Written by Gabriela Estrada

Canada is an officially bilingual country, with English and French as its official languages. While English predominates in most provinces and cities, French also has a significant presence, especially in Quebec. Since the French-speaking demographic is smaller compared to the English-speaking demographic, the government offers programs to attract French-speaking foreigners who want to live in Canada. 

Which city in this country do you think needs more French-speaking immigrants? To find out, I invite you to read with me our Planet Immiland blog, here you will find valuable data on the Canadian provinces and cities that need to increase their French-speaking demography to preserve the language and its idiosyncrasy. Let's get started.

The three French-speaking provinces of Canada 

The three Canadian provinces that use French as their official language are: Quebec, Manitoba and New Brunswick.

Quebec is the most recognized province of the three for its predominantly French-speaking culture, many Latin Americans have migrated to Quebec to make their lives there and are now part of its demographics, although there is also New Brunswick, the only officially bilingual province, where English and French are spoken equally. Other provinces such as Manitoba have robust francophone communities and, in Ontario, cities such as Ottawa and Toronto have very representative francophone communities and services for their inhabitants.

Do you know the so-called bilingual belt of Canada?

Bilingual belt is the term used to describe the regions of Canada where both English and French are spoken. The bilingual belt starts in New Brunswick, in the east of the country and from the north, and extends as far south as Manitoba, crossing important regions such as Quebec and Ontario. This means that Canada's French-speaking demographics are predominantly found in this belt.

How is the French-speaking demographic distributed in Canada's cities?

• Montreal, Quebec: this city is officially and mostly French-speaking, so it is ideal for immigrants with a high level of French who wish to be part of a French culture, although English is also used but in a smaller demographic proportion.

According to data, the English language is restricted to the cosmopolitan city of Montreal, however, French is the most widely spoken language there. From a migratory point of view, French-speaking foreigners should be aware of the IRCC programs since many of them offer the possibility of permanent residence, but outside Quebec, the reason being that the language is already present in this province and the aim is to preserve it in minority communities.

• Moncton, New Brunswick: Moncton is a very important city in the province and has a 35% French-speaking population, for the most part this bilingual province is English-speaking.

• Winnipeg, Manitoba: Manitoba's francophone community has withstood historical onslaughts and today numbers approximately 110,000 Manitobans (francophones and francophiles), who live primarily in Winnipeg's French-speaking neighbourhoods and in some 40 francophone villages located in the southern part of the province.

• Nunavut: this is a quiet and sparsely populated Canadian territory. According to data, it is the least densely populated major country subdivision in the world (excluding Antarctica), even less than Greenland in Denmark. Did you know that Nunavut has four official languages: Inuinnaqtun, Inuktitut, English and French?

• Toronto, Ontario: Toronto is Canada's largest city, French is spoken here although at a lower percentage than English, so there is government interest in increasing and preserving its bilingual culture by attracting French-speaking immigrants. In fact, according to sources, the law stipulates that services provided by Ontario government ministries and agencies be available in French in 26 designated areas, including cities, counties and municipalities. These places are home to a large number of French-speaking residents.

Toronto is a very attractive city to live in thanks to its cultural diversity and numerous job opportunities.

• Vancouver, British Columbia: although less French-speaking, Vancouver remains an attractive option for its quality of life and breathtaking natural scenery. In fact, Canada is multilingual - did you know that several languages are spoken in British Columbia? In addition to English and French, Cantonese and Mandarin, Punjabi, German, Tagalog, Korean, Spanish and Farsi are also spoken.

Why discover the French-speaking side of Canada and learn its language?

Canada is not only an attractive destination because of its strong economy and job opportunities, but also because of its commitment to bilingualism and cultural inclusion. From the bustling streets of Montreal to the welcoming communities in Ontario and New Brunswick, in every province there is a perfect place for a francophone immigrant thanks to the economic pathways offered by the government.

At Planeta Immiland, we offer French courses that take you to CLB 5 level, with which you can acquire a good score to apply for the Mobilité Francophone program and live in Canada (outside Quebec). If you would like to learn more about our French programs, click here.

Remember that the Canadian francophonie is becoming increasingly valuable to the country, so learning or improving the language in 2025 will be key if you wish to emigrate. I hope this topic motivates you to explore more about Canadian demographics and which city can offer you the most academic or job opportunities. Thanks for reading to the end - see you in the next blog!

With love,

Planet Immiland