What is the most popular language in Canada?

[Chris4Davi]

I have decided to study and work in Canada as of next year but I am uncertain if I should be studying French or Spanish. I want to make myself more marketable, so when I get there it won't be that great a challenge to find employment. I prefer French as it is easier to learn but I have to consider which will be more feasible.

[SpringBreeze]

Since you don't know French yet, I would say French. Don't forget many parts of Canada is still francophone. French is the second most spoken language in Canada and the official language in Quebec. So, you'll definitely have less employment and travel issues if you learn french. Also keep in mind that francophone Canadians mostly speak Canadian French.

[JGON3491]

I would go with French. You could also look up the location and find out what languages are spoken there, better to be safe than sorry.

[Ruth]

I will recommend French.  It is more popular than Spanish in Canada.

[sidney]

Same here, I would also recommend learning French instead, because it's obviously more popular in Canada. Even their names are of French origin, so you can't go wrong with opting for French.

[Baburra]

I think English is still the most popular language there but I suppose it just depends on which part of the country you'll be going to. Quebec surely uses french more than English but from what I understand their brand of french is a little bit different from France's but just in terms of accent. I've heard that french people don't really like this accent very much.

[maxprime94]

Hello! I am born and raised Canadian. I am from Ontario which is very diverse in culture and I can positively say that french should be the language you should study. Although as mentioned in the post above, Canada is mostly English although I live in Ottawa which is right near the border of Quebec and everything here/in Canada is translated in french, not Spanish like in the states. Also, this is coming from someone who's mother language is french!

[Asaase]

Besides English, I would have to say that the most popular language in Canada is French. I have had a few friends who have either worked or went to university in Canada and they have mentioned French a lot of times in conversation and they decided to learn the language as well.

[JessiFox]

Yes, I would have to agree that French makes the most sense in terms of studying with Canada in mind specifically. I think it would end up being more useful to you than Spanish.

[gmckee1985]

You should be able to get by pretty well by only speaking English in Canada. That is the most popular and widely used language there. It couldn't hurt to learn French, though. Since it is the second mostly prominent language. You'll probably need to know it if you hope to interact with locals or do business.

[SpringBreeze]

Since your question has already been answered, I just want to add, it's really important you consider where you will be working and in what industry. For example, in the Northwest Territories, learning one of the Native Indian languages could prove helpful. While in other territories with a high population of Italians, learning Italian could be more useful. But really English is the #1 language to know.

[RollingBlues]

  On 11/11/2014 at 10:49 PM, SpringBreeze said:

Since your question has already been answered, I just want to add, it's really important you consider where you will be working and in what industry. For example, in the Northwest Territories, learning one of the Native Indian languages could prove helpful. While in other territories with a high population of Italians, learning Italian could be more useful. But really English is the #1 language to know.

This. If you're going to be working anywhere within Quebec, french is completely necessary. As well, each province usually has a town with a "french district" like St. Boniface in Winnipeg, Manitoba. I would research where you are going to be working.