Government of New Brunswick

FACTS on Official Languages

  • In New Brunswick, 81% of respondents in the public opinion survey support the Official Languages Act.
  • 89% of respondents are confident that they can receive government services in the official language of their choice.
  • 92% of respondents felt it was important that instruction in the other official language be available in New Brunswick schools.
  • 91% of respondents felt that second language training for adults should be available free of charge in the province.
  • Official languages have contributed to attracting big corporate players for example, New Brunswick has a customer contact center and back office industry generating $1.4 billion worth of interprovincial and international export revenue annually for the province.
  • Bilingualism in New Brunswick has led the province to have the second highest concentration of translators, terminologists, and interpreters in the workforce among other Canadian provinces.
  • National finance and insurance firms are serving their clientele across the country from New Brunswick.
  • New Brunswick continues to attract national and international post-secondary students to study in the province. Our bilingual capacity has resulted in New Brunswick ranking 3rd among 10 provinces in Canada for interprovincial export revenue from the educational sector.
  • New Brunswickers rank second among the 10 provinces with respect to the percentage of adults with a knowledge of both English and French (35.1%).
  • The Canada-European Union (EU) Economic and Trade Agreement is by far the most ambitious trade initiative Canada's most ambitious trade initiative, broader and deeper than the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The EU, of which several countries of the Francophonie are members, is Canada's 2nd largest economic partner.

*** Sources provided by: the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages of Canada; the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages for New Brunswick; Two Languages: It’s Good for Business: Study on the Economic Benefits and Potential of Bilingualism in New Brunswick (Campbell & Desjardins); Retombées du Sommet des Chefs d’États et de gouvernements ayant le français en partage, Sommet de la Francophonie au Nouveau-Brunswick, 1999.