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Spoken languages of Canada

Languages of Canada
Official languages English and French
Indigenous languages
Minority languages Spanish (758,280), Italian (660,945), German (622,650), Chinese, n.o.s. 1 (472,080),Cantonese (434,720), Arabic (365,085), Dutch (350,470), Tagalog/Filipino (324,120), Punjabi (299,600), Mandarin (281,840), Portuguese (274,670), Polish (242,885), Urdu (208,125), Russian (191,520), Ukrainian (174,160), Greek (157,385), Persian (154,385), Tamil (138,675), Korean (133,800), Gaelic (6,015) 2006 Census
Sign languages American Sign Language (ASL),
Quebec Sign Language (LSQ),
Maritime Sign Language,
Inuiuuk (47),
Plains Sign Talk,
Plateau Sign Language
Common keyboard layouts
QWERTY
US
KB United States-NoAltGr.svg
Canadian French
KB Canadian French.svg

A multitude of languages are used in Canada. According to the 2011 census, English and French are the mother tongues of 56.9% and 21.3% of Canadians respectively. 85.6% of Canadians have working knowledge of English while 30.1% have a working knowledge of French. Under the Official Languages Act of 1969, both English and French have official federal status throughout Canada, in respect of all government services, including the courts, and all federal legislation is enacted bilingually. New Brunswick is the only Canadian province that has both English and French as its official languages to the same extent, with constitutional entrenchment. Quebec's official language is French, although in that province, the Constitution requires that all legislation be enacted in both French and English, and court proceedings may be conducted in either language. Similar constitutional protections are in place in Manitoba.

Many Canadians believe that the relationship between the English and French languages is the central or defining aspect of the Canadian experience. Canada's Official Languages Commissioner (the federal government official charged with monitoring the two languages) has stated, "[I]n the same way that race is at the core of what it means to be American and at the core of an American experience and class is at the core of British experience, I think that language is at the core of Canadian experience."

To assist in more accurately monitoring the two official languages, Canada's census collects a number of demolinguistic descriptors not enumerated in the censuses of most other countries, including home language, mother tongue, first official language and language of work.


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