Francophones in Ontario continue to have a higher average income than Anglophones in the province, according to census data released by Statistics Canada on Wednesday.
Ontarians whose first official language spoken is French had an average income of $61,350 in 2021, about 7% more than Ontarians speaking English.
Franco-Ontarians have seen their average income rise by 17% compared to that observed in the 2016 census, a growth similar to that observed among Anglophones. Six years ago, the average income of Francophones in Ontario was $52,234; that of Anglophones, $48,559. And just like in 2016, Francophones in Ontario also had a higher median income in 2021.
The situation in Ontario contrasts with that of Quebec, where Francophones have a lower income than Anglophones, but a higher median income.
According to Jean-Pierre Corbeil, former assistant director of the division of diversity and socio-cultural statistics at Statistics Canada, this difference is explained by a greater polarization of socio-economic status in the English-speaking community of Quebec. The latter has both “a lot of people with high incomes and a lot more people with low incomes than among Francophones,” he says.
If, in Ontario, Francophones have better incomes than Anglophones, it is in particular because of their level of education and their mobility, notes Mr. Corbeil: the province has good jobs, which attract educated people and more. in means. According to an analysis by the Fédération des gens d’affaires francophones de l’Ontario (FGA), in 2016, 63% of Francophone or bilingual workers in the province had a university degree, compared to 47% of Anglophones.
The advantage of bilingualism
Jean-Pierre Corbeil also notes that the Ottawa and Toronto regions attract many more educated Quebecers. The Ontario government – which uses a broader definition of the Francophonie than the federal government – estimated in 2016 that 20% of Francophones in the province were born in Quebec.
Dominic Mailloux, the president of the FGA, is part of the group. The native Sorelois arrived in Toronto in 2013 for a management job at Bombardier Aviation.
The former director of human resources notes that his former employer and many other Quebec companies, such as SNC-Lavalin or Metro, have offices in Toronto and want their workforce to be bilingual. “These are often senior management positions, which require diplomas,” says Mr. Mailloux, who is now employed by Garda. The mastery of French in these large companies, he says, “facilitates interactions and cultural ties with Quebec”.
The data collected by the Ontario government bears witness to this attraction. In 2016, the proportion of Francophones whose income exceeded $100,000 before taxes (10.5%) was greater than that observed in the total population (9.2%). The same is true for Ontarians earning $80,000 to $99,999 (9.5%, compared to 7.6%). “For large Quebec groups, mastering both languages is an asset,” notes Dominic Mailloux.
This story is supported by the Local Journalism Initiative, funded by the Government of Canada.