General trends in the French language are similar to those in the rest of Canada outside of Quebecemphasizes Statistics Canada analyst Émilie Lavoie.

” We are seeing a decline in the unique proficiency of French as the sole native language and we are seeing a greater mix of languages. »

Statistics Canada’s latest report, released on Wednesday, shows that English still dominates in Saskatchewan, where 98% of the population speaks the language.

The major centers in the province are also seeing a decline in French. In Regina, 2,300 people speak French as their first official language, a decrease of about 100 people since the 2016 census. In the city of Saskatoon, 2,805 people speak French, a decrease of about 200 people.

We see that French is known, but that it is known with other languages. French is not predominant, is not the main language spoken or known to the peopleadds Ms. Lavoie.

This trend continues in smaller communities in the province. Prince Albert and Moose Jaw have seen a decrease of about 200 people with French as their first official language, while Gravelbourg has seen a decrease of almost 100 people.

Bilingualism on the rise

In Saskatchewan, 51,970 people reported speaking both French and English. This is an increase of 600 people since 2016.

In Saskatchewan, in the major centers, we see the majority of people speaking both languagesexplains the analyst.

It probably has to do with immigration. she says, we find that in big centers a larger number of people coming from countries where French is known. Bilingualism is also related to this Places where immersion programs have a strong presence.

However, when 4.7% of the population report being bilingual, that rate is the lowest of any Canadian province.

Notably, 27,510 people in Saskatchewan have an Aboriginal language as their first language, where Tagalog, German, Punjabi and Mandarin remain the main languages ​​also spoken in the province.

With information from Rose Nantel