“One in four Canadians in 2021 – or nine million people – had a mother tongue other than English or French,” reported Statistics Canada. “This is a record high since the 1901 Census when a question on mother tongue was first added”
Canada’s growth through immigration has shifted the country’s demographic profile, with South Asian language use up and European language use down, reported Statistics Canada.
“The number of Canadians who spoke predominantly a South Asian language such as Gujarati, Punjabi, Hindi or Malayalam at home grew significantly from 2016 to 2021, an increase fuelled by immigration,” noted the statistical and demographic services agency. “In fact, the growth rate of the population speaking one of these languages was at least eight times larger than that of the overall Canadian population during this period.”
The number of those who speak European languages, such as Italian, Polish or Greek, at home, though, is down. Data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) makes it clear why the country’s linguistic diversity is both growing and shifting towards South Asian languages, reported cimmigrationnews.
In the six months which ended in June this year, India was by far the most important source of new permanent residents to Canada, with 68,280 Indians choosing to settle here during that period.
China, the second most important source of new permanent residents, saw 16,540 of its citizens make the move to Canada during the first half of the year.
Statistics Canada reported that 955,685 residents in Canada spoke one of the Chinese languages at home at the time the most recent census was taken last year. That was roughly 11 times as many people who speak Chinese as the 85,835 who speak any of the indigenous languages.
Another 12,630 new permanent residents to Canada during the first half of the year came from the Philippines.
“One in four Canadians in 2021 – or nine million people – had a mother tongue other than English or French,” reported Statistics Canada.
“This is a record high since the 1901 Census when a question on mother tongue was first added.”
The only European country to crack the top 10 of the countries that were the most important sources of new permanent residents to Canada in the first six months of this year in France. And only 6,280 French immigrated to Canada during that time, less than a tenth as many as the Indians. The first English-speaking country on the list of the most important sources of permanent residents to Canada in the first half of this year is the United States and only 6,025 Americans immigrated to Canada during that time.
That’s scarcely more than the 5,505 Pakistanis who became new permanent residents of Canada during that period. With the rise in immigration levels, so too has the proportion of those who speak a language other than French or English, Canada’s official languages, also risen.
“English and French remain by far the most commonly spoken languages in Canada,” reported Statistics Canada. “More than nine in 10 Canadians speak one of the two official languages at home at least on a regular basis.”
“One in four Canadians in 2021 – or nine million people – had a mother tongue other than English or French,” reported Statistics Canada. “This is a record high since the 1901 Census when a question on mother tongue was first added.”
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