Canadian French: what it is and how to learn it

Canadian French is French as it is spoken in Canada, and it is not one accent or one list of words. This page shows where French is spoken in Canada, which varieties the sources name, and how to learn it using Canadian listening and Canadian references. To see what each level means, read French levels explained. To plan your study time, read How long does it take to learn French?. For the word and sound differences with France, see Québec French vs France French; for classes, see Learn French in Canada; and for the swear words you will hear, Québec French swear words. For everyday Québec words with their standard equivalents, see English to Québec French: a phrase guide.

What is Canadian French?

Canadian French is the French spoken in Canada, and it covers more than one variety. None of the official pages opened for this guide defines “Canadian French” as a single standard, so this page uses the plain meaning.

The Canadian Encyclopedia names two main kinds of French spoken in Canada: the French of Québec and of descendants of Quebecers in the provinces west of Québec, and the French spoken by Acadians [2]. It lists other variants too [2].

The same article says these varieties are not sealed off from each other. The French of the Québec diaspora communities still shares many usages with Québec French, and Acadian French shares others with it [2]. That article was last edited in December 2015, so treat it as a description of the varieties, not of today’s numbers [2].

Where is French spoken in Canada?

Every province has people whose mother tongue is French, and Québec is the only province where they are in the majority [2]. In the 2021 Census, 21.4% of Canadians had French as their first official language spoken, which Statistics Canada puts at more than 7.8 million people [1]. In Québec the share was 82.2%, and outside Québec it was 3.3% [1].

Small shares can still mean many people. Statistics Canada says that in Canada outside Québec, more than half of the population whose first official language spoken is French lived in Ontario, and one-quarter lived in New Brunswick [1]. It also reports that more than 2.7 million people outside Québec, about 1 in 10, could have a conversation in French [1]. Across Canada, 22.6% spoke French at home at least on a regular basis [1].

How do you learn Canadian French?

Start with the French that all of these varieties share, then add Canadian listening. The steps below are practical suggestions, not figures from a study.

1. Build the shared base. The Canadian Encyclopedia says French-language schools in minority communities teach the standard register, and that broadcast journalists at Société Radio-Canada speak a French closer to standard French than ordinary speech in Québec [2]. Standard French is the common ground. Use French levels explained to pick a level to aim at.
2. Add Canadian listening early. Listen to the sources in the last section of this page, even when you understand only part of it. The Encyclopedia says ordinary Québec speech tends to include traits particular to Québec [2].
3. Look up Canadian usage in a Canadian reference. The Office québécois de la langue française (OQLF) runs the Vitrine linguistique, which includes its Banque de dépannage linguistique. Its page says the bank answers questions on grammar, syntax and punctuation, English borrowings and other writing topics [7].
4. Use classes if you want a teacher. Federal, provincial and territorial governments across Canada fund language classes, and IRCC’s page says you must be assessed at a language assessment centre in your city before you start a class [8].
5. Plan your hours, not a deadline. No source here gives a time to reach a level. See How long does it take to learn French?.

How do you learn Québec French?

You learn Québec French the same way as any variety: a standard base, then a lot of Québec listening. Québec is the only province where French speakers are in the majority, according to the Canadian Encyclopedia [2].

What to expect depends on who is speaking. The Encyclopedia says ordinary Québec speech differs from the register of Radio-Canada broadcasters, and that written French is less marked than spoken [2]. It also lists Québec coinages, such as poudrerie for wind-blown snow [2]. This page does not go further into word lists.

A practical order:

• Listen first, speak later. Recognise Québec forms before you use them.
• Check the OQLF bank when unsure. It is the Québec government’s own language reference [7].
• Match your listening to your goal. If you are preparing for Québec immigration, TCF Québec and the French exams for Canada PR explain which exams and levels the official pages name.

Where can you hear Canadian French every day?

You can hear Canadian French through Canadian public media, film and radio. Each description below is what that service’s own page says. Check each page for its current conditions, since this page does not state prices.

• Radio-Canada OHdio. Radio-Canada’s audio site lists live radio, including ICI Première and ICI Musique streams, podcasts (“balados”), music and audiobooks (“livres audio”) [3].
• Télé-Québec. The page calls it “le média public à vocation éducative et culturelle du Québec” [4]. Its home page is headed “Vidéos sur demande” and groups titles in collections such as “Séries québécoises” and “Documentaires incontournables” [9].
• National Film Board (ONF). The French site says the ONF has produced documentaries and animated films for over 85 years, “accessibles gratuitement” [5].
• TFO. Its home page is titled “Séries, émissions et films en français sur demande” and shows collections of films, series and documentaries [6]. Its films page is titled “Films en français | gratuits et disponibles sur demande”, and its series page “Séries | gratuites et disponibles sur demande” [10].

Two ways to use them: pick one voice you like and listen to it daily, and replay short clips instead of long ones. Both are habits, not figures from a source.

Common mistakes

• Treating Canadian French as one uniform thing. The Canadian Encyclopedia names more than one variety [2].
• Judging all Canadian French from one broadcaster. Radio-Canada broadcasters speak closer to standard French than ordinary Québec speech [2].
• Learning only from textbooks. The Encyclopedia says standard usages tend to predominate in textbooks and official documents, while ordinary Québec speech includes traits particular to Québec [2].
• Assuming a listening source is free everywhere. Where this page says free, it is that provider’s own page saying so [5][10]. For the others, read the provider’s own page.
• Quoting census shares without the year. The shares here are from the 2021 Census [1].
• Relying on a guide page, including this one, for numbers. The official pages change. Check each page’s date against the date at the top of this one.

See also: French-speaking countries and common French phrases.

See also: how to speak with a French accent.

See also: Francisation Québec courses.

Sources