There are over 9,5 million French speakers living in Canada, representing nearly one-third of Canada’s population. Approximately 22% of Canadians speak French as their mother tongue.
The province of Quebec is home to the majority of French speakers in Canada, where 7 million speak it as a first or second language. Outside Quebec, some 2.5 million people speak French, with roughly 1 million speaking it as their first language.
In Ontario, which is ranked first among Canada’s provinces in terms of population and economy, 1.4 million people speak French.
In Atlantic Canada, including New Brunswick—Canada’s only officially bilingual province—more than 450,000 people speak French.
In Western Canada, i.e., Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia, more than 650,000 people are French-speaking.
In Canada’s three territories, Yukon, Nunavut and the Northwest Territories, slightly more than 8,000 people have knowledge of French.