Francophones and francophiles: Bonne Saint-Jean!

Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day is celebrated every June 24 by francophones in many communities across the country as an opportunity to celebrate their language and traditions. This day is also observed as the official holiday of Quebec, the Fête nationale du Québec.

Get together and celebrate with a parade, bonfire, fireworks, festive meal or block party—to the sound of your favorite chansonniers (French-language singer-songwriters), of course!

According to the 2021 Census, French was the first official language spoken by more than 7.8 million Canadians, up from 7.7 million in 2016. In Quebec, 6.5 million people reported French as their first official language spoken, up from 6.4 million in 2016.

In 2021, more than one in five Canadians (22.6%) spoke French at home at least on a regular basis. In addition, the number of Canadians who spoke predominantly French at home rose from 6.9 million in 2016 to 7.0 million in 2021, but the proportion of the population they represented fell from 20.0% to 19.2%.

Similarly, the number of Canadians whose mother tongue was French rose slightly (from 7,167,000 to 7,189,000), but the proportion of the population they represented decreased (from 20.6% to 19.6%). This was also observed for the number of people who could have a conversation in French, reaching 10.7 million in 2021, continuing the decrease in proportion that began in 1981. Back then, 31.8% of Canadians could have a conversation in French, compared with 29.1% in 2021.

In 2021, in Canada outside Quebec, French remained the second most common language  after English; more than 2.7 million people (or 1 in 10) could have a conversation in French.

In addition, in Canada outside Quebec, nearly 1.1 million people spoke French at home at least on a regular basis, including more than half a million people (532,000) who spoke predominantly French. However, since 2016, the number of people who spoke predominantly French at home outside Quebec fell by 36,000.

In Canada outside Quebec, more than half of the population whose first official language spoken is French lived in Ontario and one-quarter lived in New Brunswick. In 2021, French was the first official language spoken by 30.0% of New Brunswick's population, by 4.5% of Yukon's population and by 3.4% of Ontario's population.

Whether you're a francophone or a francophile, or simply wish to join the festivities, are you looking for activities to commemorate this day? Check out this interactive map!