Study: Use of official languages at home: An analysis based on the academic path of graduates in Canada, 2021

Released: 2025-03-28

In 2021, the vast majority of postsecondary graduates aged 18 to 30—graduates in Quebec with an English mother tongue (95%) and graduates in Canada outside Quebec with a French mother tongue (93%)—had attended a school during their studies where the minority official language (English in Quebec and French in Canada outside Quebec) was a language of instruction.

After graduation, graduates who did postsecondary studies at a minority official language or bilingual institution were more likely to have a spouse or partner whose mother tongue was a minority official language, as well as to speak the minority official language most often at home.

These results are from a new Statistics Canada study released today, entitled "Use of official languages at home: An analysis based on the academic path of graduates in Canada." It examines the language spoken at home based on the academic path of graduates and the language composition of couples.

The development of a continuum of education in the minority official language, from early childhood to the postsecondary level, is a priority in the Action Plan for Official Languages 2023–2028, as is re-establishing the demographic weight of francophones in Canada outside Quebec. This study provides useful information related to these objectives by examining the participation of different groups of the Canadian population in the minority official language education continuum and the link between this participation and whether the minority official languages are adopted or maintained as the languages used at home.

The majority of postsecondary graduates with a minority official language as their mother tongue attended minority official language or bilingual schools at every stage of their academic path

In Quebec, almost three-quarters (74%) of graduates whose mother tongue is English attended schools, from the elementary to the postsecondary levels, where English was a language of instruction.

In Canada outside Quebec, a smaller proportion (61%) of graduates whose mother tongue is French attended minority official language or bilingual schools at every stage of their studies.

In addition, in Canada outside Quebec, more than one in five graduates (22%) attended French-language schools at the elementary and secondary levels, but did postsecondary studies only at English-language institutions.

Studies at minority official language or bilingual schools vary according to mother tongue and level of education

In Quebec, postsecondary graduates with English as their mother tongue were more likely to have attended a school that provided instruction in English at the end of their studies.

Of these, 93% attended a postsecondary institution where English was a language of instruction, compared with 79% at the elementary and secondary levels.

In contrast, graduates in Canada outside Quebec whose mother tongue was French were less likely to have attended a French-language or bilingual postsecondary institution (66%) than a French-language school at the elementary (90%) or secondary (84%) level.

One reason for these findings is that the proximity of French-language or bilingual postsecondary institutions varies significantly from one region to another in Canada outside Quebec. In some regions, certain programs are offered only in English at the college or university level.

Having attended a minority official language or bilingual postsecondary institution is linked to the language composition of couples after graduation

Postsecondary graduates who studied at a minority official language or bilingual postsecondary institution were more likely to have a spouse or partner whose mother tongue was a minority official language than graduates who did not attend this type of school.

In Quebec, 61% of graduates with an English mother tongue who attended an English-language or bilingual postsecondary institution had a spouse or partner whose mother tongue was English, compared with 21% of those who did postsecondary studies only at French-language institutions.

The same was true of graduates in Canada outside Quebec with a French mother tongue. They were three times more likely to have a spouse or partner whose mother tongue is French when they had attended a French-language or bilingual postsecondary institution (66%) than those who did not attend this type of school (22%).

The language spoken at home after graduation varies based on the spouse or partner's mother tongue

In Quebec, graduates with an English mother tongue, whose spouse or partner had English as their mother tongue (98%), were more likely to speak English most often at home than those whose spouse or partner's mother tongue is French (70%). This same proportion dropped more sharply among graduates whose spouse or partner had French as their mother tongue when the graduate did their postsecondary studies only at French-language institutions (23%).

Similar trends were observed in Canada outside Quebec. For example, graduates with a French mother tongue, whose spouse or partner had French as their mother tongue (88%), were much more likely than graduates whose spouse or partner had a different mother tongue (19%) to speak French most often at home, especially if they had studied at a French-language or bilingual postsecondary institution (92%).

While some changes in the language spoken at home can occur in adulthood, most take place in childhood. Therefore, a graduate's academic path or having a spouse or partner whose mother tongue was a minority official language is not necessarily the reason for a change in the language spoken at home.

Products

The article entitled "Use of official languages at home: An analysis based on the academic path of graduates in Canada" is now available in the publication Insights on Canadian Society (Catalogue number75-006-X).

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).