The Media Roundup provides links to recent and archived articles, in both English and French, on immigration and diversity appearing in the national and local news. Some international content is also included. Articles are updated weekly.
CBC News – Record Number Of Canadians Reporting First Language Other Than French Or English: StatsCan
The number of Canadians who predominantly speak a language other than English or French hit a record high in 2021, according to new census data released on Wednesday. English and French remain the dominant languages according to Statistics Canada, but the number of people who speak a non-dominant language at home grew to 4.6 million, or roughly 13 per cent of the population. Meanwhile, at least one in four Canadians reported having at least one first language other than English or French.
Global News – Immigration Drives Rise of South Asian Languages in Canada: Census
A record-breaking one-in-four people speak a language that’s different from Canada’s two official languages, the 2021 data reveals. Mandarin and Punjabi are the most common non-official languages, with more than a million people predominantly speaking one of them. StatCan noted a large increase in the growth of the number of Canadians who predominantly speak South Asian languages such as Gujarati, Hindi or Malayalam since the last census in 2016, a rise which was fuelled by immigration.
City News – Kitchener Refugee Health Clinic Forced to Turn New Patients Away
A Kitchener healthcare clinic for refugees is dealing with overflowing patients, a lack of funding, and being forced to turn away newcomers. “For our clinic and for government assisted refugees in the region, these are challenging times,” said Dr. Neil Arya, director of the Centre for Family Medicine Refugee Health Clinic. New patients haven’t been accepted for three months. The clinic is designed to temporarily support refugees, but patients have been accumulating.
Toronto Star – Census Data Shows Linguistic Diversity on the Rise in Canada
One in four people in Canada have a mother tongue other than English or French, and about 12 per cent of people predominantly speak a non-official language at home as of last year. Proficiency in those languages tends to fade after a generation or two, however, Statistics Canada’s deputy head of the Centre for Demography said Wednesday. The trend is mainly driven by immigration, and continued even during the pandemic when immigration slowed considerably due to COVID-19 health restrictions and related backlogs, Caron-Malenfant said.
Toronto Star – Proportion of French Speakers Declines Nearly Everywhere in Canada, Including Quebec
Statistics Canada reported Wednesday the percentage of Canadians who speak predominantly French at home fell to 19.2 per cent in 2021 from 20 per cent in 2016. All provinces and territories saw a drop other than Yukon, where the figure was up from 2.4 to 2.6 per cent. In Quebec, the percentage of people who primarily speak French at home has been declining since 2001.
Le Devoir – Un français appelé à évoluer à Montréal
La langue est depuis toujours le reflet de la société dans laquelle elle évolue. Si on tient compte du contexte multiculturel montréalais, l’argot parlé dans la métropole n’a alors rien de surprenant, si bien qu’il est devenu pratique courante à Montréal de mélanger plus d’une langue dans la même phrase. On les entend dans la rue, dans le métro, dans les salles de classe : des mots provenant du créole haïtien et de l’arabe maghrébin se sont peu à peu ajoutés à l’argot de Montréal, venant bouleverser la traditionnelle dichotomie entre le français et l’anglais.
