Participation in regular French programs in Canada outside Quebec, 2021: Maps, key facts and data table

Released: 2024-03-14

Today, Statistics Canada is publishing a booklet entitled, "Maps and key facts on participation in regular French programs in Canada outside Quebec, 2021," at the municipal level (census subdivisions). A data table on instruction in the minority official language of eligible school-aged children by municipality of residence is also being published today. The results presented in this booklet and this data table come from the 2021 Census of Population.

Of the 452,000 children aged 5 to 17 years who were eligible for instruction in French in Canada outside Quebec in 2021, 64.7% were participating in or had participated in a regular French program at a French-language elementary or secondary school in Canada. However, the products published today indicate that this proportion varied by region, the child's age, the level of education, and the eligibility criterion outlined in section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

In at least one municipality in each province in Canada outside Quebec, four in five eligible children have attended a French-language school

In 2021, at least one municipality in each province in Canada outside Quebec, as well as in the Northwest Territories, had at least 30 children eligible for instruction in French, at least 80% of whom had attended a French-language school. Such municipalities include Dieppe, New Brunswick; Clarence-Rockland, Ontario; and Ritchot, Manitoba.

However, each of the provinces in Canada outside Quebec and each of the territories, except Nunavut, also had at least one municipality where less than half of the 30 or more eligible children living there had attended a French-language school. These include Riverview, New Brunswick; Kawartha Lakes, Ontario; and Kelowna, British Columbia.

In Canada outside Quebec, just over one-third of youth aged 12 to 17 years who are eligible for instruction in French have attended a French-language secondary school

The proportion of eligible children who attended a French-language school differed by the children's age and the level of education (elementary or secondary). In Canada outside Quebec, in 2021, close to two-thirds (65.3%) of youth aged 12 to 17 years were attending or had attended a French-language elementary school, while 35.5% had attended a French-language secondary school. However, youth aged 12 to 17 years had not yet finished their secondary school studies or—in some provinces and territories—were not yet of age to go to secondary school.

Among eligible children aged 5 to 11 years—who had not all yet finished elementary school—62.7% had attended a French-language school in Canada.

In Canada outside Quebec, three in five school-aged children with at least one parent whose mother tongue is French have attended a French-language school

The proportion of school-aged children (5 to 17 years) who had attended a French-language school varied according to certain characteristics of the parents. For example, in Canada outside Quebec, of school-aged children who had at least one parent with French as a mother tongue in 2021, 60.4% were attending or had attended a French-language school. By comparison, this proportion was lower, at 40.9%, for children whose parents did not have French as a mother tongue, but with at least one parent who themselves had attended a French-language elementary school in their childhood.

Products

The booklet Maps and key facts on participation in regular French programs in Canada outside Quebec, 2021, which is part of the Ethnicity, Language and Immigration Thematic Series (Catalogue number89-657-X), is now available.

Contact information

For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).