The Evolution of English–French Bilingualism in Canada from 1961 to 2011

In 1961, the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism laid the foundation for what would become the Government of Canada’s policy of official bilingualism.. The authors note that in the years following the Royal Commission, the rate of English–French bilingualism in Canada increased, but seemingly reached a plateau in 2001. This study (circa 2013) examined what were the bilingualism trends in Canada, and what were the factors behind the slowdown in bilingualism across the country after 2001. The authors found that Quebec was the only province in which the rate of bilingualism rose steadily between 2001 and 2011 — from 40.8 percent to 42.6 percent. In 1961, the rate was 25.5 percent.

[Insights on Canadian Society]

May 2013

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