Quebec's Population

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Introduction
Population
Immigration
Arboriginal Nations
Mother Tongue

Introduction

On July 1, 2005, Quebec was inhibited by 7 598 146 persons, which represents 23,5 % of the whole population of Canada. Its demographic growth is slightly inferior to 1 per cent, which is similar to Canada and the United States, but superior to most countries of Western Europe. More than 80 % of the population live along the shore of the Saint Lawrence River.

Population

If we take a look at the origins of the citizens of Quebec, which is not to be mistaken with their mother tongue or home language, the population of Quebec is mostly of French origin (74,4 %), as stated by the 1996 Quinquennal Census. The second most important group are Quebecers of British origin, who represent 4,2 % of the whole population of Quebec. Quebecers of other origins represent, globally, 20,4 % of the population. Among them, the most numerous group is the Quebecers of Italian origin (2,6 %). Finally, the Quebecers of Arborginal extraction represent 1,0 % of the whole population of Quebec.

Immigration

Le Québec accueille annuellement près de 30 000 immigrants. Dès lors, la population québécoise comprend une forte proportion d'immigrants, soit près de 9 % de la population, ce qui témoigne de l'ouverture des Québécois. Parmi des immigrants, 36,2 % provenaient d'Asie en 1995, 31,5 % d'Europe, 17,5 % d'Amérique, 14,7 % d'Afrique et 1,0 % d'ailleurs dans le monde.

Arboriginal Nations

Quebec's population included, in 1996, 67 493 Arboriginals, or 59 653 Amerindians and 7 840 Inuit, representing slightly less than 1 % of the whole population. Except for the Inuit, who are a distinct native people, the Amerindians are divided between ten nations (Abenakis, Algonquins, Attikameks, Crees, Hurons-Wendat, Malecites, Micmacs, Mohawks, Montagnais, Naskapis), and most of them are living on "reserves". The status of the reserves is recognised and defined by the federal Indian Act. Most of the arboriginal nations use their mother tongue and french or english as a second language, except for the Abenakis, the Hurons-Wendat and the Malecites, who no longer speak their original language.

	Number	%
Amerindian nations	59 653	88,4
Mohawks	13 154	19,5
Montagnais	12 952	19,2
Crees	12 017	17,8
Algonquins	7 323	10,8
Attikameks	4 461	6,6
Micmacs	4 068	6,0
Hurons-Wendat	2 648	4,0
Abenakis	1 811	2,7
Naskapis	529	0,8
Malecites	469	0,6
Unaffiliated to a band	221	0,4
Inuit	7 840	11,6
Total	67 493	100,0

Mother Tongue

Even if French is the official language of Quebec, and is spoken by a huge majority of Quebecers, other languages are spoken. If we consider the home language, French is spoken by 82,0 % of the population of Quebec, followed by English with approximately 10,0 %. Finally, languages other than French and English (Italian, Spanish, Arab, Chinese, Greek, Vietnamian, Portuguese, etc.) are spoken at home by 8,0 % of Quebecers. If we consider the mother tongue, the figures are as follows (1991): French 81,6 %, English 8,8 %, other languages 8,1 % and Arboriginal languages 0,4 %.

Approximately half of the active population of Quebec is bilingual (French and English, which is the highest proportion of bilingual people in Canada. Moreover, approximately 20 % of the population living in the administrative region of Montreal is trilingual.

Last update: November 11, 2004