Births, migration and aging of the official-language minority population

Portrait of Official-Language Minorities in Canada

Catalogue number: Catalogue number: 11-629-x

Issue number: 2015010

Release date: April 17, 2014
Births, migration and aging of the official-language minority population - Transcript

Description of visuals

Several factors explain the growth or decline of linguistic minorities in Canada. In demographic terms, births and migration are among the main factors.

(A bar chart appears on the screen showing the total fertility rate. The left axis goes from 0 to 5 and the bottom axis goes from 1956 to 2011. Four lines representing francophones and anglophones in Quebec and outside Quebec start at the upper left and slope downward to the lower right.)

The birth rate has been in general decline. The fertility rate of women with French as their mother tongue was very high in the 50s, but fell rapidly in the 60s and 70s. Since then, it has remained below the replacement level.

However, this trend is not exclusive to Francophones outside Quebec. The same phenomenon has been seen among Francophones and Anglophones, regardless of majority or minority status.

(A map of Canada appears on the screen. An orange arrow pointing downward appears in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia. Two horizontal orange arrows appear in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and the Maritime provinces. A purple arrow pointing downward appears in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia. Two horizontal orange arrows appear in Quebec.)

Since the 80s, the provinces gaining the most from interprovincial Francophone migration have been Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia.

Conversely, more Francophones have left the Atlantic provinces, Manitoba and Saskatchewan than that have settle there.

But as with births, the migratory patterns of Francophones and Anglophones are, with some exceptions, nearly the same.

In Quebec, net migration has had a much greater negative impact on the Anglophone minority, although the Anglophone exodus slowed between 2001 and 2011.

(Two orange and purple arrows pointing downward appear in Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia.)

As with interprovincial migration, Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia have gained the most from international immigration.

These provinces exert a strong pull on international immigrants both Francophone and Anglophones.

(A pie chart appears on the screen, showing the place of residence of francophone immigrants outside Quebec. A bar chart appears on the screen, showing the proportion of immigrants belonging to the minority (Canada outside Quebec and Quebec).)

Outside of Quebec, nearly 7 out of 10 Francophone immigrants live in Ontario and 2% of the immigrant population

(Two pie charts appear on the screen, showing the proportion of immigrants within the minority.)

has French as their first official language spoken.

In Quebec, 36% of the immigrants have English as the first official language spoken.

Furthermore, immigrants comprise one-third of the English-speaking population in Quebec, whereas they comprise 12% of the French-speaking population outside Quebec.

(An age pyramid appears on the screen, showing the aging of the population outside Quebec. The left axis goes from age 0 to 80 years and over, and the bottom axis goes from 0% to 10%. Orange and purple bands go from left to right.)

These demographic factors result in an age pyramid that reflects the aging of the French-mother-tongue population outside Quebec. In these provinces and territories, population aging appears to be less pronounced among Anglophones.

This difference cannot be explained solely by the demographic factors just described. To see how official-language minority populations are evolving, let's look at other factors such as exogamy and language transfers.

(The image fades into the Canada wordmark against a black background.)


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