Languages characteristics

Official Name
Les Innus de Ekuanitshit
Number
82

Languages characteristics 2021 2016
Total Male Female Total Male Female
Language Knowledge 550 265 285 545 265 280
Indigenous language(s) 545 260 280 545 265 275
English only ** 10 10 10 0 0 0
French only ** 460 225 235 480 225 255
English & French ** 70 30 35 35 25 10
Other 0 0 0 0 0 0
Pop. with Indigenous languages first learned (%) 98.2 98.1 96.5 95.4 98.1 91.1
Pop. with Indigenous spoken at home (%) 87.3 88.7 86.0 99.1 100.0 96.4
Pop. with knowledge of Indigenous lang. (%) 99.1 98.1 98.2 100.0 100.0 98.2
Quebec 2021 2016
Total Male Female Total Male Female
Language Knowledge 8,308,480 4,126,855 4,181,620 7,965,455 3,941,440 4,024,015
Indigenous language(s) 50,170 24,530 25,635 50,890 25,190 25,700
English only ** 440,485 227,005 213,480 368,760 186,075 182,690
French only ** 3,910,045 1,838,275 2,071,770 3,960,415 1,852,750 2,107,665
English & French ** 3,876,695 2,026,710 1,849,980 3,561,930 1,872,395 1,689,535
Other 1,804,195 875,100 929,100 1,560,090 751,070 809,020
Pop. with Indigenous languages first learned (%) 0.5 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6
Pop. with Indigenous spoken at home (%) 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.6
Pop. with knowledge of Indigenous lang. (%) 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6
** This refers to knowledge of the official language(s).

*Disclaimer on Census material:

For confidentiality purposes, random rounding has been applied to all counts. Estimates greater than 10 are rounded to the nearest multiple of 5, while those under 10 are rounded to 0 or 10. As a result, totals may not equal the sum of individual values, as totals and subtotals are rounded independently. Similarly, percentage distributions calculated on rounded data may not add up to exactly 100%. For more details, see Statistics Canada rounding guidelines available at this link: https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/ref/98-26-0001/2020001/009-eng.cfm. Exercise caution when interpreting rates based on small numbers, as rounding can have a larger impact on these figures.

Each census cycle includes a number of incompletely enumerated reserves and settlements where data could not be collected (63 in 2021). This missing data can affect the comparability of statistics (e.g., percentage changes) for the affected geographic areas between 2016 and 2021. While the impact is generally minimal for higher-level geographies (e.g., census metropolitan areas, provinces, territories, or Canada as a whole), it is more significant for lower-level geographic areas (e.g., census subdivisions), where these communities represent a larger share of the population. This issue is further compounded by the fact that a reserve or settlement enumerated in one census may be omitted in another, complicating historical comparability. For a complete list of incompletely enumerated reserves and settlements, see this link: https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/ref/98-304/2021001/app-ann1-5-eng.cfm. COVID-19-related disruptions also impacted data collection for the 2021 Census. For more details on data quality and dissemination impacts, refer to Appendix 1.4 at https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/ref/98-304/2021001/app-ann1-4-eng.cfm. Exercise caution when interpreting rates based on small numbers as rounding can have a larger effect.

As of 2016, Income information was retrieved from personal income tax and benefits files, replacing income-related questions asked on the long form in previous censuses.

For the 2021 Census, the primary quality indicator that accompanies each disseminated output is the total non-response (TNR) rate—which replaced the global non-response rate (GNR) that was used for the 2016 Census of Population and for previous cycles. In previous census cycles, areas with a GNR above a certain threshold were suppressed from disseminated products (the threshold used in 2016 was 50%). Suppression of data based on quality was discontinued in 2021. However, it is recommended that data from areas with a TNR rate above 50% be used with caution. For more information on TNR rates and data quality indicators, see Statistics Canada’s guide at https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/ref/98-304/2021001/chap9-eng.cfm#a7, and data quality resources at https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/ref/dq-qd-eng.cfm.

To protect confidentiality, data may be suppressed to prevent direct or residual disclosure of identifiable information. Data for a cell is suppressed if the total population of the area is less than 40, or if the global non-response is 50% or higher. For details, see data suppression rules: http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/ref/98-304/2021001/chap10-eng.cfm#a6. A list of geographic areas where data has not been released can be found here: https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/ref/sup/index-eng.cfm.

The target population of the 2021 Census short-form and long-form questionnaires was the same as for the 2016 Census. The estimates from the 2021 Census and 2016 Census programs were both derived from mandatory surveys with very high response rates. The response rate for the 2021 Census is 96.9%, and for the long-form questionnaire, it is 95.7%. These rates are slightly lower than the 2016 response rates of 97.4% and 96.9%, respectively.

Due to slightly lower response rates for the 2021 Census, the non-response error may be greater for some estimates from the 2021 Census program than for estimates from the 2016 Census program. This is particularly true for smaller domains of interest where non‑response may have been greater in 2021 due to the unique collection challenges encountered in Northern or remote regions of the country, and Indigenous communities. The quality of the estimates and the risk of bias vary slightly more between different communities for the 2021 Census, compared to the 2016 Census.

The quality of the estimates for a given geographic area varies across census cycles based on response rates and incompletely enumerated reserves and settlements. When comparing estimates from the 2021 Census and 2016 Census for a given geographic area, users should be mindful of large differences in response rates as well as significant changes in the list of incompletely enumerated reserves and settlements.

For more information on comparability between 2006, 2011, 2016 and 2021 see: https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2021/ref/98-304/2021001/chap9-eng.cfm.

For further information about the data posted here, please contact the Strategic Research and Statistics Directorate at 1-800-567-9604 or by e-mail at instat@sac-isc.gc.ca.
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Date modified:
2026-01-14