Official Languages in the Constitution

The Constitution is the supreme law of the land. It takes precedence over all other laws and enshrines our society's most fundamental values. In Canada, our linguistic duality is one such fundamental value, and our Constitution makes English and French the two official languages of our country.

The Constitution Act, 1867, included provisions concerning the use of the English and French languages. In 1982, these were strengthened by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (Sections 16-23), with the result that, in terms of the federal government:

• the English and French languages have equal status and rights regarding their use in all federal institutions.
• everyone has the right to use English and French in the Parliament of Canada.
• federal laws must be enacted in both languages.
• everyone has the right to appear before federal courts in either English or French.
• the public has the right, in circumstances set out in the Charter, to be served in English or in French when dealing with federal government departments or agencies.

The Constitution also sets out certain rights regarding the use of English and French at the provincial level of government:

• everyone has the right to use English or French in the legislatures and courts of Quebec, New Brunswick and Manitoba, and laws must be enacted in both English and French in those provinces.
• both languages have equal status in the institutions of the legislature and government of New Brunswick, and the public has the right to provincial government services in either English or French.
• Canadian parents, who are members of the English or French minority in the province in which they reside, have the right to have their children educated in that language at the primary and secondary school levels, in circumstances set out in the Charter.