What are official language rights?

Official-language rights in Canada are constitutional guarantees that English and French have equal status in federal institutions and (as a special case) in New Brunswick. Sections 16 to 22 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms set out the rights of Canadians to use English or French in Parliament, the federal courts, federal services, and (in New Brunswick) provincial institutions. Section 23 protects the right to minority-language education for Canadian citizens whose first language is the minority official language of the province.

Federal bilingualism predates the Charter. The Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism, appointed by Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson in 1963, reported between 1967 and 1970 and recommended sweeping changes to recognise French as an equal official language. The Official Languages Act of 1969 (passed under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau) implemented the recommendations. The Act was comprehensively modernised in 2023 by Bill C-13, which strengthens federal obligations and addresses the decline of French in minority communities outside Quebec.

The Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages, established in 1970 and currently held by Raymond Theberge (since 2018), is an independent agent of Parliament that investigates complaints about federal compliance with language obligations. The Commissioner reports annually to Parliament, conducts audits, and may prosecute serious cases in Federal Court. Federal institutions including the Canada Revenue Agency, Parks Canada, the RCMP, Service Canada, and Crown corporations such as the CBC and Canada Post operate under the Official Languages Act.

Provincial language regimes vary widely. New Brunswick is the only officially bilingual province, with the Official Languages Act of New Brunswick of 2002 establishing parallel English and French government services. Quebec's Charter of the French Language (Bill 101 of 1977, strengthened by Bill 96 of 2022) makes French the official language of the province, with English protected through specific exceptions. Manitoba is constitutionally required to provide bilingual services through section 23 of the Manitoba Act, 1870 (Reference re Manitoba Language Rights, 1985). The other provinces and territories have varying levels of French-language services, generally focused on minority French communities.