Dictionary, Census of Population, 2016
Knowledge of official languages

Release date: May 3, 2017 Updated on: August 2, 2017
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Definition

'Knowledge of official languages' refers to whether the person can conduct a conversation in English only, French only, in both or in neither language. For a child who has not yet learned to speak, this includes languages that the child is learning to speak at home.

Statistical unit(s)

Person

Classification(s)

Knowledge of Official Languages

Reported in

2016 and 2011 (100% data); 2006, 2001, 1996, 1991, 1986 and 1981 (20% sample).

Reported for

Total population

Question number(s)

Direct variable: Question 7

Responses

English only; French only; Both English and French; Neither English nor French

Remarks

For more information on language variables, including information on their classifications, the questions from which they are derived, data quality and their comparability with other sources of data, please refer to the Languages Reference Guide, Census of Population, 2016.

More information

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Copyright

Published by authority of the Minister responsible for Statistics Canada.

© Minister of Industry, 2017

All rights reserved. Use of this publication is governed by the Statistics Canada Open Licence Agreement.

Catalogue no. 98-301-X

Ottawa

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