Saskatchewan hosts second largest Indigenous language speaking population: Statistics Canada
Saskatchewan hosts the second largest population of Indigenous language speakers in the country, according to a recent Statistics Canada report.
The report was released on Aug. 17 and breaks down language diversity province by province across Canada.
Quebec hosts the largest Indigenous speaking population, with 45,600 residents reporting an Indigenous language as their mother tongue.
Saskatchewan ranks second with 27,500, Manitoba comes third with 26,500, Alberta comes fourth with 24,600, while Nunavut records at total of 23,000 Indigenous language speakers.
All told, there are approximately 189,000 individuals who reported having an Indigenous mother tongue in Canada. 183,000 reported speaking an Indigenous language at home on a regular basis.
Of those, 86,000 people spoke predominantly an Indigenous language at home, according to the report.
More than 70 Indigenous languages are spoken across Canada. The report noted “in many cases, incomplete transmission to future generations is reflected in the decrease and the aging of populations speaking these languages.”
Over 84 per cent of Saskatchewan residents reported their mother tongue as English. Tagalog (Filipino) ranked second in the province with 2.6 per cent. Indigenous languages came third with 2.5 per cent (With dialects of Cree making up nearly half of the category).
Other mother tongues with substantial populations included:
- German (1.6 per cent)
- French (1.5 per cent),
- Punjabi (0.9 per cent)
- Mandarin (0.9 per cent)
- Ukrainian (0.8 per cent)
- Urdu (0.7 per cent)
- Arabic (0.5 per cent)
- Gujarati (0.5 per cent)
- Spanish (0.5 per cent)
Nationwide, Inuktitut is the most spoken Indigenous language with 27,140 speakers recorded.
This is followed by speakers of the Cree languages with a total of 26,690 across Canada.
According to the federal agency, Canada’s linguistic diversity continues to grow even though the COVID-19 pandemic caused major disruptions to immigration.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Average hourly wage in Canada now $34.95: StatCan
Average hourly wages among Canadian employees rose to $34.95 on a year-over-year basis in April, a 4.7 per cent increase, according to a Statistics Canada report released Friday morning.
From outer space? Sask. farmers baffled after discovering strange wreckage in field
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
This iconic Canadian song is turning 50
Andy Kim's 'Rock Me Gently' is marking a major milestone, as it celebrates its 50th anniversary.
Oprah Winfrey: I set an unrealistic standard for dieting
Oprah Winfrey said on Thursday evening that she has long played a role in promoting unhealthy and unrealistic diets.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Toronto police called to Drake's Bridle Path mansion for another alleged intruder on Thursday
Toronto police say a man who allegedly attempted to access Drake’s Bridle Path property was taken to hospital on Thursday after an altercation with security guards.
Flat tire on a highway? Here's why you shouldn't try to fix it
If you're cruising down a highway and realize you have a flat tire, you may want to think twice before stopping to fix it on the side of the road.
Storm-battered U.S. South is again under threat. A boy swept into a drain fights for his life
Dangerous storms crashed over parts of the U.S. South on Thursday even as the region cleaned up from earlier severe weather that spawned tornadoes, killed at least three people, and gravely injured a boy who was swept into a storm drain as he played in a flooded street.
Broadcaster and commentator Rex Murphy dead at 77: National Post
The National Post is reporting that Rex Murphy, the pundit and columnist who hosted a national call-in radio show for decades, has died.