Bilingualism brings $1.4 billion per year to N.B.: report

Official Languages Commissioner Katherine d’Entremont says New Brunswick is poised to capitalize on its bilingual workforce.

A first-of-its kind study in New Brunswick has determined the economic benefit of bilingualism is $1.4 billion.

The report underlines that two languages are better than one, and has been accepted by New Brunswick’s Commissioner of Official Languages.

The $1.4 billion is generated annually, mostly in customer contact or call centres, where one bilingual job brings in two unilingual jobs.

“That means that you have a whole lot of unilingual New Brunswickers that are actually working because of the bilingual character of our workforce,” says the report’s co-author, Pierre-Marcel Desjardins.

And it goes way beyond attracting call centres.  The report says post-secondary education and tourism also share the benefits.

Languages Commissioner Katherine d’Entremont says New Brunswick is poised to capitalize on the unique nature of its workforce.

“Now that this information is out there, people can have informed discussions, not only about what has happened in the past, but more importantly, the opportunities that this information presents for the future,” says d’Entremont.

While bilingualism drives almost $1.5 billion in exports, there’s no way to measure its cost to government.

“I don’t think it’s something the government has taken into consideration at this point,” says Francine Landry, Minister Responsible for La Francoponie.

Landry says the government has yet to fully examine this report, but given their focus on job creation, any recommendation that would help with economic development will be looked at.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Andy Campbell