Archived – Portrait of Official-Language Minorities in Canada

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Portrait of Official-Language Minorities in Canada - Video transcript

Description of visuals

Introduction

In Canada, English and French have the status of official languages.

(Seventy languages appear on the screen.)

In the census, Canadians report more than 200 languages as a mother tongue or as the main language they use at home. This great linguistic diversity is evolving in a context of linguistic duality.

(A visual with five female and five male figures appears on the screen; two of these figures become less saturated in colour to represent 8 out of 10 people.)

About 98% of Canada's population can manage a conversation in either English or French, 80% have one of these two languages

(A visual with five female and five male figures appears on the screen.)

as their mother tongue, and close to 94% speak one of them at least regularly at home.

(A visual with many female and male figures appears on the screen. 6 of these figures become less saturated in colour.)

At the national level, French is the minority official language.

(A visual with two female and two male figures appears on the screen; three of them are less saturated in colour.)

Nearly one in four people has French as their mother tongue or as their home language;

(A visual with five female and five male figures appears on the screen.)

three out of 10 Canadians can speak it. At the provincial level, French is very much the majority language in Quebec, whereas in all the other provinces and the territories, it has minority status. Only Quebec has a minority Anglophone population.

(A map of Canada appears on the screen and scrolls from left to right. The map shows female and male figures in each province.)

In Canada, nearly 1 million Francophones live outside Quebec. They live in provinces or territories where English is the language of the majority of the population. In Quebec, where French is the majority language, a roughly equal number of Anglophones make up the province's linguistic minority.

(The Statistics Canada logo appears on the screen.)

In order to support the development of these minority-language communities, Statistics Canada has published, in recent years, a series of provincial and territorial portraits of official-language minorities in Canada - these portraits are of Francophones outside Quebec and Anglophones in Quebec.

These portraits provide a wide range of statistics from Canadian censuses and from the Survey on the Vitality of Official-Language Minorities, conducted by Statistics Canada in 2006.

(A list of topics scrolls from top to bottom: demography, vitality, births, bilingualism, belonging, immigration, education, community, language transfers, access to health care, language of use and culture.)

These data cover various subjects of interest, both demographic and socioeconomic.

(A magnifying glass appears on the screen, followed by a visual of women and men.)

What are the main findings in these statistics? What are the main trends that characterize official-language minority communities in Canada? How do these communities see their future? What are their main challenges?

In the next few minutes, we'll try to answer these questions by summarizing these portraits of official-language minorities.

1. Minority populations are growing... but their proportions are decreasing

(A map of Canada appears on the screen. Quebec is purple and the rest of Canada is orange.)

At the provincial-territorial level, official-language minorities account for roughly two million people. But who exactly are these minority Francophones and Anglophones?

(Blue, purple, orange and green figures appear on the screen at random. The figures rearrange themselves to form various groups (francophones, anglophones, Aboriginals and other mother tongues).)

There are several ways to define language groups: mother tongue or home language is one way to distinguish Anglophones, Francophones, people having an Aboriginal language or any other language as a mother tongue or home language that reflect Canada's great linguistic diversity.

In the public sphere, Canadians of all mother tongues generally use one of the two official languages, English or French.

(Two groups of figures appear on the screen. On the left, two men and a woman with the label stating "Hello!" and on the right, two women and a man with the label "Bonjour!")

Another, more inclusive, way to define language groups is by first official language spoken. This generally designates the official language Canadians likely prefer to use when obtaining public services.

(A census form appears on the screen.)

Statistics on the first official language spoken are not obtained from one direct census question. This information is rather derived, successively, from questions about knowledge of official languages, mother tongue and language spoken at home most often.

(A visual with female and male figures appears on the screen.)

Therefore, the concept of first official language spoken assigns one of Canada's two official languages to all or nearly all Canadians, regardless of their mother tongue.

(Two boxes with an English group and a French group appear on the screen.)

The first official language spoken generally corresponds to the mother tongue in the case of English and French. The vast majority of people who have a mother tongue other than English or French are included in one of these two categories, depending on their knowledge of the official languages or their language spoken at home most often.

It's therefore this more inclusive approach that is often used to define the official language minorities in Canada.

(A map of Canada appears on the screen with figures representing francophones and anglophones in each province.)

Francophone minorities are present throughout Canada. They are most numerous in Ontario and New Brunswick, especially in the regions bordering Quebec.

Anglophones in Quebec are highly concentrated: more than 80% of them live in the Montréal area. However, they are present in the rest of Quebec, especially the Outaouais and Estrie regions.

(A pie chart appears on the screen, showing the minority language population outside Quebec.)

Of Francophones outside Quebec, more than three out of four live in Ontario or New Brunswick; the others are distributed throughout the other provinces and territories. Southern Ontario accounts for more than 40% of Francophones in a minority situation in Canada. If those living in Northern Ontario are added, more than half of the Francophones outside Quebec live in Ontario; one in four live in New Brunswick.

(A bar chart appears on the screen. All the provinces are listed on the left and percentages from 0 to 15 are listed on the bottom. Quebec is represented by a purple bar and the other provinces by orange bars.)

In Quebec, the Anglophone minority comprises 14% of the province's population. In the other provinces and territories, the minority Francophone population generally accounts for 2 to 4% of the population, as the case may be. The only exception is New Brunswick: it is the province with the largest linguistic minority, accounting for nearly one-third of New Brunswick's population.

(A 1971 census form appears on the screen. A bar chart appears on the screen, showing the growth of the minority population from 1971 to 2011. Ontario, British Columbia, New Brunswick and Alberta are highlighted.)

Since 1971, which was the first census from which information on the first official language spoken can be obtained, the overall number of Francophones outside Quebec has increased. The largest increases have been in Ontario, British Columbia, New Brunswick and Alberta.

(Manitoba and Saskatchewan are highlighted to show a decrease in the relative weight of francophones.)

However, the Francophone population has decreased in some provinces, especially Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

Nevertheless, the growth of the Francophone minority outside Quebec has not kept pace with population growth: it is becoming a proportionally smaller part of Canada's population.

(A bar chart appears on the screen, showing the proportion of francophones outside Canada.)

The Francophone minority made up 6.1% of the population outside Quebec in 1971, and 4% in 2011.

(A map of Canada appears on the screen, showing the relative weights of the linguistic minority. It contains the following labels: Territories: 1971 3.2%, 2011 2.9% ; British Columbia: 1971 1.4%, 2011 1.9% ; Alberta: 1971 2.0%, 2011 3.0% ; Saskatchewan: 1971 1.4%, 2011 3.5% ; Manitoba: 1971 3.5%, 2011 6.3% ; Ontario: 1971 4.3%, 2011 6.5% ; New Brunswick: 1971 5.0%, 2011 3.3% ; Nova Scotia: 1971 33.9% ; 2011 31.9% ; and Newfoundland: 1971 0.7%, 2011 0.4%.)

The relative weight of Francophones decreased in all the provinces and in the territories, even where the Francophone population recorded strong growth during this period.

{Visual} A bar chart appears on the screen, showing the population growth rate. The rate for the language minority is 5.4%, while the rate for the language majority is 65.9% for Canada outside Quebec, 1971.

The explanation is that while the Francophone population grew, the Anglophone population, bolstered by international immigration in particular, grew even more rapidly during the same period.

{Visual} A map of Canada appears on the screen. A label appears over the section representing Quebec.

By comparison, the Quebec population with English as its first official language spoken remained roughly stable in numbers, due notably to migratory losses to other provinces, but proportionally it shrank from 16.5% in 1971 to 13.5% in 2011.

2. Births, migration and aging of the official-language minority population

Several factors explain the growth or decline of linguistic minorities in Canada. In demographic terms, births and migration are among the main factors.

(A bar chart appears on the screen showing the total fertility rate. The left axis goes from 0 to 5 and the bottom axis goes from 1956 to 2011. Four lines representing francophones and anglophones in Quebec and outside Quebec start at the upper left and slope downward to the lower right.)

The birth rate has been in general decline. The fertility rate of women with French as their mother tongue was very high in the 50s, but fell rapidly in the 60s and 70s. Since then, it has remained below the replacement level.

However, this trend is not exclusive to Francophones outside Quebec. The same phenomenon has been seen among Francophones and Anglophones, regardless of majority or minority status.

(A map of Canada appears on the screen. An orange arrow pointing downward appears in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia. Two horizontal orange arrows appear in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Maritime provinces. A purple arrow pointing downward appears in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia. Two horizontal orange arrows appear in Quebec.)

Since the 80s, the provinces gaining the most from interprovincial Francophone migration have been Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia.

Conversely, more Francophones have left the Atlantic provinces, Manitoba and Saskatchewan than that have settle there.

But as with births, the migratory patterns of Francophones and Anglophones are, with some exceptions, nearly the same.

In Quebec, net migration has had a much greater negative impact on the Anglophone minority, although the Anglophone exodus slowed between 2001 and 2011.

(Two orange and purple arrows pointing downward appear in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia.)

As with interprovincial migration, Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia have gained the most from international immigration.

These provinces exert a strong pull on international immigrants both Francophone and Anglophones.

(A pie chart appears on the screen, showing the place of residence of francophone immigrants outside Quebec. A bar chart appears on the screen, showing the proportion of immigrants belonging to the minority (Canada outside Quebec and Quebec).)

Outside of Quebec, nearly 7 out of 10 Francophone immigrants live in Ontario and 2% of the immigrant population

(Two pie charts appear on the screen, showing the proportion of immigrants within the minority.)

In Quebec, 36% of the immigrants have English as the first official language spoken.

Furthermore, immigrants comprise one-third of the English-speaking population in Quebec, whereas they comprise 12% of the French-speaking population outside Quebec.

(An age pyramid appears on the screen, showing the aging of the population outside Quebec. The left axis goes from age 0 to 80 years and over, and the bottom axis goes from 0% to 10%. Orange and purple bands go from left to right.)

These demographic factors result in an age pyramid that reflects the aging of the French-mother-tongue population outside Quebec. In these provinces and territories, population aging appears to be less pronounced among Anglophones.

This difference cannot be explained solely by the demographic factors just described. To see how official-language minority populations are evolving, let's look at other factors such as exogamy and language transfers.

3. Language transfers, mixed unions and transmission of mother tongue to children

The minority Francophone population is aging. Anglophones outside Quebec have similar characteristics regarding births and migration, but they are not as affected by population aging as Francophones.

Of course, Anglophones benefit more from international immigration, but other factors are at work.

(Two groups of figures appear on the screen, representing francophones and anglophones.)

Outside Quebec, the Anglophone group is the main beneficiary of language transfers. A language transfer occurs when people adopt, as their main home language, a language other than their mother tongue.

(Two groups of figures appear on the screen, representing francophones and anglophones. Houses are shown above the people. The houses disappear, leaving the 5 men and 5 women on the screen. Two of the men and two of the women change to purple, representing the 4 out of 10 Francophones who speak mainly a language other than French at home.)

Outside Quebec, 4 out of 10 Francophones speak mainly a language other than French at home- in almost all cases, English.

(A bar chart appears on the screen, representing language transfers. All the provinces are listed at the left, and percentages from 0 to 100 are listed across the bottom. Orange bars extending to the right represent the following: Newfoundland and Labrador 71.8%; Prince Edward Island 54.8%; Nova Scotia 50.7%; New Brunswick 11.7% ; Ontario 43.4%; Manitoba 57.9% ; Saskatchewan 76.9% ; Alberta 66.0% ; British Columbia 72.7%; Yukon 45%; Northwest Territories 54.6% ; Nunavut 50.6%. The provinces of New Brunswick, Saskatchewan and British Columbia are highlighted.)

The rate of language transfers for minority Francophones is much lower in New Brunswick than in the other provinces and territories. In Saskatchewan and British Columbia, more than seven out of 10 Francophones adopt English as their main home language.

(Two figures appear on the screen, representing exogamous families.)

Language transfers play an important role in the choice of language that will be passed on to children.

(A bar chart appears on the screen, representing the proportion of children living in an English-French exogamous family by type of couple.)

Outside Quebec, among children with at least one French-mother-tongue parent, nearly half have only English as their mother tongue.

Increasingly, children with at least one French-mother-tongue parent are living in exogamous families-in which the parents have different mother tongues. An example would be a family in which the mother has French as her mother tongue and the father has English.

Outside Quebec, the share of these children living in French-English exogamous families went from 35% in 1971 to 57% in 2011.

French-English exogamous couples are increasingly transmitting French as a mother tongue to their children, but the transmission of English still predominates.

(An age pyramid appears on the screen, representing language transfers. All the provinces are listed on the left and percentages from 0 to 10 are across the bottom.)

Thus, language transfers, exogamy and the transmission of English as a mother tongue to children by Francophones are all factors that are accelerating the aging of the Francophone population. These factors are also moderating the aging of the Anglophone population.

4. Education and employment

For Francophones outside Quebec, management of minority-language school systems and access to minority-language instruction are fairly recent arrivals. Today, most children in all the provinces and territories have the opportunity to go to school in French, in either a regular or in a French immersion program within an English school.

(A bar chart appears on the screen, representing public school enrollments. Enrollment sizes are listed on the left from 120,000 to 150,000 students, and the years 2000 to 2011 are provided across the bottom. Orange bars are used to represent regular French-language programs and French immersion programs.)

Attendance at regular French-language programs outside Quebec has declined slightly, from 149, 000 students in 2000/2001 to just under 147, 000 students in 2010/2011. Over this period, enrolment in French immersion programs grew steadily, from 278,000 to 341,000 students. Thus, outside Quebec, the number of children studying in French grew 14% from 2000 to 2011.

(A bar chart appears on the screen, representing French-language studies. On the left axis are percentages from 0 to 100 and on the bottom axis are the elementary, secondary and university education levels.)

Outside Quebec, most adult Francophones that have pursued an education, did so partly or entirely in French. Indeed, 87% of them were educated in French at the elementary level, and 77% at the secondary level. Among those who have pursued a university education, 68% did so partly or entirely in French.

(A bar chart appears on the screen, representing high school diplomas and above. On the left axis are ages 25 to 65 and over, and on the bottom axis are percentages from 0% to 100%. Orange and purple bars extending to the right show the number of persons who have completed secondary or higher education.)

Francophones outside Quebec aged 25 and older are proportionally less likely than Anglophones to have completed secondary or postsecondary education. The gaps are especially large for those 65 and older: 44% of Francophones in this age group have no certificate, diploma or degree, compared with 31% of Anglophones. However, among those aged 25 to 34, Francophones are proportionally more likely to have completed secondary or postsecondary education. Six percent of Francophones and 9% of Anglophones have no certificate, diploma or degree.

(A bar chart appears on the screen, representing enrollments in anglophone minority schools in Quebec. On the left axis are enrollments from 50,000 to 250,000 students and on the bottom axis are the years 1971 to 2012. The chart moves from left to right to illustrate the strong decline in enrollments in Quebec's English-language schools over the 31-year period.)

The issue of access to an education in English for Quebec's Anglophone minority differs greatly from that of Francophone minorities outside Quebec. The English-language school system has been managed by the Anglophone minority for much longer. Over the years, enrolment in English schools in Quebec has significantly declined. This is mainly a result of decreased fertility, the sizable net negative migration of Anglophones, and the major changes in access to English-language instruction resulting from Quebec's Charter of the French Language.

(A bar chart appears on the screen, representing enrollments in minority schools in Quebec. On the left axis are percentages from 0 to 50 and on the bottom axis are ages 25 to 65 and over. Among anglophones aged 25 to 34, 38.1% are university graduates, compared with 25.7% of francophones. Among anglophones aged 35 to 64, 28.7% are university graduates, compared with 18.7% of francophones. Among anglophones aged 65 and over, 15.1% are university graduates, compared with 7.7% of francophones. Another bar chart appears on the screen, representing enrollments in English-language studies. On the left axis are percentages from 0 to 100, and on the bottom axis are the elementary, secondary and university levels, with 72% at the elementary, 76% at the secondary and 82% at the university level.)

Nevertheless, in Quebec, Anglophones are generally more educated than Francophones, regardless of age group. The majority of adult Anglophones that pursued an education did so either partly or entirely in English, at the elementary, secondary and postsecondary levels.

5. Subjective vitality and a sense of belonging

Francophones outside Quebec and Anglophones in Quebec share a strong attachment to their language, and they are clear about its importance for them.

(A bar chart appears on the screen, representing the value given to language. On the left axis are percentages from 0 to 100.)

A large majority of Francophones and Anglophones living in minority communities report that it is important or very important to be able to use their language in their daily life, that government services be provided to them in the

(87% of francophones in Quebec, 79% of anglophones outside Quebec.)

minority language, that their language rights be respected,

(94% of francophones in Quebec, 87% of anglophones outside Quebec.)

(96% of francophones in Quebec, 92% of anglophones outside Quebec.)

and that organizations -work for the development of their community.

(79% of francophones in Quebec, 81% of anglophones outside Quebec.)

When it comes to a sense of belonging, Francophones appear to have a dual ethnolinguistic identity.

In most provinces outside Quebec, a majority of Francophones report that they identify with the Francophone group and the Anglophone group equally.

(A bar chart appears on the screen, representing sense of belonging. On the left axis are the provinces, and on the bottom axis are percentages from 10 to 100. The chart shows the following:)

  • Sense of belonging mainly or only with the francophone group
  • Newfoundland and Labrador 19%
  • Prince Edward Island 20%
  • Nova Scotia 18%
  • New Brunswick 63%
  • Ontario 36%
  • Manitoba 16%
  • Saskatchewan 10%
  • Alberta 14%
  • British Columbia 14%
  • Sense of belonging mainly or only with the anglophone group
  • Quebec 55%
  • Sense of belonging with both groups equally
  • Newfoundland and Labrador 47%
  • Prince Edward Island 60%
  • Nova Scotia 58%
  • New Brunswick 34%
  • Québec 37%
  • Ontario 52%
  • Manitoba 55%
  • Saskatchewan 51%
  • Alberta 54%
  • British Columbia 51%

When those who report identifying mainly or only with the Francophone group are taken into account, it becomes clear that Francophones outside Quebec feel a strong sense of attachment to the French language.

Quebec Anglophones also feel a strong sense of attachment to their language. 37% of them report identifying with the Anglophone group and the Francophone group equally. Fifty-five percent identify mainly or only with the Anglophone group.

Although Francophones outside Quebec share a strong sense of belonging to their community, they are divided on how they perceive the vitality of the Francophone community in their home municipality.

(A bar chart appears on the screen, representing the vitality of their community, perceived as strong or very strong. On the left axis are the provinces and on the bottom axis are percentages from 10 to 100. The chart shows the following:)

  • Newfoundland and Labrador 30%
  • Prince Edward Island 44%
  • Nova Scotia 38%
  • New Brunswick 72%
  • Ontario 39%
  • Manitoba 43%
  • Saskatchewan 27%
  • Alberta 26%
  • British Columbia 17%
  • Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut 70%

While more than 70% of Francophones in New Brunswick and the territories feel that the vitality of their community is strong or very strong, Francophones in Saskatchewan,

(Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia are highlighted.)

Alberta and British Columbia are much less likely to feel the same.

Notwithstanding, a majority of Francophones outside Quebec believe that the place of French in their municipality has increased or remained the same in the previous 10 years.

Most of them believe that the place of French will remain stable or increase in the following 10 years.

(A bar chart appears on the screen, representing the perception of evolution of the language's place in the community. On the left axis are percentages from 0 to 100, while the bottom axis shows the increase in or stabilization of the perception that the place of the language is changing.)

Canada outside Quebec>Past evolution>20% see an increase and 51% see no change in the place of French in their community.

Canada outside Quebec>Future evolution>37% foresee an increase and 42% foresee no change in the place of French in their community.

Quebec Anglophones' perception of the vitality of their community is similar to that of Francophones outside Quebec. However, they are a little less positive about how the place of their language has evolved in the previous 10 years in their municipality, and they are also a little less optimistic about how it will continue to evolve.

(Quebec>Past evolution>25% see an increase and 44% see no change in the place of French in their community.)

Quebec>Future evolution >38% foresee an increase and 34% foresee no change in the place of French in their community.

Perceptions are one measure: next, let's look at the extent to which official-language minorities use their language in their daily life.

6. Use of the minority language in the private and public spheres

Beyond the demographic and socioeconomic trends, how do official-language minorities use French and English in everyday situations? Data from the Survey on the Vitality of Official-Language Minorities conducted in 2006 provide information on language use in various domains of the private and public spheres.

(A bar chart appears on the screen, representing the use of French and English. The left axis shows the use of French and English at home, with friends, in networks, at work and with institutions and stores. On the bottom axis are percentages from 0 to 100. The rate of use is as follows:)

  • French (mainly or only)
  • Home: 56%
  • Friends: 40%
  • Networks: 34%
  • Work: 28%
  • Institutions and stores: 28%
  • Media: 17%
  • English and French (equally)
  • Home: 8%
  • Friends: 13%
  • Networks: 18%
  • Work: 19%
  • Institutions and stores: 14%
  • Media: 20%
  • English (mainly or only)
  • Home: 80%
  • Friends: 77%
  • Networks: 61%
  • Work: 53%
  • Institutions and stores: 61%
  • Media: 89%

Outside Quebec, two-thirds of Francophones speak French either exclusively, mainly or equally with English at home. With friends and in close social networks, this is also the case for more than one-half of Francophones.

They use French somewhat less frequently at work, in institutions and stores or when using media. However, 37 to 47% of Francophones report using French-exclusively, mainly or equally with English-in these public spheres.

In all provinces and territories, Francophones outside Quebec use French proportionally less than Quebec Anglophones use English.

(A chart showing five female and five male figures appears on the screen. A label indicating 47% appears on the screen, referring to the francophones in a minority situation who use French mainly or only in the different spheres of daily life, and those who use French and English equally.)

When all this information is compiled, a general language use index can be calculated. This index shows that 26% of Francophones in a minority situation use only or mainly French in the different spheres of daily life. Twenty-one percent use French and English equally.

(A bar chart appears on the screen, representing the general language use index. On the left axis are the provinces, and on the bottom axis are percentages from 0 to 100. The chart describes the following:)

  • Use of French (mainly or only)
  • Newfoundland and Labrador 5%
  • Prince Edward Island 7%
  • Nova Scotia 10%
  • New Brunswick 67%
  • Ontario 18%
  • Manitoba 6%
  • Saskatchewan 2%
  • Alberta 0%
  • British Columbia 0%
  • Territories 0%
  • Canada outside Quebec 26%
  • Use of French and English (equally)
  • Newfoundland and Labrador 11%
  • Prince Edward Island 26%
  • Nova Scotia 24%
  • New Brunswick 19%
  • Quebec 19%
  • Ontario 25%
  • Manitoba 22%
  • Saskatchewan 11%
  • Alberta 7%
  • British Columbia 5%
  • Territories 19%
  • Canada outside Quebec 21%
  • Use of English (mainly or only)
  • Quebec 72%

However, these proportions vary considerably from one province to another. French is used most frequently in New Brunswick and Ontario, and least frequently in the provinces west of Manitoba.

By comparison, in Quebec, more than 9 out of 10 Anglophones use mainly or only English or use it equally with French, according to the general language use index.

(Symbols representing the fields of health and justice appear on the screen.)

Sometimes, being able to use one's main language is crucial-notably, when dealing with professionals in the health or justice spheres. These are two priority sectors for the official-language minority communities.

(Symbols representing the fields of health and justice appear on the screen)

But using the minority language depends on the ability of professionals to conduct a conversation in that language.

(A bar chart appears on the screen, representing knowledge of the minority language. The left axis shows percentages from 0 to 100 and along the bottom axis are doctors, nurses, police officers and lawyers. The chart describes the following:)

  • Knowledge of French outside Quebec among
  • doctors 20.8%
  • nurses 9.8%
  • police officers 14.2%
  • lawyers 23.4%
  • Knowledge of English in Quebec among
  • doctors 89.2%
  • nurses 51.2%
  • police officers 69.6%
  • lawyers 85.7%

Outside Quebec, knowledge of French among doctors, nurses, police officers and lawyers ranges from 10 to 23%. Knowledge of English among these professions in Quebec is consistently higher, from 51 to 89%.

(A bar chart appears on the screen, representing knowledge of the minority language. On the left axis are percentages from 0 to 100 and along the bottom axis are doctors, nurses, police officers and lawyers. The chart describes the following:)

  • The proportion of francophones outside Quebec who use French at least as often as English with
  • doctors 58%
  • nurses 57%
  • police officers 26%
  • lawyers 40%
  • The proportion of anglophones in Quebec who use English at least as often as French with
  • doctors 80%
  • nurses 65%
  • police officers 43%
  • lawyers 70%

Thus, Quebec Anglophones are also more likely to use the minority language when dealing with one of these professionals. The share of Francophones outside Quebec who use French at least as often as English ranges from one in four to nearly three in five. In Quebec, four Anglophones in five use English at least as often as French in their contacts with a family doctor.

Conclusion

The vitality of official-language minorities in Canada is a complex topic, that can only be approached by taking into account its multiple dimensions.

Demographic factors - among which are the births, the migration, the language transfers and the transmission of the language to children - represent key contributors to the evolution and vitality of official-language minorities.

But the vitality of a language and a language community goes well beyond demography. The strength of the community, the institutions that bind it together and the value given to the minority language are factors that favour its daily use, both within the minority community and among the majority.

The relative weight of the linguistic minority, and its concentration, play a major role in the vitality of official-language minorities. Nearly 3 Francophones in 10 outside Quebec,

(A visual depicting 10 persons appears on the screen.)

and 2 Anglophones in 10 in Quebec,

(A visual depicting 10 persons appears on the screen, in which 3 figures are highlighted in orange and another visual depicting 10 persons appears on the screen in which 2 figures are highlighted in purple.)

live in a municipality where they are, in fact, in the majority-they comprise at least half the population of the municipality.

(A series of cover pages for the portraits of official-language minorities in Canada appears on the screen, one after the other.)

The portraits of official-language minorities in Canada published by Statistics Canada have established the links between the relative weight or concentration of the language minority within the municipality and indicators of the vitality of official-language minorities-in particular, language transfers, the use of the minority language with health or justice professionals, attendance of minority schools, use of cultural products, and community life in the minority language.

Another notable finding: when the minority comprises a larger share of the population within the municipality, it makes the minority language better known within the majority group.

In the coming years, many of these factors will pose major challenges for official-language minorities in Canada. Aging populations could make access to health care in the minority language an issue.

(A visual depicting a hospital and francophone and anglophone individuals appears on the screen.)

(A map of Canada appears on the screen. Francophone and anglophone individuals are depicted in all the provinces.)

Immigration, the main source of growth in the labour force, could play a growing role in the vitality of official-language minorities.

(Two schools appear on the screen. Under the two schools, two groups of figures, a francophone group and an anglophone group, are shown.)

Beyond demography, a way of fully encouraging the linguistic duality in Canada is by teaching the minority language to the majority population, and encouraging that population to retain it. So, access to instruction in the minority language is another major challenge for the vitality of Canada's official languages.

(A map of Canada appears on the screen. Images of schools are depicted in all the provinces. There are depictions of francophones and anglophones in all the provinces.)

For complete information on these statistics and on many others, you can view the complete series of portraits of official languages in Canada, available for free at Statistics Canada's website, www.statcan.gc.ca.

(The Canada word mark appears on screen.)

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