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2006 Census: The Evolving Linguistic Portrait, 2006 Census: Evolution of the language situation in Quebec

Increase in the number of the Anglophone and Francophone population but decline of their relative weight in Montréal

In the Montréal census metropolitan area,¹ the proportion of the Francophone population dropped from 68.3% in 2001 to 65.7% in 2006, even though their numbers increased by 30,000. The proportion of Anglophones was also down, albeit to a much lesser extent, declining from 12.7% to 12.5% between the two censuses. The changes are primarily due to the growth of the allophone population, which increased to 21.8% in 2006 from 19.0% in 2001. (see Table A-7)

Because of strong allophone immigration, the Montréal CMA's population that uses a language other than English or French most often at home has also increased in proportion, from 11.9% in 2001 to 13.4% in 2006. During the same period, the proportion of Montréal residents whose main language at home is French decreased from 70.9% to 69.1%, despite an increase of 68,000 persons. The proportion of people who speak English most often at home remained steady between the two censuses, while their number increased by 38,000.

For the census division of Montréal (or Island of Montréal), the proportion of Francophones fell below 50% in 2006. While this proportion had remained stable between 1996 and 2001, it declined between 2001 and 2006, from 53.2% to 49.8%. The proportion of individuals using French most often at home also declined, from 56.4% in 2001 to 54.2% in 2006.

In contrast, the proportion of Anglophones in the census division of Montréal was virtually unchanged between 2001 and 2006, after decreasing during the previous five-year period. This is mainly due to much fewer Anglophones moving to other Canadian provinces and territories.

At the same time, the proportion of allophones jumped from 29.1% in 2001 to 32.6% in 2006.

Between 2001 and 2006, the Francophone population of the census division of Montréal declined by 40,000 persons, in contrast to five years earlier when it had grown for the first time since 1971.

Between 2001 and 2006, there was a net loss of 53,000 Francophone persons through migration exchanges between the census division of Montréal and other regions of the country. This net loss, similar to that observed between 1991 and 1996, was primarily to other municipalities in the Montréal CMA. Between 1996 and 2001, the net loss of 3,000 persons through migration exchanges between the census division of Montréal and the other regions of the country was much smaller.

In contrast, the Anglophone population, after declining by nearly 14,000 between 1996 and 2001, grew by more than 4,000 in the last five-year period. This growth rate of 1.5% compares with 2.3% for the entire population of the census division of Montréal.

Between 2001 and 2006, migration exchanges between the Anglophone population of the census division of Montréal and the rest of Canada resulted in a net loss of almost 11,000, compared with a net loss of 18,000 between 1996 and 2001. During both periods, the majority of the net loss of the Anglophone population of the census division of Montréal was due to migration to other municipalities in the Montréal CMA.

The allophone population continued to grow, but at a much faster pace than in the past. After increasing by more than 33,000 between 1996 and 2001, the allophone population gained more than 76,000 between 2001 and 2006, representing a growth rate of 14.7%.

The allophone population also lost 31,000 as a result of migration exchanges with the rest of Canada in the last five-year period. However, the losses were largely offset by international immigration. As was the case for Anglophones and Francophones, most allophones who left the census division of Montréal moved to other municipalities in the Montréal CMA.

The changes in the size and proportion of the three major language groups in the census division of Montréal altered the composition of the population by language used most often at home. The population that spoke French most often at home declined by nearly 17,000 between 2001 and 2006, down from 1,005,670 persons (56.4%) to 988,760 persons (54.2%).

Nearly 15,000 more people than in 2001 reported using English most often at home, a reversal of the decrease of 3,500 between 1996 and 2001. However, the proportion of people who usually spoke English at home was up only slightly, from 25.0% to 25.2% of the population of the census division of Montréal.

The proportion of people who used a language other than English or French most often at home was 20.6% in 2006, compared to 18.6% in 2001.

With regard to language transfers in the census division of Montréal, the allophone population speak French at home more often than in 2001. Specifically, 21.4% of allophones reported speaking French most often at home, up from 20.1% in 2001. Among allophones who made a language transfer to English or French, the proportion who spoke French at home also showed an increase, from 41.0% in 2001 to 45.0% in 2006.

The increase in the allophone population since 1986 has been primarily due to the more rapid growth of the groups whose mother tongue is Arabic, Spanish and Creole. The three groups accounted for 60% of the increase in the allophone population of the census division of Montréal between 1996 and 2001, but only for 40% between 2001 and 2006.

In the last five-year period, the sources of growth have become more diverse: nine language groups were responsible for 60% of the increase in the allophone population, the top three being Arabic (22.4%), Spanish (13.4%) and the Chinese languages (13.0%).

In Quebec, both Anglophones and allophones are concentrated in the census division of Montréal. In 2006, 52.9% of the province's Anglophones lived in the census division of Montréal, almost the same percentage as in 2001. Similarly, 65.2% of the allophone population made their homes in the census division of Montréal in 2006, compared with 70.8% in 2001.

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