Instruction in the minority official language (American Sign Language) - Video transcript
(The Statistics Canada logo, the Canada wordmark and the title: “Instruction in the minority official language (American Sign Language)” are on screen)
The 2021 Census of Population provides new data on the children eligible for instruction in the minority official language at the primary and secondary levels. Eligibility is based on the three criteria established by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
In 2021, 897,000 children were eligible for instruction in the minority official language at the primary and secondary levels. 304,000 children were eligible for instruction in English in Quebec and 593,000 were eligible for instruction in French in Canada outside Quebec.
Among the provinces and territories in Canada outside Quebec, Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, New Brunswick and Manitoba had the highest population of children eligible for instruction in French. Ontario had 350,000 eligible children, Alberta had 67,000, British Columbia had 56,000, New Brunswick had 49,000, and Manitoba had 30,000.
Among the provinces and territories, New Brunswick, Quebec, Yukon and Ontario had the largest proportions of children eligible for instruction in the minority official language. In New Brunswick 36.0% of children were eligible, in Quebec 18.1%, in Yukon 14.1%, and in Ontario 12.6%. 10.5% of children were eligible for instruction in French in Canada outside Quebec.
Across Canada, over 90% of eligible children were living within 15 kilometers of a minority official language school.
In Canada outside Quebec, 292,000 school-aged children attended a regular French program at a primary or secondary French-language school in Canada. This represents 64.7% of eligible children aged 5 to 17. This proportion was higher in New Brunswick at 80.6% and Yukon at 71.0%. This proportion was lower in British Columbia at 55.7%, Newfoundland and Labrador at 54.2%, and Alberta at 49.6%. In Quebec, 175,000 school-aged children attended an English primary or secondary school in Canada. This represents 76.2% of eligible children aged 5 to 17 in this province.
Among persons in Canada outside Quebec aged 5 years and older, almost 1.2 million studied in a regular French program in a French-language school, 1.6 million in a French immersion program, and 137,000 in both types of programs.
Nearly 1 million people aged 5 and older living in Quebec at the time of the 2021 Census studied at an English primary or secondary school in Canada.
Definitions and concepts, data at the provincial and territorial levels, as well as more findings are available in The Daily of November 30, 2022.
(The Canada wordmark is on screen)