StatsCan says 14 per cent of Quebec workers use English more than French at work; 21 per cent in Montreal

Students rush to prove English CEGEP eligibility Students applying to the English CEGEP system in Quebec have to prove they are eligible to get a spot because of Bill 96.

New data from Statistics Canada shows 14 per cent of Quebec workers use English as a primary language on the job. In Montreal, that proportion grows to 21 per cent.

The data was released Wednesday morning as part of Statistics Canada’s 2021 census.

French-English bilingualism at work was common in Quebec, with 27.8 per cent of workers reporting that they used both languages regularly in the workplace.

Four out of five workers in Quebec, or 79.9 per cent, told Statistics Canada that they mainly spoke French at work.

Across the country, 19.9 per cent of the national workforce reported that they used French primarily, compared to 77.1 per cent for English. Slightly less than two per cent "used French and English equally."

Outside of Quebec and New Brunswick, 92.6 per cent of workers used English exclusively at work in 2021, and 98.7 per cent use it at least "regularly."

In New Brunswick, the only bilingual province in Canada, slightly more than 20 per cent of workers spoke French primarily at work, while 75.9 per cent mostly spoke English.

Also in New Brunswick, 3.9 per cent of respondents "used French and English equally." In the Moncton metropolitan area, 28 per cent of workers regularly used both official languages.

-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Nov. 30, 2022