Across Canada's provinces and territories, language policies vary. Although the federal government operates as an officially bilingual institution, providing services in English and French, several provincial governments have also instituted or legislated their own language policies.

From the 1890s until the 1960s, English was the only language in which most government services were provided outside of Quebec (which was functionally bilingual) and using French in the courts or in schools was often illegal. These developments led to fears by French-Canadian nationalists that French speakers would be assimilated into the increasingly Anglophone culture of Ontario, leading the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism (1963–1969) to recommend that the Government of Canada and all provinces offer more services in French.

Since that time, Quebec has used provincial law to encourage the use of French (see Charter of the French Language) ahead of other languages, while the other provinces have begun to offer more and more services in French and in other languages besides English, including aboriginal languages and immigrant languages. The 1982 amendments to the Constitution of Canada included a right of minority-language education that has resulted in policy changes in all of the provinces. Quebec is unique in requiring private businesses to use French and requiring immigrants to send their children to French-language schools. In other provinces there is no requirement that businesses use a particular language, but English predominates, and immigrants may send their children to English, French or third-language schools.

History (before 1982)

At the time of Confederation in 1867, English and French were made the official languages of debate in the Parliament of Canada and the Parliament of Quebec. No specific policies were enacted for the other provinces, and no provisions were made for the official languages to be used in other elements of the government such the courts, schools, post offices, and so on. The official language policies of the provinces and territories were initially set when they were created by the federal government, or in the case of provinces that were separate colonies before joining Confederation (Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, and British Columbia) were inherited from their own histories. Language policies in all provinces have evolved over time in response to changing demographics, public attitudes, and legal rulings.

The Prairies

Prior to becoming part of Canada in 1869, English was a minority language in the Prairies, where French and Aboriginal languages were more common. The arrival of settlers from Ontario, the British Isles, and the United States changed the demographic balance, however. One of the outcomes of the Red River Rebellion of 1870 was the creation of Manitoba as an officially bilingual province, to protect the French-speaking Métis from being overpowered by the incoming English-speaking settlers. This guarantee failed, however, and in the aftermath of the Manitoba Schools Question, that province was allowed to become officially English-only, until these policies were declared unconstitutional in 1985.

The Northwest Territories Act of 1891 made English and French official languages in the rest of the Canadian West. But in 1892 the Legislature of the Northwest Territories declared itself English-only.

This trend continued to the creation of the new provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan in 1905, and beyond.

Effect of the Charter on the provinces and territories Section Twenty-three of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees that Canadian-born or educated parents (not recent immigrants) have a right to educate their children in their choice of either French or English wherever there are "sufficient numbers". This was a major change in that education is normally considered solely provincial jurisdiction, and policy had been majoritarian. Court cases such as Doucet-Boudreau v Nova Scotia (Minister of Education) have indicated that this is a positive right that demands timely and sufficient action from the provincial governments.

Officially bilingual or multilingual provinces/territories

In addition to the federal government, English and French are formally the official languages of the provinces of Manitoba and New Brunswick, and in all three territories. In addition to English and French, Nunavut and the Northwest Territories have additional languages legislated as official languages.

However, New Brunswick remains the only province whose provincial government is able to provide equal access to services for either official languages. In the other cases, the recognition sometimes amounts to a formal recognition of official languages, but limited services in official languages other than English. Manitoba was officially bilingual at its creation, became officially Anglophone only, but this was later reversed by the courts.

The territories

Northwest Territories: Chipewyan, Cree, English, French, Gwich’in, Inuinnaqtun, Inuktitut, Inuvialuktun, North Slavey, South Slavey, and Tłįchǫ or Dogrib. Nunavut: English, Inuktitut, Inuinnaqtun, and French. Yukon: English and French.

New Brunswick

New Brunswick has been officially bilingual in English and French since the passing of the New Brunswick Official Languages Act (1969). This was complemented by An Act Recognizing the Equality of the Two Official Linguistic Communities in New Brunswick in 1981. New Brunswick's bilingualism was constitutionally enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in 1982. The Charter was amended in 1993 to clarify that the two language communities are legally equal. In 1999 the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in Moncton (City) v. Charlebois that New Brunswick's official bilingualism also applied to municipalities in the province. In 2002 the Official Languages Act became New Brunswick's new language law, leading to the creation of the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages for New Brunswick in 2003.

Manitoba

When Manitoba was established, section 23 of the Manitoba Act, 1870 provided that English or French could be used in the courts and the Legislative Assembly, and that all provincial acts had to be enacted in both languages. However, in 1890, the provincial government passed the Official Language Act by which Manitoba became English-only.An Act to Provide that the English Language shall be the Official Language of the Province of Manitoba, SM 1890, c. 14. Nearly a century later, the Supreme Court of Canada held, in Reference Re Manitoba Language Rights, that this legislation was unconstitutional. The province of Manitoba is now overwhelmingly English-speaking and the first language of the courts, government ministries, and schools is English. In order to comply with the court's ruling, the provincial legislature is required to enact all of its statutes in both languages and both languages can be used in the Legislative Assembly and the courts. The provincial government has gone beyond the requirements of s. 23 and the Supreme Court decision and now provides government services in both languages, as summarized in the French Language Services Policy, last updated in March 1999.

Regionalized bilingualism: Ontario

Ontario has a regionalized language policy, where part of the province is English-only and other areas are bilingual. Province-wide services (such as websites and toll-free telephone numbers) are provided in both English and French. However individuals only have a right to French-language services in certain designated regions of the province under the French Language Services Act (1986). There are 26 regions so designated. These are: areas with 10% or more Francophones; urban centres with 5,000 or more Francophones; and areas previously designated by the Government of Ontario between 1978 and 1985. Notably this includes Toronto, the provincial capital and Canada's largest municipality (although not all of the regional municipalities of the GTA are included), and the National Capital Region including Ottawa, as well as many other cities, counties, districts, townships, and towns. For the purposes of the policy, the definition of a "Francophone" was broadened in 2009. Previously it included only mother-tongue speakers, however it now includes allophones (people whose first language is neither French or English) who "have particular knowledge of French as an official language and use French at home, including many recent immigrants to Ontario for whom French is the language of integration".

However, Ontario's legislature and judicial systems are officially bilingual, with French made an official language of the legislature in 1970, and the judiciary in 1984. The official languages of the provincial courts was set in s. 125 of the Courts of Justice Act, with s. 126 of the same act outlining the specific rights afforded to a French-speaking party. French-language access within Ontario's judicial administrative offices is also required in designated communities under the French Language Services Act. In addition to section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, French-language rights for resident elementary and secondary school students in Ontario are afforded through its provincial Education Act.

Officially French-only: Quebec

Until 1969, Quebec was the only officially bilingual province in Canada and most public institutions functioned in both languages. English was also used in the legislature, government commissions and courts. An Act to promote the French language in Québec was passed in 1969 by the Union Nationale government of Jean-Jacques Bertrand. It required the education ministry to ensure that French as a second language was taught to all English-speakers and immigrants in Quebec, but allowed Quebecers freedom of choice in deciding in which language to educate their children. This was considered too weak by many Quebec nationalists, leading to the creation of the Mouvement Québec français and increased support for the new Parti Québécois.

From 1968 to 1973, the Commission of Inquiry on the Situation of the French Language and Linguistic Rights in Quebec investigated how to strengthen the position of French in Quebec. Its recommendations led to the passage of the Official Language Act or "Bill 22" in 1974 by the Quebec Liberal Party government of Robert Bourassa. This made French the sole official language of Quebec and required its use in business.

Bill 22 was replaced by the Charter of the French Language (Bill 101) by Quebec's National Assembly in August 1977, under the Parti Québécois government led by René Lévesque. It is structured as a list of rights, where everyone in Quebec has the right to be served in French by the government and businesses, and also provides rights for speakers of English and aboriginal languages. Most government services are available in both French and English. Regional institutions in the Nunavik region of northern Quebec offer services in Inuktitut and Cree.

Several legal challenges have been raised against Bill 101 in the ongoing legal dispute over Quebec's language policy. In 1988, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in Ford v Quebec (AG) that the ban on outdoor signs in languages other than French was unconstitutional. The government of Quebec choose to invoke the "notwithstanding clause" to shield the legislation from the courts. The United Nations Commission on Human Rights ruled similarly in Ballantyne v Canada in 1993. The ban on non-French signs was lifted with the passage of Bill 86 in 1993.

On May 24 2022, Quebec's French Language Bill 96 was adopted, with 78 MNAs in favour (from the CAQ and Québec solidaire) and 29 against (from the Liberal Party and Parti Québécois).

Officially English with services in French and other languages