French language in Canada French language in Canada French is the mother tongue of about 7.2 million Canadians (20.6% of the Canadian population, second to English at 56%) according to Census Canada 2016. Most native speakers of the French language in Canada live in Quebec, where French is the majority official language. 77% of Quebec's population are native francophones, and 95% of the population speak French as their first or second language. Additionally, about one million native francophones live in other provinces, forming a sizable minority in New Brunswick, which is officially a bilingual province, where about one-third of the population are francophone. There
Section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms two changes were made to Manitoba's Public School Act (PSA) in 1966 and 1970 when French language instruction was once again recognized as an official language of instruction. Manitoba's minority French language instruction rights have developed since the introduction of the Charter and Section 23 to a point where they have allowed for the inclusion of a separate school board (La Division Scolaire Franco-Manitobaine DSFM) which is fully funded by the provincial treasury and operates throughout the Province. Significant with regards to the Province's (Manitoba) interpretation of section 23 is how the "number of Students" and not "mother tongue" is