Just under half (45%) of young adults in Canada outside Quebec who had attended a French-language high school and went on to study at university chose a French-language or bilingual institution during the period from the 2016/2017 to the 2020/2021 academic years. This proportion was higher among young adults who had been living in northern (93%) and southeastern (85%) New Brunswick and in eastern (72%) and northern (72%) Ontario five years before the 2021 Census of Population.
Today, Statistics Canada released a new study entitled "Did young adults who attended a French-language high school continue their postsecondary studies in French? A look at the situation in Canada outside Quebec in 2021." It uses a linkage of the Postsecondary Student Information System with the 2021 Census of Population and information from the Canadian Information Centre for International Credentials to examine the language of instruction of the first college or university attended by young adults who had attended a French-language high school in Canada outside Quebec, based on their region of residence in 2016 (i.e., before they first enrolled at a postsecondary institution) and their field of study.
Given the importance of French-language education in Canada outside Quebec to train workers who can use French at work and to preserve official language minority communities, the results of this study can help to identify the regions and fields of study where young adults who have just completed high school are more likely to choose a French-language or bilingual institution.
Young adults who went to college after attending a French-language high school were less likely to choose a French-language or bilingual institution than those who went to university, except in northern New Brunswick
In Canada outside Quebec, 40% of young adults who did college studies after attending a French-language high school chose a French-language institution during the period from the 2016/2017 to the 2020/2021 academic years. This proportion was lower than the proportion among young adults who did university studies (45%). Similar differences were observed in a number of regions, such as Ontario (38% of young adults who did college studies after attending a French-language high school chose a French-language or bilingual institution compared with 43% who did university studies) and southeastern New Brunswick (72% compared with 85%). In contrast, almost all young adults in northern New Brunswick who had attended a French-language high school went on to do postsecondary studies at a French-language or bilingual institution, at both the college (97%) and university (93%) levels.
Fewer than two in five young adults who studied in science, technology, engineering and mathematics at university chose a French-language or bilingual institution
The proportion of young adults who attended a French-language high school and went on to do postsecondary studies at a French-language or bilingual university varied by field of study during the period from the 2016/2017 to the 2020/2021 academic years. In Canada outside Quebec, young adults studying in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields were less likely (36%) to choose a French-language or bilingual university than young adults studying in business, humanities, health, arts, social science and education (BHASE) fields (49%). Similar differences in these proportions were observed in New Brunswick (68% of young adults studying in STEM fields compared with 85% studying in BHASE fields), Ontario (35% compared with 48%), Saskatchewan (29% compared with 47%), and British Columbia (21% compared with 29%).
Note to readers
This study looks at young adults who were 18 to 30 years old in 2021, who had attended a French-language high school for at least one year and who first enrolled at a postsecondary institution in Canada outside Quebec during the period from the 2016/2017 to the 2020/2021 academic years.
The results of this study are presented based on the place of residence of young adults five years before the 2021 Census of Population (i.e., in 2016), before they first enrolled at the postsecondary level.
This study is based on data from the linkage of the Postsecondary Student Information System with the 2021 Census of Population. Furthermore, using information from the Canadian Information Centre for International Credentials, the postsecondary institutions were categorized based on their language of instruction. At bilingual institutions, French is a language of instruction on at least one campus.
Contact information
For more information, or to enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact us (toll-free 1-800-263-1136; 514-283-8300; infostats@statcan.gc.ca) or Media Relations (statcan.mediahotline-ligneinfomedias.statcan@statcan.gc.ca).