People who speak both of Canada’s official languages, French and English, have better wages and work outcomes, according to a study of those living outside the province of Quebec. In Quebec, it is common for people to be bilingual, but the research organization, Conference Board of Canada, wanted to look at the profile of the less common bilinguals in the rest of Canada (ROC).
Some parents choose to put their children into French immersion programs at school in hopes of giving them an advantage when they enter the workforce. (iStock)
Bilinguals found to have several advantages
The research revealed that outside of Quebec, bilinguals make up one-fifth of the work force, they are more likely to have a university education, higher incomes and a lower rate of unemployment. Just over 37 per cent have at least a bachelor’s degree.
Bilinguals outside Quebec were also found to create the most wealth in the finance, insurance and real estate industry, contributing almost $31 billion to Canada’s GNP in those sectors. Their total contribution to GDP is said to be $134.8 billion.
The study used government statistics from 2006 to 2016 and an in-depth survey of 1,000 bilingual respondents outside of Quebec.
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