Some facts on the Canadian Francophonie

Some facts on the Canadian Francophonie [PDF version - 1.8 MB]

Learn more about the Canadian Francophonie.

The Canadian Francophonie by the numbers

Canada has a population of nearly 37 million people. French is the first official language spoken for 22.0% of the population.
The majority of Francophones (84.1%) live in Quebec and close to 1 million live in other provinces and territories of the country.
Almost 10.7 million Canadians can carry on a conversation in French.

Note: French-speaking populations have been calculated using the Census Dictionary 2021 definition of "first official language spoken" (FOLS).

The first official language spoken is a derived variable based on the responses to language questions in the Census of Canada.

Source: Official Languages Branch of Canadian Heritage, March 2024, based on data from the 2021 Census of Canada, Statistics Canada, 100% sample

Canada is a federal state with 10 provinces and 3 territories. French, like English, is one of Canada's two official languages.
Federal institutions are bilingual. They operate and provide services in both official languages. The Government of Canada also actively promotes both official languages in Canadian society (Official Languages Act). The act was modernized in June of 2023 and is committed to protecting and promoting the French language in the country.
In every province and territory, French‐ or English‐speaking minorities have a right to primary and secondary school instruction in their language (Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms).
Quebec, the only province that is primarily Francophone, adopted the Charter of the French Language, which provides for the predominant use of French within provincial government institutions and in Quebec society.
The province of New Brunswick is, under the Canadian Constitution, officially bilingual.
In all provinces and territories, French benefits from legal protections or government policies as to its use in public institutions, notably for the provision of services in French.
All federal, provincial and territorial governments are members of the Minister’s Council on the Canadian Francophonie.
Canada, as well as the governments of Quebec, New Brunswick and Ontario (observer member) are members of the International Organisation of La Francophonie.

Canada has more than 3,000 French‐language primary and secondary schools, around 75 French‐language colleges and nearly 30 French-language universities, a majority of which are located in Quebec.
- Outside Quebec, more than 170,000 Francophones study in their language at approximately 750 primary and secondary institutions, managed by the communities.
- Francophones outside Quebec also have access to over 20 colleges and universities.
Nearly 1.7 million young Canadians are studying French as a second language, of which 477,480 students are in French immersion classes outside Quebec.
Canadian French‐language media include:
- one national public television and radio network broadcaster (Radio-Canada), plus:
  - 217 community, regional and national radio stations, of which 30.0% are located outside Quebec
  - 68 community, private and public television stations, of which 14.7% are located outside Quebec
- over 32 newspapers and 10 daily newspapers outside Quebec
Major national institutions, present in all arts and culture sectors, are dedicated to strengthening and promoting the French language's cultural expression.
Quebec has many creative spaces, broadcasting networks and government institutions that support cultural and artistic production in French, while providing access to these products and creations.
Francophone minority communities also have around 100 centres for artistic and cultural creation, production and distribution.

2024-07-10