Introduction – Background and context of the study

One of the main responsibilities of the Commissioner of Official Languages of Canada (the Commissioner) is to promote linguistic duality in Canadian society. To help meet this responsibility, the Commissioner raises Canadians’ awareness of the benefits of linguistic duality and carries out research, studies and public awareness activities to help inform all Canadians of the status and importance of Canada’s official languages.

As a leader in official languages, the Commissioner takes great interest in the question of access to opportunities for Canadians to learn and to master their second official language. He recognizes that this is key to the continuing success of the Official Languages Act, the advancement of the equality of status and use of English and French in Canadian society, and the fostering of a bilingual public service that can work, and serve Canadians, in both languages.

The challenge of ensuring access to French-as-a-second-language (FSL) education is particularly pressing. While the 2016 census showed an overall increase in the national bilingualism rate, from 17.5% in 2011 to 17.9% in 2016, the rate remains much higher among Canadians whose mother tongue is French (46.2%), and much lower among Canadians whose mother tongue is English (9.2%) or another language (11.7%) (Statistics Canada 2017)

According to recent projections, the bilingualism rate among non-Francophones is not expected to increase for the foreseeable future (Houle and Corbeil 2017). One means of addressing this challenge, at least in part, is by ensuring support for FSL education—a priority area identified in the Government of Canada’s Action Plan for Official Languages – 2018-2023: Investing in Our Future.

Canadians recognize the need to foster bilingualism, especially among youth. A 2016 survey conducted by Nielsen for the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages (the Office of the Commissioner) showed that roughly 8 in 10 Canadians agree that:

• both languages should be taught to some extent in all elementary schools across Canada;
• more needs to be done so that young people can become bilingual; and
• provincial governments should make more spaces available in immersion programs.

Learning one’s second official language in a school setting is particularly important for Canadians whose first official language is English: in the same 2016 survey, 79% of Anglophone respondents who could speak French stated that they learned the language in elementary or high school. Respondents also identified lack of access to language courses as the most common barrier to learning a second official language

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