Feds Will Fail to Meet Bilingualism Targets Despite Billions in Spending: Report

Official Languages Commissioner Raymond Théberge responds to a question during a news conference in Ottawa, May 9, 2019. The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld

French language use in Canada will not grow despite billions of dollars spent encouraging its use, according to a federal report, which said “worrisome demographic trends” are behind the decline in bilingualism rates, as first reported by Blacklock’s Reporter.

“Initiatives are not sufficient to contribute to some expected long-term outcomes,” the Department of Canadian Heritage said in a report dated Jan. 20. “Notably, the contribution of Francophone immigration is not sufficient to increase the demographic weight of Francophones outside Quebec.”

The long-term expected results refer to targets set for 2036.

One target is to have the relative weight of francophones outside Quebec be restored and maintained at 4 percent by 2036, where francophones refer to those whose first official language spoken is French.

However, 2021 Census data shows that the proportion of francophones declined to 3.5 percent from 3.8 percent in 2016. Statistics Canada (StatCan) in 2017 had predicted that this figure will be as low as 2.7 percent by 2036.

Other expected results include supporting the vitality of English-speaking communities in Quebec and increasing the bilingualism rate among anglophones outside Quebec (to 9 percent by 2036) to increase the individual bilingualism rate of Canadians (to 20 percent by 2036).

The report is an evaluation of the federal government’s Action Plan for Official Languages 2018–2023, covering the period 2018–2019 to 2021–2022. This is the feds’ fourth five-year strategy for official languages.

Successive cabinets have invested $9 billion so far on the action plan: $1.9 billion in 2003–2008, $2.2 billion in 2008–2013, $2.2 billion in 2013–2018, and $2.7 billion in 2018–2023.

But this investment has not halted the downward the trend, said the report.

“The funding for the Action Plan does not live up to its objectives, particularly that of increasing the rate of bilingualism of Canadians,” according to the report.

“Data from StatCan indicated a decrease in the relative weight of Francophones in the country, particularly in Francophone and Acadian minority communities.”

The report added that “there was a slow increase in the rate of bilingualism among English-speaking Canadians outside Quebec and the challenges faced by English-speaking rural communities in Quebec.”

Francophone Immigration

During his June 16 testimony before the House of Commons official languages committee, Official Languages Commissioner Raymond Théberge emphasized the importance of immigration from former French colonies in Africa as a means of preserving the French language in Canada.

We need to recruit “where there are significant francophone populations,” Mr. Théberge said, giving examples of countries such as Ivory Coast, Mali, and Senegal, stating that “the future of French lies in Africa.”

“Francophone immigration is crucial to the development of our official language minority communities. Indeed, according to statistics, we see that the relative weight of francophone communities is decreasing compared to that of the majority,” he said.

Among immigrants to Canada, the majority in recent years have been from India, China, and the Philippines, although 2022 saw more immigrants from Afghanistan and Nigeria than from the Philippines, according to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.