8.4.1 Canada's Official Languages

English and French are the two official languages of Canada, and they are strong symbols of identity in their own right. People whose language is English are called Anglophones. People whose language is French are called Francophones. The two groups have lived side by side for more than 300 years. That relationship is described as a partnership, and also as a creative tension: the two communities work together, and they also push against each other, and both things have shaped the country.

Language matters for citizenship itself. Anyone who wants to become a Canadian citizen needs adequate knowledge of English, or of French. Adults of 55 and over do not have to meet that requirement. A second rule started on 11 October 2017. Applicants aged 18 to 54 on the day they apply must also sit a citizenship test, written in English or in French, covering Canada and the privileges and responsibilities that citizenship brings. Your language ability is judged separately, not by that test.

Parliament passed the Official Languages Act in 1969. The Act has three main objectives. First, it makes French and English equal in Parliament, in the Government of Canada, and in the institutions covered by the law. Second, it supports and develops official language minority communities, meaning Francophones outside Quebec and Anglophones inside it. Third, it promotes equality between French and English in Canadian society more widely, beyond government offices. Those three aims are worth memorising as a set.