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2022-08-25.
^ Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2013-04-03). "1981 Census of Canada : volume 1 - national series : population = Recensement du Canada de 1981 : volume 1 - série nationale : population. Mother tongue, official language and home language". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2022-08-25.
^ Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2020-05-26). "Census Profile for Canada, Provinces and Territories, Census Divisions and Census Subdivisions, 1981 Census - Part B". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2022-08-25.
^ "Census Profile, 2016 Census – Canada". Statistics Canada. August 2, 2017.
^ "Census Profile". 8 February 2012. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
^ Topic-based tabulations|Detailed Mother Tongue (103), Knowledge of Official Languages, 2006 Census of Canada Archived July 1, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
^ Statistics Canada – Language used at work1 by frequency of language used at work and mother tongue, 2006 counts
^ Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (February 8, 2017). "Census Profile, 2016 Census - Canada [Country] and Canada [Country]". www12.statcan.gc.ca.
^ The percentage figures cited are the top languages spoken as a home language in Canada, shown as a percentage of total single responses. Source: Statistics Canada, 2006 Census Profile of Federal Electoral Districts (2003 Representation Order): Language, Mobility and Migration and Immigration and Citizenship. Ottawa, 2007, pp. 6–10. Data available online at: "Detailed Language Spoken Most Often at Home". 2006 Census of Canada: Topic-based tabulations. Statistics Canada. April 8, 2008. Retrieved January 15, 2010.
^ "Census Profile, 2016 Census Canada [Country] and Canada [Country] Language spoken most often at home". 8 February 2017.

External links

Ethnologue report for Canada
The evolution of language populations in Canada, by mother tongue, from 1901 to 2016 (Statistics Canada)
The Atlas of Canada – Mother tongue English
The Atlas of Canada – Mother tongue French
The Atlas of Canada – English-French Bilingualism
2006 Census: Aboriginal data
Linguistic maps of Canada with 50 indigenous languages
Language Portal of Canada Archived 2013-10-18 at the Wayback Machine

[English-15] Canadian English:
Atlantic English
Maritimer

Newfoundlander

Lunenburg

Black English
AAVE

Afro-Nova Scotian

Afro-Caribbean

Cascadian English

Indigenous English

Ontario English
Ottawa Valley

Toronto

Quebec English

[2] Atlantic English
Maritimer

Newfoundlander

Lunenburg

[3] Maritimer

[4] Newfoundlander

[5] Lunenburg

[6] Black English
AAVE

Afro-Nova Scotian

Afro-Caribbean

[7] AAVE

[8] Afro-Nova Scotian

[9] Afro-Caribbean

[10] Cascadian English

[11] Indigenous English

[12] Ontario English
Ottawa Valley

Toronto

[13] Ottawa Valley

[14] Toronto

[15] Quebec English

[French-16] Canadian French:
Acadian French
Brayon

Métis French

Newfoundland French

Ontarois

Québécois French
Chaouin

Joual

Màgoua

[17] Acadian French
Brayon

[18] Brayon

[19] Métis French

[20] Newfoundland French

[21] Ontarois

[22] Québécois French
Chaouin

Joual

Màgoua

[23] Chaouin

[24] Joual

[25] Màgoua

[Mixed-17] Mixed & trade languages:
Mixed languages:
Franglais
Chiac

Michif

Bungi

Jargons:
Chinook Wawa

Haida Jargon

Labrador Inuit Pidgin French

Loucheux Jargon

Nootka Jargon

Slavey Jargon

Souriquois

[27] Mixed languages:
Franglais
Chiac

Michif

Bungi

[28] Franglais
Chiac

[29] Chiac

[30] Michif

[31] Bungi

[32] Jargons:
Chinook Wawa

Haida Jargon

Labrador Inuit Pidgin French

Loucheux Jargon

Nootka Jargon

Slavey Jargon

Souriquois

[33] Chinook Wawa

[34] Haida Jargon

[35] Labrador Inuit Pidgin French

[36] Loucheux Jargon

[37] Nootka Jargon

[38] Slavey Jargon

[39] Souriquois

[Algic-5] Algic languages:
Anishininiimowin ᐊᓂᐦᔑᓂᓃᒧᐏᐣ

Atikamekw nehirâmowin

Daawaamwin

ililîmowin ᐃᓕᓖᒧᐎᓐ

ininîmowin ᐃᓂᓃᒧᐎᓐ

Innu- / Ilnu-Aimûn

Iiyiyiu- / Iiyiyuu- / Iinuu-Ayamiwin
ᐄᔨᔨᐤ- / ᐄᔨᔫ- / ᐄᓅ-ᐊᔨᒨᓐ

Mi'kmawi'simk

Mitchif

Nakawēmowin ᓇᐦᑲᐌᒧᐎᓐ

Naskapi Iyimuun ᓇᔅᑲᐱ ᐃᔨᒧᐅᓐ

nêhinawêwin ᓀᐦᐃᓇᐌᐎᐣ

nêhiyawêwin ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐍᐏᐣ

nīhithawīwin ᓃᐦᐃᖬᐑᐏᐣ

Niitsipowahsin ᖹᐨᓱᑲᖷᑊᓱᐡ

Ojibwemowin ᐅᒋᑉᐧᐁᒧᐎᓐ

Omàmìwininìmowin

Wəlastəkey latowewakən

Wôbanakiôdwawôgan

ʔɔʔɔ́ɔ́ɔ́naakíitʔɔh

[41] Anishininiimowin ᐊᓂᐦᔑᓂᓃᒧᐏᐣ

[42] Atikamekw nehirâmowin

[43] Daawaamwin

[44] îmowin ᐃᓕᓖᒧᐎᓐ

[45] îmowin ᐃᓂᓃᒧᐎᓐ

[46] Innu- / Ilnu-Aimûn

[47] Iiyiyiu- / Iiyiyuu- / Iinuu-Ayamiwin
ᐄᔨᔨᐤ- / ᐄᔨᔫ- / ᐄᓅ-ᐊᔨᒨᓐ

[48] Mi'kmawi'simk

[49] Mitchif

[50] Nakawēmowin ᓇᐦᑲᐌᒧᐎᓐ

[51] Naskapi Iyimuun ᓇᔅᑲᐱ ᐃᔨᒧᐅᓐ

[52] êhinawêwin ᓀᐦᐃᓇᐌᐎᐣ

[53] êhiyawêwin ᓀᐦᐃᔭᐍᐏᐣ

[54] īhithawīwin ᓃᐦᐃᖬᐑᐏᐣ

[55] Niitsipowahsin ᖹᐨᓱᑲᖷᑊᓱᐡ

[56] Ojibwemowin ᐅᒋᑉᐧᐁᒧᐎᓐ

[57] Omàmìwininìmowin

[58] Wəlastəkey latowewakən

[59] Wôbanakiôdwawôgan

[60] ʔɔʔɔ́ɔ́ɔ́naakíitʔɔh

[Inuit-6] Inuit languages:
Aivilingmiutut

Iglulingmiutut ᐃᒡᓗᓕᖕᒥᐅᑐᑦ

Inuinnaqtun

Inuktitut ᐃᓄᒃᑎᑐᑦ

Inuttitut

Inuvialuktun

Kangiryuarmiutun

Kivallirmiutut ᑭᕙᓪᓕᕐᒥᐅᑐᑦ

Natsilingmiutut ᓇᑦᓯᓕᖕᒥᐅᑐᑦ

Siglitun

Utkuhiksalingmiutitut

Uummarmiutun

[62] Aivilingmiutut

[63] Iglulingmiutut ᐃᒡᓗᓕᖕᒥᐅᑐᑦ

[64] Inuinnaqtun

[65] Inuktitut ᐃᓄᒃᑎᑐᑦ

[66] Inuttitut

[67] Inuvialuktun

[68] Kangiryuarmiutun

[69] Kivallirmiutut ᑭᕙᓪᓕᕐᒥᐅᑐᑦ

[70] Natsilingmiutut ᓇᑦᓯᓕᖕᒥᐅᑐᑦ

[71] Siglitun

[72] Utkuhiksalingmiutitut

[73] Uummarmiutun

[Iroquoian-7] Iroquoian languages:
Gayogo̱hó:nǫʼ

Kanienʼkéha

Onǫdaʼgegáʼ

Onödowáʼga:ʼ

Onʌyotaʔa:ka

Ska:rù:ręʼ

Wendat

[75] Gayogo̱hó:nǫʼ

[76] Kanienʼkéha

[77] Onǫdaʼgegáʼ

[78] Onödowáʼga:ʼ

[79] Onʌyotaʔa:ka

[80] Ska:rù:ręʼ

[81] Wendat

[Dene-8] Na-Dene languages:
Dakelh ᑕᗸᒡ

Dän kʼè / Dän kʼí

Dane-zaa Ẕáágéʔ

Dené Dháh / Dene Yatıé / Dene Zhatıé

Dënë Sųłınë́ Yatıé

Gwich'in

Häł gołan

Kaska Dene Zágéʼ

Lingít

Nedut'en

Sahtúgot’įné Yatı̨́
K’ashógot’įne Goxedǝ́
Shíhgot’įne Yatı̨́

Tā̀gish

Tałtan ẕāke

Tłı̨chǫ Yatıì

Tse'khene

Tŝilhqot’in

Tsúùtʼínà

Witsuwitʼen

[83] Dakelh ᑕᗸᒡ

[84] Dän kʼè / Dän kʼí

[85] Dane-zaa Ẕáágéʔ

[86] Dené Dháh / Dene Yatıé / Dene Zhatıé

[87] Dënë Sųłınë́ Yatıé

[88] Gwich'in

[89] Häł gołan

[90] Kaska Dene Zágéʼ

[91] Lingít

[92] Nedut'en

[93] Sahtúgot’įné Yatı̨́
K’ashógot’įne Goxedǝ́
Shíhgot’įne Yatı̨́

[94] Tā̀gish

[95] Tałtan ẕāke

[96] Tłı̨chǫ Yatıì

[97] Tse'khene

[98] Tŝilhqot’in

[99] Tsúùtʼínà

[100] Witsuwitʼen

[Plains-9] Plains Sign languages:
Prairie Hand Talk

Onʌyota'a:ká Sign Language

[102] Prairie Hand Talk

[103] Onʌyota'a:ká Sign Language

[Plateau-10] Plateau Sign languages:
ʾa·qanⱡiⱡⱡitnam

Secwepemcékst

[105] ʾa·qanⱡiⱡⱡitnam

[106] Secwepemcékst

[Salishan-11] Salishan languages:
Éy7á7juuthem

Halq̓eméylem
Hul̓q̓umín̓um̓
hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓

Lək̓ʷəŋən

Nłeʔkepmxcín

n̓səl̓xcin̓

Nuxalk

Secwepemctsín

SENĆOŦEN

Sháshíshálh

Sḵwx̱wú7mesh sníchim

sn-səlxcin

St̓át̓imcets / Sƛ̓aƛ̓imxǝc /
Lil̓wat7úlmec / Ucwalmícwts

[108] Éy7á7juuthem

[109] Halq̓eméylem
Hul̓q̓umín̓um̓
hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓

[110] Lək̓ʷəŋən

[111] Nłeʔkepmxcín

[112] ̓səl̓xcin̓

[113] Nuxalk

[114] Secwepemctsín

[115] SENĆOŦEN

[116] Sháshíshálh

[117] Sḵwx̱wú7mesh sníchim

[118] sn-səlxcin

[119] St̓át̓imcets / Sƛ̓aƛ̓imxǝc /
Lil̓wat7úlmec / Ucwalmícwts

[Siouan-12] Siouan languages:
Dakȟótiyapi

Hohe Nakota

Stoney Nakoda

[121] Dakȟótiyapi

[122] Hohe Nakota

[123] Stoney Nakoda

[Tsimshian-13] Tsimshian languages:
Gitxsanimaax

Nisg̱a’a

Sgüüx̣s

Sm'álgyax

[125] Gitxsanimaax

[126] Nisg̱a’a

[127] Sgüüx̣s

[128] Sm'álgyax

[Wakashan-14] Wakashan languages:
diitiidʔaaʔtx̣

Haisla

Haíɫzaqv

Kwakʼwala

nuučaan̓uɫ

’Wuik̓ala

[130] tiidʔaaʔtx̣

[131] Haisla

[132] Haíɫzaqv

[133] Kwakʼwala

[134] uučaan̓uɫ

[135] ’Wuik̓ala

[Slavey-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k Also known as the "Slavey language(s)," these languages are grouped into the North (Sahtúgot’įné Yatı̨́ spoken by the Sahtu Dene, the Hare Dene dialect of K’ashógot’įne Goxedǝ́, and the northern mountain dialect of Shíhgot’įne Yatı̨́) and South (Dene Yatıé or Dene Zhatıé, and Dené Dháh used predominately by the Dene Tha' in Alberta). There is a sizeable push to end of the use of the name Slave or Slavey in relation to these Dene nations.^[8]

[4] First Language of Nova Scotia^[1]^[2]

[19] 200,725 Canadians, or less than one per cent of the population, report an Aboriginal language as their mother tongue.^[3]

[28] Nearly 148,000 people reported speaking both a language other than English or French most often and a second language other than English or French on a regular basis at home. The term "immigrant languages" refers to languages (other than English, French and Aboriginal languages) whose presence in Canada is originally due to immigration. The document entitled Aboriginal languages in Canada, Catalogue no. 98‑314‑X2011003, in the Census in Brief series, provides more detailed information on this subject.^[11]

[36] 18,858,908 Canadians identify their mother tongue as English. 599,230 Québécois identify their mother tongue as English and of that 309,885 live in Montreal.^[18]

[39] Of the 33,121,175 Canadians only 9,960,590 report to having knowledge of the French language.^[15]

[nos-103] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f n.o.s. – not otherwise specified

[nie-179] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m n.i.e. – not included elsewhere

[NS-167] Nova Scotia has since enacted Miꞌkmaq as the province’s first language

[168] The question on knowledge of languages allows for multiple responses. The following figures are from the 2021 Canadian Census.

[chinese-169] 2021 census: Combined responses of the Chinese languages, including Mandarin (987,300), Cantonese (724,925), Min Nan, Hakka, Wu (Shanghainese), Min Dong, Chinese, n.o.s.,^{[nb 7]} and Chinese languages, n.i.e.^{[nb 8]}

[hindustani-170] 2021 census: Combined responses of Hindi (761,425) and Urdu (414,870) as they form mutually intelligible registers of the Hindustani language.

[172] The 1991 Census was the first to ask Canadians whether they could conduct a conversation in a language other than English or French^[147]^: 50

[persian-180] 2021 census: Combined responses of Iranian Persian (222,160), Dari, and Persian (Farsi), n.o.s.,^{[nb 7]} as they form mutually intelligible registers of the Persian language, and as they were all categorized under "Persian" in previous censuses.

[serbocroatian-181] Including Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, and Serbo-Croatian, n.i.e.^{[nb 8]}

[cree-182] 2021 census: Total number of speakers of the Cree-Innu languages, previously categorized under "Cree" in past censuses.

[195] French and non-official language OR
English, French and non-official language

[198] French and non-official language OR
English, French and non-official language

[FirstLang-2] "Legislation Enshrines Mi'kmaw as Nova Scotia's First Language". Province of Nova Scotia (in English and Mi'kmaw). L'nu Affairs. 7 April 2022. Retrieved 19 June 2022.

[LangAct-3] Mi'kmaw Language Act (Bill 148). Nova Scotia Legislature. 1 October 2022.

[18] "2011 Census of Canada: Topic-based tabulations – Mother Tongue - Detailed Aboriginal Languages (85), Languages Spoken Most Often at Home - Detailed Aboriginal Languages (85), Other Languages Spoken Regularly at Home - Aboriginal Languages (12), Age Groups (13A), Sex (3) and Area of Residence (6) for the Population Excluding Institutional Residents of Canada, Provinces and Territories, 2011 Census". 24 October 2012. Retrieved May 18, 2020.

[20] Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2017-08-02). "Language Highlight Tables, 2016 Census - Mother tongue by age (Total), % distribution (2016) for the population excluding institutional residents of Canada, provinces and territories, 2016 Census – 100% Data". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2019-12-18.

[21] Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2017-08-02). "Language Highlight Tables, 2016 Census - Knowledge of official languages by age (Total), % distribution (2016) for the population excluding institutional residents of Canada, provinces and territories, 2016 Census – 100% Data". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2019-12-18.

[qclang-22] Office Québécois de la langue française. "Status of the French language". Government of Quebec. Retrieved November 10, 2010.

[23] "Official Languages". Department of Culture and Heritage. The Government of Nunavut. Retrieved 20 March 2022.

[24] Mandeville, Curtis (21 July 2016). "Goodbye Great Slave Lake? Movement to decolonize N.W.T. maps is growing". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 9 March 2022.

[nwtlang-25] "Official Languages". Northwest Territories Education, Culture and Employment. Government of the Northwest Territories. Retrieved 19 July 2014.

[26] Official Languages Commissioner Graham Fraser is quoted in The Hill Times, August 31, 2009, p. 14.

[ReferenceA-27] "Linguistic Characteristics of Canadians". Retrieved May 18, 2020.

[Home_language-29] 1981: Statistics Canada, 1981, Population by Selected Mother Tongues and Sex, Showing Official Language and Home Language, for Canada and Provinces, Urban and Rural, (table 2), 1981 Census.
1986: Statistics Canada, 1986, Population by Selected Mother Tongues and Sex, Showing Official Language and Home Language, for Canada and Provinces, Urban and Rural, (table 2), 1986 Census.
1991: Statistics Canada, 1991, 2B Profile, 1991 – Provinces and Territories in Canada (table), 1991 (2b) detailed questionnaire, Provinces to Municipalities (database), using E-Stat (distributor), [1] (accessed 10.05.26).
1996: Statistics Canada, Mother Tongue, Home Languages, Official and Non-official languages, 1996 – Provinces and Territories in Canada (table), 1996 Census of Population (Provinces, Census Divisions, Municipalities) (database), Using E-Stat (distributor), [2] (accessed 10.05.26).
2001: Statistics Canada, Languages, Mobility and Migration, 2001 – Provinces and Territories in Canada (table), 2001 Census of Population (Provinces, Census Divisions, Municipalities) (Database), Using E-STAT (Distributor). [3] (accessed 10.05.26).
2006: Statistics Canada, Cumulative Profile, 2006 – Provinces and Territories in Canada (table), 2006 Census of Population (Provinces, Census Divisions, Municipalities) (database), Using E-STAT (distributor), [4]. Retrieved 10.05.26.

[30] Given the large discrepancies in the data for both official languages and neither language in 1971 and 1981, it is reasonable to assume that the manner in which the data collected for these years was different from for 1986–2006

[pop1-31] "Mother tongue by age (Total), 2016 counts for the population excluding institutional residents of Canada, provinces and territories, 2016 Census". 2 August 2017. Retrieved May 25, 2021.

[www12.statcan.gc.ca-32] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h "Population by knowledge of official languages, age groups (total), 2011 counts, for Canada, provinces and territories". Retrieved May 18, 2020.

[33] "La dynamique des langues en quelques chiffres : Tableaux". Archived from the original on 2016-12-07. Retrieved 2014-03-17.

[34] Marmen, Louise and Corbeil, Jean-Pierre, "New Canadian Perspectives, Languages in Canada 2001 Census," Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication, Statistics Canada Cat. No. Ch3-2/8-2004, (Canadian Heritage, 2004), pg. 60.

[Navigator-35] "Census Data Navigator". Retrieved May 18, 2020.

[37] 1931–1991: Statistics Canada, The 1997 Canada Year Book, "3.14 Official Language Knowledge," Catalogue No. 11-402XPE/1997.
1996: Statistics Canada. Population by Knowledge of Official Languages (20% sample data), (table), 1996 Census of Population (Provinces, Census Divisions, Municipalities) (database), Using E-STAT (distributor). [5] (accessed: June 28, 2010).
2001: Statistics Canada. Languages, Mobility and Migration, 2001 – Provinces and Territories in Canada (table), 2001 Census of Population (Provinces, Census Divisions, Municipalities) (database), Using E-STAT (distributor). [6] (accessed: June 28, 2010)
2006: Statistics Canada. Languages, Mobility and Migration, 2006 – Provinces and Territories in Canada (table), 2006 Census of Population (Provinces, Census Divisions, Municipalities) (database), Using E-STAT (distributor). [7] (accessed: June 28, 2010).

[38] "French and the francophonie in Canada". Retrieved May 18, 2020.

[40] "Census Program". 15 January 2001. Retrieved May 18, 2020.

[41] Statistics Canada, The Evolving Linguistic Portrait, 2006 Census, Catalogue no. 97-555-XIE, Ottawa, December 2007, pp. 15–16.

[42] Statistics Canada, Place of birth for the immigrant population by period of immigration, 2006 counts and percentage distribution, for Canada, provinces and territories – 20% sample data, 2006 Census of Population . Archived May 24, 2012, at the Wayback Machine

[knowledge-43] 1931–1991: Statistics Canada, The 1997 Canada Year Book, "3.14 Official Language Knowledge," Catalogue No. 11-402XPE/1997. 1996: Statistics Canada. Population by Knowledge of Official Languages (20% sample data), (table), 1996 Census of Population (Provinces, Census Divisions, Municipalities) (database), Using E-STAT (distributor). [8] (accessed: June 28, 2010).
2001: Statistics Canada. Languages, Mobility and Migration, 2001 – Provinces and Territories in Canada (table), 2001 Census of Population (Provinces, Census Divisions, Municipalities) (database), Using E-STAT (distributor). [9] (accessed: June 28, 2010)
2006: Statistics Canada. Languages, Mobility and Migration, 2006 – Provinces and Territories in Canada (table), 2006 Census of Population (Provinces, Census Divisions, Municipalities) (database), Using E-STAT (distributor). [10] (accessed: June 28, 2010).

[44] 1941: Dominion Bureau of Statistics, "Table II. Percentage Distribution of the Population Classified According to Sex, by Official Language, For Canada and the Provinces, 1941," Eighth Census of Canada, 1941.
1951: Dominion Bureau of Statistics, "Table 54. Population by a) official language and sex, and b) mother tongue and sex, for provinces and territories, 1951," Ninth Census of Canada.
1961: Statistics Canada, "Table 64. Population by a) official language and sex, and b) mother tongue and sex, for provinces and territories, 1961," 1961 Census of Canada, Catalogue:92-549, Vol: I – Part: 2.
1971: Statistics Canada, "Table 26. Population by A) Official Language, B) Language Most Often Spoken at Home, and Sex, For Canada and Provinces, 1971," 1971 Census of Canada, Catalogue 92-726 Vol: 1-Part:3.
1981: Statistics Canada, "Table 3. Population by Selected Mother Tongues, age groups and sex, Showing Official Language and Home Language for Canada and Provinces, Urban and Rural, 1981," 1981 Census of Canada, Catalogue 92–910 (Volume 1).
1986: Statistics Canada, "Table 7. Population by Official Languages and Sex, for Canada, Provinces and Territories, 1986 Census – 20% Sample Data," 1986 Census, Catalogue 93–103.
1991: Statistics Canada, "Table 1A. Population by Knowledge of Official Languages and Sex, for Canada, Provinces and Territories, 1991 – 20% Sample Data," 1991 Census, Catalogue 93–318.
1996: Statistics Canada, "Table 1. Selected Characteristics for Census Subdivisions, 1996 Census – 100% Data and 20% Sample Data," 1996 Census, Catalogue 95-186-XPB.
2001: Statistics Canada, Languages, Mobility and Migration, 2001 – Provinces and Territories in Canada (table), 2001 Census of Population (Provinces, Census Divisions, Municipalities) (Database), Using E-STAT (Distributor). [11] (accessed 10.05.26).
2006: Statistics Canada, Cumulative Profice, 2006 – Provinces and Territories in Canada (table), 2006 Census of Population (Provinces, Sensus Divisions, Municipalities) (database), Using E-STAT (distributor), [12] Retrieved 10.05.26.

[45] Bilingualism growing, but not in French and English

[46] Dominion Bureau of Statistics, "Table II. Percentage Distribution of the Population Classified According to Sex, by Official Language, For Canada and the Provinces, 1941," Eighth Census of Canada, 1941.

[47] Series A2:Population of Canada, by province, census dates, 1851 to 1976 (retrieved, July 19, 2010).

[48] Dominion Bureau of Statistics, "Table 54. Population by a) official language and sex, and b) mother tongue and sex, for provinces and territories, 1951," Ninth Census of Canada.

[49] Statistics Canada, "Table 64. Population by a) official language and sex, and b) mother tongue and sex, for provinces and territories, 1961," 1961 Census of Canada, Catalogue:92-549, Vol: I – Part: 2.

[50] Statistics Canada, "Table 26. Population by A) Official Language, B) Language Most Often Spoken at Home, and Sex, For Canada and Provinces, 1971," 1971 Census of Canada, Catalogue 92-726 Vol: 1-Part:3.

[51] Statistics Canada, "Table 3. Population by Selected Mother Tongues, age groups and sex, Showing Official Language and Home Language for Canada and Provinces, Urban and Rural, 1981," 1981 Census of Canada, Catalogue 92–910 (Volume 1).

[52] Statistics Canada, "Table 7. Population by Official Languages and Sex, for Canada, Provinces and Territories, 1986 Census – 20% Sample Data," 1986 Census, Catalogue 93–103.

[53] Statistics Canada, "Table 1A. Population by Knowledge of Official Languages and Sex, for Canada, Provinces and Territories, 1991 – 20% Sample Data," 1991 Census, Catalogue 93–318.

[54] Statistics Canada, "Table 1. Selected Characteristics for Census Subdivisions, 1996 Census – 100% Data and 20% Sample Data," 1996 Census, Catalogue 95-186-XPB.

[55] Statistics Canada, Languages, Mobility and Migration, 2001 – Provinces and Territories in Canada (table), 2001 Census of Population (Provinces, Census Divisions, Municipalities) (Database), Using E-STAT (Distributor). [13] (accessed 10.05.26).

[56] Statistics Canada, Cumulative Profile, 2006 – Provinces and Territories in Canada (table), 2006 Census of Population (Provinces, Census Divisions, Municipalities) (database), Using E-STAT (distributor), [14], retrieved 10.05.26.

[57] "Knowledge of official languages by age (Total), 2016 counts for the population excluding institutional residents of Canada, provinces and territories, 2016 Census – 100% Data". Statistics Canada. August 2, 2017.

[canquebec-58] "Fast figures on Canada's official languages (2016)". www.clo-ocol.gc.ca. Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages. 4 July 2019. Archived from the original on 24 July 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.

[59] "Infographic: The French presence in New Brunswick". www.clo-ocol.gc.ca. Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages. 13 September 2018. Archived from the original on 23 January 2021. Retrieved 12 August 2020.

[60] "Infographic: The French presence in Northwest Territories". www.clo-ocol.gc.ca. Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages. 13 September 2018. Archived from the original on 24 July 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.

[61] "Infographic: The French presence in Prince Edward Island". www.clo-ocol.gc.ca. Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages. 13 September 2018. Archived from the original on 24 July 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.

[62] "Infographic: The French presence in Ontario". www.clo-ocol.gc.ca. Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages. 13 September 2018. Archived from the original on 24 July 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.

[63] "Infographic: The French presence in Nova Scotia". www.clo-ocol.gc.ca. Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages. 13 September 2018. Archived from the original on 24 July 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.

[64] "Infographic: The French presence in Yukon". www.clo-ocol.gc.ca. Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages. 13 September 2018. Archived from the original on 24 July 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.

[65] "Infographic: The French presence in Manitoba". www.clo-ocol.gc.ca. Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages. 13 September 2018. Archived from the original on 25 April 2023. Retrieved 12 August 2020.

[66] "Infographic: The French presence in Alberta". www.clo-ocol.gc.ca. Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages. 13 September 2018. Archived from the original on 25 April 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.

[67] "Infographic: The French presence in British Columbia". www.clo-ocol.gc.ca. Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages. 13 September 2018. Archived from the original on 25 April 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.

[68] "Infographic: The French presence in Saskatchewan". www.clo-ocol.gc.ca. Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages. 13 September 2018. Archived from the original on 10 June 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.

[69] "Infographic: The French presence in Newfoundland and Labrador". www.clo-ocol.gc.ca. Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages. 13 September 2018. Retrieved 12 August 2020.

[70] "Infographic: The French presence in Nunavut". www.clo-ocol.gc.ca. Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages. 13 September 2018. Archived from the original on 24 July 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2020.

[2006_knolwedge-71] Statistics Canada. "Cumulative Profile, 2006 – Canada (308 electoral districts)" (table), 2006 Census of Population (Federal Electoral Districts, 2003 Representation Order) (database), using E-STAT (distributor). [15] (accessed: June 28, 2010).

[72] O'Keefe, Michael, "Francophone Minorities: Assimilation and Community Vitality, second edition", New Canadian Percpectives, Canadian Heritage, (Cat. no. CH3-2/2001), 2001.

[bilinguism-rate-73] Bilingualism Rate in Canada, Site for Language Management in Canada Archived February 13, 2009, at the Wayback Machine (SLMC).

[MetisFR-74] Doireau, Ophélie (1 Nov 2021). "Au Manitoba, redonner de la force au mitchif-français". FrancoPresse. Retrieved 15 December 2021.

[Papen1-75] Papen, Robert A (1993). "La Variation dialectale dans le parler français des Métis de l'Ouest canadien". Francophonies d'Amérique. 3. Retrieved 15 December 2021.

[Papen2-76] Papen, Robert A (1984). "Quelques remarques sur un parler français méconnu de l'Ouest canadien: le métis" (PDF). Revue québécoise de linguistique. 14 (1): 113. doi:10.7202/602530ar. Retrieved 15 December 2021.

[77] O'Toole, Darren (9 November 2017). "Toward a Métis homeland". Canadian Geographic. The Royal Canadian Geographical Society. Retrieved 15 December 2021.

[78] Teillet, Jean. "The Boundaries of the Métis Nation" (PDF). The Métis Nation Self-Determination Gateway. Retrieved 15 December 2021.

[79] "Michif Piyii (Métis)". native-land.ca. Native Land Digital. Retrieved 15 December 2021.

[80] "La Francophonie Canadienne" (PDF). stat.gouv.qc.ca (in French). Ottawa, Ontario: Statistics Canada. October 3, 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 3, 2003.

[81] O'Keefe, Michael, "Francophone Minorities: Assimilation and Community Vitality, second edition", New Canadian Perspectives, Canadian Heritage, (Cat. no. CH3-2/2001), 2001, pg. 55.

[Aboriginal_languages-82] "Aboriginal languages". Statistics Canada. Retrieved 2009-10-05.

[83] "Ethnologue: Languages of the World". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2021-10-14.

[McLeod-84] McLead, Neal. (2000). "Plains Cree Identity: Borderlands, Ambiguous Genealogies and Narrative Irony" (PDF). The Canadian Journal of Native Studies. XX (2). Dallas, TX: SIL International. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-10-14. Retrieved 2013-04-18.

[85] Bone, Tracey A.; Wilkinson, Erin; Ferndale, Danielle; Adams, Rodney (19 April 2021). "Indigenous and Deaf People and the Implications of Ongoing Practices of Colonization: A Comparison of Australia and Canada". Humanity & Society. 46 (3): 495–521. doi:10.1177/01605976211001575. S2CID 234851479.

[86] Hopper, Tristin (29 May 2021). "Why so many children died at Indian Residential Schools". National Post. Postmedia National Inc. Retrieved 9 March 2022.

[87] Hanson, Erin; Gamez, Daniel P.; Manuel, Alexa. "The Residential School System". Indigenous Foundations. First Nations and Indigenous Studies at the University of British Columbia. Retrieved 9 March 2022.

[88] Elgar, Margaret Fern (19 September 1997). A Comparative Study of Native Residential Schools and the Residential Schools for the Deaf in Canada (PDF) (Master of Anthropology). Carleton University. Retrieved 9 March 2022.

[89] "Honouring Indigenous Languages within Parliament – Canadian Parliamentary Review – la Revue parlementaire canadienne". 8 August 2019.

[90] "Indigenous Winnipeg MP delivers speech in Cree in House of Commons - Winnipeg | Globalnews.ca".

[91] Cecco, Leyland (27 January 2019). "Sound of native languages in parliament to mark win for indigenous Canadians". The Guardian.

[92] "Government Bill (House of Commons) C-91 (42-1) - Royal Assent - Indigenous Languages Act - Parliament of Canada".

[93] ttps://lop.parl.ca/staticfiles/PublicWebsite/Home/ResearchPublications/HillStudies/PDF/2015-131-E.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}

[94] ttps://www.canlii.org/en/commentary/doc/2019CanLIIDocs3786#!fragment/zoupio-_Toc3Page3/BQCwhgziBcwMYgK4DsDWszIQewE4BUBTADwBdoAvbRABwEtsBaAfX2zgGYAFMAc0I4BKADTJspQhACKiQrgCe0AORLhEQmFwIZcxSrUatIAMp5SAIUUAlAKIAZGwDUAggDkAwjeGkwAI2ik7IKCQA ^{[bare URL]}

[95] "Meet Robert-Falcon Ouellette: Veteran, former parliamentarian, and professor".

[96] "What are the Official Languages of Nunavut". Office of the Languages Commissioner of Nunavut. Archived from the original on 2017-08-08. Retrieved 2017-08-14.

[97] "Official Languages Act, SNu 2008, c 10". Retrieved May 18, 2020.

[online-98] Gordon, Raymond G Jr. (2005). Ethnologue: Languages of the world (Web Version online by SIL International, formerly known as the Summer Institute of Linguistics) (15 ed.). Dallas, TX: SIL International. ISBN 1-55671-159-X. Retrieved 2009-11-16. Since 2015 demands have been made to recognize all Aboriginal languages as official languages in Canada.

[99] "Aboriginal mother tongue, Aboriginal language spoken most often at home and Other Aboriginal language(s) spoken regularly at home for the population excluding institutional residents of Canada, provinces and territories, 2016 Census". 2 August 2017. Retrieved July 22, 2021.

[100] Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2017-10-25). "Census in Brief: The Aboriginal languages of First Nations people, Métis and Inuit". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2021-10-14.

[101] Handbook of the North American Indians. Smithsonian Institution. 2008. p. 1. ISBN 978-0-16-004574-5. Retrieved 2010-08-11.

[BCHSD-102] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Recognize Indigenous Sign Languages – Reconnaître les Langues des Signes Autochtones" (PDF). BC Hummingbird Society for the Deaf (BCHSD). 9 March 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2022.

[AmsterdamLing-104] Schuit, Joke; Baker, Anne; Pfau, Roland. "Inuit Sign Language: a contribution to sign language typology". Universiteit van Amsterdam. Archived from the original on 19 September 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2015.

[CADState-105] "Statistics on Deaf Canadians". CAD. Canadian Association of the Deaf – Association des Sourds du Canada. Retrieved 9 March 2022.

[Glottolog-4-1-106] Harald Hammarström, Robert Forkel, Martin Haspelmath & Sebastian Bank, eds., Glottolog, ver. 4.3 (Jena: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, 2020).

[107] "bangii". The Ojibwe People's Dictionary. Ojibwe People's Dictionary. Retrieved 15 December 2021.

[108] Brown, Jennifer S.H. "Michif". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada. Retrieved 15 December 2021.

[109] Bakker, Peter; Papen, Robert A. (1996). "125. Languages of the Metis". In Wurm, Stephen Adolphe; Mühlhäusler, Peter; Tryon, Darrell T. (eds.). Atlas of Languages of Intercultural Communication in the Pacific, Asia, and the Americas. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter. pp. 1177–78. ISBN 9783110134179. Retrieved 10 August 2020.

[110] Bakker, Peter; Papen, Robert A. "Michif and other languages of the Canadian Métis". Virtual Museum of Métis History and Culture. Gabriel Dumont Institute of Native Studies and Applied Research. Retrieved 10 August 2020.

[111] Blain, Eleanor M. (1989). The Bungee Dialect of the Red River Settlement (MA). Winnipeg: University of Manitoba. p. 14.

[BungeeCAN-112] "Bungee, Bungi". Our Languages. Government of Canada. 6 December 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2021.

[113] Leclerc, Jacques (15 Dec 2015). "Les acadianismes". L'aménagement linguistique dans le monde (in French). Retrieved 15 December 2021.

[:0-114] Boudreau, Éphrem (2009). Glossaire du vieux parler acadien. Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu: Éditions Lambda ACADIE. p. 50. ISBN 978-2-923255-06-4.

[115] "Chiac | The Canadian Encyclopedia". www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Retrieved 2021-06-15.

[116] Papen, Robert A (2014). "Hybrid Languages in Canada Involving French". Journal of Language Contact. 7 (1): 154–183. doi:10.1163/19552629-00701007. S2CID 141988957.

[117] Mike Cleven. "Chinook Jargon website". Cayoosh.net. Archived from the original on 2011-05-14. Retrieved 2011-01-18.

[118] Poplack, Shana (1988) Conséquences linguistiques du contact de langues: un modèle d’analyse variationniste. Langage et société 43: 23–48.

[119] Poplack, Shana, Walker, James & Malcolmson, Rebecca. 2006. An English "like no other"?: Language contact and change in Quebec. Canadian Journal of Linguistics. 185–213.

[120] "Glottolog Language: Jargon Loucheux". glottolog.org. Retrieved 2022-03-20.

[121] Bakker, Peter (1996). Broken Slavey and Jargon Loucheux: A first exploration. In I. Broch & E. H. Jahr (Eds.), Language contact in the Arctic: Northern pidgins and contact languages. Berlin: Mounton de Gruyter. pp. 317–320.

[:1-122] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Mishler, Craig (2008-09-17). "'That's a Rubbaboo'". Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages. 23 (2): 264–287. doi:10.1075/jpcl.23.2.04mis. ISSN 0920-9034.

[123] Bakker, Peter (1989). "'The Language of the Coast Tribes is Half Basque': A Basque-American Indian Pidgin in Use between Europeans and Native Americans in North America, ca. 1540-ca. 1640". Anthropological Linguistics. 31 (3/4): 117–147. JSTOR 30027995. Archived from the original on 2019-09-25. Retrieved 2013-04-18.

[124] MacGregor, JJ (June 9, 2021). "Souris: Of Mice and Mi'kmaq". Mayzil of Prince Edward Island. Retrieved 21 March 2022.

[EthnologueASL-125] Lewis, M. Paul (2013). Simons, Gary F.; Fennig, Charles D. (eds.). "American Sign Language". Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Seventeenth edition. SIL International.

[Ontario-126] Province of Ontario (2007). "Bill 213: An Act to recognize sign language as an official language in Ontario".

[127] "Inuit sign language makes debut in Nunavut legislature". CBC. 17 September 2008. Retrieved 1 August 2015.

[128] Assemblée Nationale du Québec (2013). "Projet de loi n°14 : Loi modifiant la Charte de la langue française, la Charte des droits et libertés de la personne et d'autres dispositions législatives".

[Davis_2006-129] Davis, Jeffrey. 2006. "A historical linguistic account of sign language among North American Indian groups." In Multilingualism and Sign Languages: From the Great Plains to Australia; Sociolinguistics of the Deaf community, C. Lucas (ed.), Vol. 12, pp. 3–35. Washington, DC: Gallaudet University Press

[sunsite-130] Hand Talk: American Indian Sign Language Archived 2014-08-06 at the Wayback Machine.

[Supalla-131] Samuel J. Supalla (1992) The Book of Name Signs, p. 22

[132] "Oneida Sign Language". Onyota'a:ka Lutñu takhwa' Kʌtyohkwoyʌ. Oneida Language & Cultural Centre. Retrieved 9 March 2022.

[133] Albert, Ashley (15 April 2018). "Oneida sign language created to connect deaf community with their culture". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 9 March 2022.

[134] "Signs of changing times: Deaf Nunavummiut working to improve quality of life". Northern News Services Online. 27 February 2013. Archived from the original on 2016-01-07. Retrieved 23 August 2015.

[135] Auld, Francis (23 November 2016). "ʾa·qanⱡiⱡⱡitnam, n. sign language". Facebook. Ktunaxa Language Group. Retrieved 3 April 2022.

[136] Robertson, Leslie A. (2005). "1. Conversations among Europeans and Other Acts of Possession". Imagining Difference: Legend, Curse, and Spectacle in a Canadian Mining Town. Vancouver, BC, Canada: UBC Press. p. 12. ISBN 9780774810920. Retrieved 3 April 2022. His guides and interpreters included a "half Blackfoot" man named Paul and "a Stoney Hunter," both of whom had difficulties, according to Palliser, with Ktunaxa sign language.

[137] "Acadian Culture in Maine". University of Maine at Fort Kent. Retrieved 15 December 2021.

[138] "Chiac, Brayon et autres couleurs de l'accent acadien!". Les Rendez-Vous de la Francophonie. Fondation canadienne pour le dialogue des cultures. Archived from the original on 15 December 2021. Retrieved 15 December 2021.

[139] "Le Brayonnaire" (PDF). City of Edmunston. Retrieved 15 December 2021.

[140] "Les langues des Métis". Atlas des peuples autochtones du Canada. Retrieved 15 December 2021.

[141] Doireau, Ophélie (1 Nov 2021). "Au Manitoba, redonner de la force au mitchif-français". Francopresse. Retrieved 9 March 2022.

[142] Gold, Elaine; McAlpine, Janice (eds.). "Canadian English: A Linguistic Reader" (PDF). Strathy Language Unit: Occasional Papers. 6. Kingston, Ontario: Queen’s University. Retrieved 23 May 2022.

[143] Clarke, George Elliott (January 2002). Odysseys home: Mapping African-Canadian literature. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 978-0802081919.

[144] Clarke, Sandra (1993). Focus on Canada. Amsterdam; Philadelphia : J. Benjamins Pub. Co.

[145] Mufwene, Salikoko S.; Bailey, Guy; Rickford, John R.; Baugh, John (1998). African-American English: Structure, History, and Use. Psychology Press. ISBN 9780415117333.

[Cambridge-146] Tagliamonte, Sali; Poplack, Shana (1991). "African American English in the diaspora: Evidence from old-line Nova Scotians" (PDF). Language Variation and Change. 3 (3): 301–339. doi:10.1017/S0954394500000594. ISSN 1469-8021. S2CID 59147893. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-02-23.

[147] Howe, Darin M.; Walker, James A. (2000), "Negation and the Creole-Origins Hypothesis: Evidence from Early African American English", in Poplack, Shana (ed.), The English History of African American English, p. 110

[148] Walker, James (October 1995). The /r/-ful Truth about African Nova Scotian English (PDF). New Ways of Analyzing Variation (NWAVE) conference, University of Pennsylvania. Retrieved 18 March 2019.

[149] Jessica Ball and B. May Bernhardt, "First Nations English dialects in Canada: Implications for speech-language pathology" Archived 2016-11-05 at the Wayback Machine. Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics, August 2008; 22(8): 570–588

[150] Maria Campbell, Stories of the Road Allowance People, Theytus Books (1995), p. 4

[151] Ottawa Valley facts Archived September 27, 2012, at the Wayback Machine at Canadian Geographic.ca

[one_language-152] Ronowicz, Eddie; Colin Yallop (2006). English: One Language, Different Cultures. Continuum International Publishing Group. p. 145. ISBN 978-0-8264-7079-9.

[153] Clarke, Sandra; Paddock, Harold; MacKenzie, Marguerite. "Language". Heritage Newfoundland & Labrador. Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage. Retrieved 15 December 2021.

[154] Edited by Natasha Sumner and Aidan Doyle (2020), North American Gaels: Speech, Song, and Story in the Diaspora, McGill-Queen's University Press. Page 80.

[155] Edited by Natasha Sumner and Aidan Doyle (2020), North American Gaels: Speech, Song, and Story in the Diaspora, McGill-Queen's University Press. Page 76.

[156] "Teagascóirí Gaeilge". Ireland Canada University Foundation.

[157] "Irish Student Resources | Digital Learning Centre". Memorial University of Newfoundland.

[158] Buffington, Alfred F.; Preston A. Barba (1965) [1954]. A Pennsylvania German Grammar (Revised ed.). Allentown, PA, USA: Schlecter's. pp. 137–145.

[159] "THE AMISH of Southern Ontario". Discover Southern Ontario. Retrieved 15 December 2021.

[160] "Hutterisch". Ethnologue.

[161] Ryan, John (July 21, 2013). "Hutterites in Canada". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 15 December 2021.

[162] "The Hutterites in Canada – "Communitarians Are We"" (PDF). Canada Agriculture and Food Museum. Canadian Agricultural Museum. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 December 2021. Retrieved 15 December 2021.

[163] Jacques, Leclerc (18 Dec 2015). "Les mennonites" (in French). Retrieved 15 December 2021.

[164] Epp, Reuben (1987). "Plautdietsch: Origins, Development and State of the Mennonite Low German Language". Journal of Mennonite Studies. 5: 61–72.

[nulang-165] Consolidation of (S.Nu. 2008, c.10) (NIF) Official Languages Act^{[permanent dead link‍]} and Consolidation of Inuit Language Protection Act^{[permanent dead link‍]}

[166] Government of Ontario, “About Ontario” (March 7, 2019).

[language2001-171] Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2001). "Languages in Canada: 2001 Census" (PDF). www12.statcan.gc.ca. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-10-09. Retrieved 2022-08-19.

[language2021-173] Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2022-08-17). "Knowledge of languages by age and gender: Canada, provinces and territories, census metropolitan areas and census agglomerations with parts". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2022-10-12.

[language2011-174] Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2022-08-17). "NHS Profile, Canada, 2011 Non-official language". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2022-08-24.

[language2001B-175] "Topic-based tabulation:Various Non-official Languages Spoken (76), Age Groups (13) and Sex (3) for Population, for Canada, Provinces, Territories, Census Divisions and Census Subdivisions, 2001 Census - 20% Sample Data". Retrieved 24 August 2022.

[language1991-176] "Profile of Urban Forward Sortation Areas". Retrieved 24 August 2022.

[language2011B-177] Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2022-08-17). "Census Profile Language". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2022-08-24.

[language2001C-178] "Knowledge of Official Languages (5), Age Groups (13) and Sex (3) for Population, for Canada, Provinces, Territories, Census Divisions, Census Subdivisions and Dissemination Areas, 2001 Census - 20% Sample Data". Retrieved 23 August 2022.

[language2021B-183] Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2022-08-17). "Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population Profile table Canada [Country]". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2022-08-17.

[language2016-184] Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2021-10-27). "Census Profile, 2016 Census Canada [Country] and Canada [Country]". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2022-08-25.

[language2006-185] Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2020-05-01). "Knowledge of Official Languages (5), Number of Non-official Languages Known (5), Age Groups (17A) and Sex (3) for the Population of Canada, Provinces, Territories, Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations, 2006 Census - 20% Sample Data". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2022-08-25.

[language1996-186] Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2019-06-04). "Population by Knowledge of Official Languages (5) and Sex (3), Showing Age Groups (15A), for Canada, Provinces, Territories and Census Metropolitan Areas, 1991 and 1996 Censuses (20% Sample Data)". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2022-08-25.

[language1991B-187] Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2019-03-29). "L9104 -Population by Knowledge of Official Languages (5), showing Age Groups (13b) - Canada, provinces and territories, census divisions and census subdivisions". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2022-08-25.

[language1981-188] Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2013-04-03). "1981 Census of Canada : volume 1 - national series : population = Recensement du Canada de 1981 : volume 1 - série nationale : population. Mother tongue, official language and home language". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2022-08-25.

[language1981B-189] Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (2020-05-26). "Census Profile for Canada, Provinces and Territories, Census Divisions and Census Subdivisions, 1981 Census - Part B". www12.statcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2022-08-25.

[190] "Census Profile, 2016 Census – Canada". Statistics Canada. August 2, 2017.

[191] "Census Profile". 8 February 2012. Retrieved May 18, 2020.

[192] Topic-based tabulations|Detailed Mother Tongue (103), Knowledge of Official Languages, 2006 Census of Canada Archived July 1, 2013, at the Wayback Machine

[languagesatwork2006-193] Statistics Canada – Language used at work1 by frequency of language used at work and mother tongue, 2006 counts

[languagesatwork2016-194] Government of Canada, Statistics Canada (February 8, 2017). "Census Profile, 2016 Census - Canada [Country] and Canada [Country]". www12.statcan.gc.ca.

[196] The percentage figures cited are the top languages spoken as a home language in Canada, shown as a percentage of total single responses. Source: Statistics Canada, 2006 Census Profile of Federal Electoral Districts (2003 Representation Order): Language, Mobility and Migration and Immigration and Citizenship. Ottawa, 2007, pp. 6–10. Data available online at: "Detailed Language Spoken Most Often at Home". 2006 Census of Canada: Topic-based tabulations. Statistics Canada. April 8, 2008. Retrieved January 15, 2010.

[languagesathome2016-197] "Census Profile, 2016 Census Canada [Country] and Canada [Country] Language spoken most often at home". 8 February 2017.

[nb 1]

[nb 2]

[lan 1]

[lan 2]

[lan 3]

[lan 4]

[lan 5]

[lan 6]

[lan 7]

[lan 8]

[lan 9]

[lan 10]

[can 1]

[can 2]

[can 3]

[nb 3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[1]

[2]

[7]

[9]

[10]

[nb 4]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[nb 5]

[18]

[19]

[20]

[nb 6]

[21]

[22]

[23]

[24]

[25]

[11]

[26]

[27]

[28]

[29]

[30]

[31]

[32]

[33]

[34]

[35]

[36]

[37]

[38]

[39]

[40]

[41]

[42]

[43]

[44]

[45]

[46]

[47]

[48]

[49]

[50]

[51]

[52]

[53]

[54]

[55]

[56]

[57]

[58]

[59]

[60]

[61]

[62]

[63]

[64]

[65]

[66]

[67]

[68]

[69]

[70]

[71]

[72]

[73]

[74]

[75]

[76]

[77]

[78]

[79]

[80]

[81]

[82]

[83]

v t e Languages of North America
Sovereign states	Antigua and Barbuda Bahamas Barbados Belize Canada Costa Rica Cuba Dominica Dominican Republic El Salvador Grenada Guatemala Haiti Honduras Jamaica Mexico Nicaragua Panama Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Trinidad and Tobago United States
Dependencies and other territories	Anguilla Aruba Bermuda Bonaire British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Curaçao Greenland Guadeloupe Martinique Montserrat Puerto Rico Saint Barthélemy Saint Martin Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saba Sint Eustatius Sint Maarten Turks and Caicos Islands United States Virgin Islands