Tag Archives: bilingualism

Bilingual census data: a better search experience for all Canadians

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Web banner for The 1931 Census series. On the right, typed text: "The 1931 Census". On the left, moving train going by a train station.By Julia Barkhouse

This article contains historical language and content that some may consider offensive, such as language used to refer to gender, racial, ethnic and cultural groups. Please see our historical language advisory for more information.

Library and Archives Canada (LAC) is the guardian of Canada’s distant past and recent history. It holds the historical census returns for Canada, including some dating back to New France and some for Newfoundland. We have indexed some dating from 1825 to 1926, and these are available online through Census Search.

Before Confederation, censuses were generally collected in either English or French, depending on the location. The Dominion Bureau of Statistics (now Statistics Canada) phased in bilingual forms after Confederation in 1867.

Example of a bilingual Census 1921 form enumerated in English and French:

A census-taking sheet from Census 1921. This particular image is page 6 for the sub-district of Scots Bay in Kings District, Nova Scotia.

Census 1921 form enumerated in English (e002910991).

A census-taking sheet from Census 1921. This particular image is page 19 for the sub-district of Wolfestown (Township) in Richmond-Wolfe District, Quebec.

Census 1921 form enumerated in French (e003096782).

The language used to record answers to census questions may reflect the language preference of the enumerator or the language in which the answers were provided. The historical census data that we have reflects our linguistic duality as a nation. Census returns from Quebec and some parts of New Brunswick and Manitoba are written (or, enumerated) in French, while the rest of Canada was enumerated in English.

When our partners, including Ancestry and FamilySearch, indexed the censuses from 1825 to 1926, we produced a wealth of data with names of individuals, their gender, marital status, etc. However, we were faced with a serious challenge: census data could be collected in either English or French depending on the personal preference of the enumerator. So how did we handle this?

Life as an Enumerator

Let us detour for a moment and describe the journey of the enumerator. Enumerators were Canadians hired by the Dominion Bureau of Statistics to collect census data in one or more sub-districts. They received a book of instructions (such as this one for Census 1921) that detailed what they were supposed to write on the form depending on what people answered. They were given a booklet of census return forms and instructions on which sub-districts to enumerate. Then this person had a timeframe to enumerate a number of sub-districts and mail these forms back to the government department. You can imagine this person going from door to door in a horse-drawn carriage or perhaps an early automobile (maybe a Ford Model T) by 1921.

The enumerator knocked on the door and asked to speak to the head of the household (typically the father and/or husband). They might be invited in to sit at the kitchen table as they asked questions. If the family was not home, there might be a notice or calling card left on the door with contact details to follow up and meet the enumerator by a given date to be counted in the census.

Depending on the province in Canada, the enumerator either wrote down information in the language of the person speaking or in their personal language preference. Therefore, it is possible that French regions of Canada around Quebec, New Brunswick and Manitoba were enumerated in one or both languages depending on the enumerator’s personal preference.

Fast forward: the data captured on the forms was transcribed by our partners around 92 years after the census taking and put online.

Language Barriers

When LAC put these databases online, we noticed that we had data in both languages. If you wish to search for your ancestor, you have to search in the language of the enumerator. Did the enumerator write your grandmother’s information in English or French? Does your name have an accent (é, è …) that might have been misheard (or not captured) by the enumerator? Does your uncle’s name have a silent “h” that might have been omitted? This creates a language barrier for our researchers, who want to find people but do not speak the language used at the time. Some of our Francophone researchers have to search in English to find their French-speaking ancestors. This is an unbalanced search experience for Canadians who access our Census Search interface in French.

Creation of Census Search

When the Digital Access Agile Team reorganized and consolidated the 17 census databases into Census Search last November, we wanted to deliver a better search experience for all Canadians. Our aim was to provide the same search experience for Francophones as for Anglophones, so that any of our clients who use the French Census Search interface can search and get the same results as if they were searching in English.

So how do you do this? How do you translate information like gender, marital status, ethnic origin and occupation for over 44 million individuals to offer an equal experience for all Canadians? It’s actually very simple. The solution? Data cleanup.

A Peek Under the Hood

Let’s go behind the scenes for a moment to look at how census data is saved. Census Search is the public interface that LAC clients can use to search. The census data for each individual in Census Search is saved in one master table called EnumAll.

Census data saved in a table in SQL Management Server.

Screenshot of Census.EnumAll from SQL Management Server (Library and Archives Canada).

In this table, each line represents an individual person. The data captured about that person is separated into columns. If we do not have data in a particular column, it says NULL.

Creation of Common Data Pools

Census.EnumAll acts as the master data table. From this, we created common data groups (or, pools). What do I mean by this? We copied all of the data for one of the columns (Gender, Marital Status, Ethnic Origin, Religion, etc.) into a separate table. The only information in this separate table is a list of Genders or options for Marital Status, etc. We call this a common data pool, meaning that all the data in this table (or, pool) relates to one piece of information.

The common data table separates the data (e.g., “Male” or “Female”) from the individual person. If you look at 44 million individuals, you see the same data repeated, such as the number of times the enumerator wrote “Male” or “Married.” In a common table, you see “Male” only once, with a value count for the number of people with this information (which we call an attribute).

This is where the magic happens.

The Gender table in the back end of Census Search. Of note, there are variances (Male and M, Female and F) and two columns titled TextLongEn (English display) and TextLongFr (French display).

Screenshot of T_Gender from SQL Management Server (Library and Archives Canada).

As you can see in this separate common data table, we can do more things. With codes, we establish one way to write each Gender (in this example). This is called an authority. We then perform cleanup so all the variants point to this one authority. In the screenshot above, you’ll notice a variance between “Male” and “M.”

Once we have this authority, we create columns for how we want to display the information in Census Search. We create an English (TextLongEn) and a French (TextLongFr) display. We then add the bilingual translation once and it applies to everything. In this case, we translated “Male” to “Homme,” and it applies to all 20,163,488 people who identified as “Male” across 17 censuses.

We then put all the tables back together and index the records to display in Census Search. So depending on the language of your choice, the interface and the data itself will now translate for you.

English Census Search interface showing Gender drop-down with values for Female, Male and Unknown alongside the French Census Search interface showing the same drop-down with Gender values for Femme, Homme and Inconnu.

Screenshots of Census Search in English and French (Library and Archives Canada).

Now, when I search for my great-grandfather, Henry D. Barkhouse, and display any of his census entries, the data translates as well.

Two screenshots, one in English and one in French, of a Census 1911 record for Henry D. Barkhouse, with arrows pointing out where the data translates.

English and French display of Census 1911 record for Henry D. Barkhouse (e001973146).

Progress Check-in

As you can imagine, this work takes time as we diligently clean up and translate our data. Our first priority was to create drop-down menus on Census Search for Gender and Marital Status. Now, if you wish to search by either of these fields, you will see a short list of terms that are translated and available in both official languages. As we continue this work, our next priorities are Ethnic Origin and Place of Birth. We are about 60–70% finished with these two, and our clients should see new options coming to Census Search in 2024. After these two priority fields, we will continue to translate other fields like Religion, Relationship to head of household, Occupation, etc.

Conclusion

Consolidating all 17 censuses into one platform, Census Search, gave us the opportunity to create a bilingual display for our census data by cleaning up the data. Since its launch, our platform delivers a more equal search experience in the language of your choice. I encourage you to try it out and tell us if your search experience has improved.

As always, we love to read your feedback and ideas via our email or you can sign up for a 10-minute feedback session with us.

Julia Barkhouse has worked at Library and Archives Canada in data quality, database management and administration for the last 14 years. She is currently the Collections Data Analyst on the Digital Access Agile Team.

The reactions of the “Third Group” to the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism

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This article contains historical language and content that some may consider offensive, such as language used to refer to racial, ethnic and cultural groups. Please see our historical language advisory for more information.

By Deniz Çevik

2019 marks the 50th anniversary of Canada’s Official Languages Act, a legislative milestone in Canadian history that granted English and French equal status as official languages of the Government of Canada. We recently published a blog article about what our archival holdings reveal about the history of the Act, as well as about the evolution of bilingualism in Canada.

The Official Languages Act was built upon the recommendation of the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism. This Commission was created in 1963 by the government of Lester B. Pearson “to inquire into and report upon the existing state of bilingualism and biculturalism in Canada.” Co‑chaired by André Laurendeau and A. Davidson Dunton, the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism held several public hearings across Canada over the next two years.

The Commission’s Preliminary Report in 1965 underlined the cultural and linguistic duality of Canadian society. Often referred as the B&B Commission, one of its B’s, bilingualism, was considered practical as most people functioned in one of those languages. The other B, however, raised controversy. Was Canada bicultural or multicultural? Communities whose members descended from neither English nor French peoples did not enthusiastically embrace the idea of an equal partnership between the “two founding peoples” and their cultures.

A black and white photograph of eight men wearing black and gray suits smiling towards the camera in a boardroom with white walls.

Research staff of the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism, 1965. (e011166427)

In his speech to the Senate on March 3, 1964, Senator Paul Yuzyk, who would later be referred as the “father of multiculturalism,” raised his concerns about the exclusion of other ethnic groups from the cultural duality.

First of all, the word “bicultural,” which I could not find in any dictionary, is a misnomer. In reality Canada never was bicultural; the Indians and Eskimos have been with us throughout our history; the British group is multicultural—English, Scots, Irish, Welsh; and with the settling of other ethnic groups, which now make up almost one-third of the population, Canada has become multicultural in fact… If biculturalism were carried to its logical conclusion—a virtual two-nation co-existence—then all Canadians would be required to become either English or French. This is an impossibility, and I believe that is not the desired objective of our people.

Painting of a stamp design with a turquoise background and a large orange maple leaf that contains a white flower-like design. The painting says “Unity in Canada/Unité au Canada,” and “English–French Biculturalism/Anglais–Français Bi-culturalisme.”

Unity in Canada English–French biculturalism (e001217565)

Yuzyk was not the only voice that spoke up against biculturalism. Library and Archives Canada holds archival fonds, such as Jaroslav Bohdan Rudnyckyj fonds, that document how the Commission’s studies and recommendations were received among people of other ethnic backgrounds.

Various congresses and conferences were held across Canada following the publishing of the Commission’s Final Report and Royal Assent to the Official Languages Act in 1969. The Manitoba Mosaic Congress and Canada: Multicultural were two of these conferences. A booklet in the Rudnyckyj fonds, published after a public conference held at University of Toronto in 1970, provides insight into how other ethnic communities viewed the fourth volume of the Commission’s Report. The public debate around biculturalism showed that the participants envisioned a multicultural Canada instead of a bicultural one.

The President of the Ukrainian Canadian University Students’ Union (SUSK), Bohdan Krawchenko, presented a paper at the SUSK Congress of 1973 that showed how the Commission’s two concepts, bilingualism and biculturalism, were perceived differently.

At one extreme, we can think of a country as a homogeneous ethnic group; at the other end, we can think of a country as multi-national. Canada as a multicultural nation falls somewhere in the center. There are many Canadian languages; there are, however, only two working languages, English and French. Canada is not bicultural, it never was, and it never will be. Besides being offensive on moral grounds, as is any effort to regulate cultural norms, a bicultural definition of Canada does not square with reality. Canada is multicultural, as we would expect discussions on the Canadian constitution to recognize.

Discussions about biculturalism were gradually replaced by multiculturalism, which was adopted as policy in 1971 by the government of Pierre E. Trudeau.

Deniz Çevik is a student archivist in the Archives Branch at Library and Archives Canada.

The 50th anniversary of Canada’s Official Languages Act

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By Normand Laplante

Canada’s Official Languages Act celebrates its 50th anniversary in July 2019! Library and Archives Canada holds many archival documents chronicling the genesis and evolution of the Act, which has been so important for the recognition of Canada’s linguistic duality.

In 1963, the government of Lester B. Pearson created the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism “to inquire into and report upon the existing state of bilingualism and biculturalism in Canada and to recommend what steps should be taken to develop the Canadian Confederation on the basis of an equal partnership between the two founding races, taking into account the contribution made by the other ethnic groups to the cultural enrichment of Canada and the measures that should be taken to safeguard that contribution.” The Commission archives bear witness to meetings between the Commission’s two co-chairs, André Laurendeau and Davidson Dunton, and provincial governments, as well as public hearings held in 1964 and 1965 across Canada, during which over 400 briefs were submitted by individuals and organizations. A broad research program was also put in place to document the main points of discussion. In the first volume of the final report, tabled in the House of Commons in December 1967, the Commission recommended a federal law on official languages as “the keystone of any general programme of bilingualism in Canada.”

A black-and-white photograph of two men with a microphone between them.

André Laurendeau and Davidson Dunton, co-chairs of the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism. ©Library and Archives Canada (a209871)

During its meeting on March 26, 1968, the federal Cabinet approved Prime Minister Pearson’s proposal to follow up on the Commission’s recommendation of a bill on official languages and to introduce it in Parliament during the upcoming parliamentary session. With the goal of reinforcing national unity, the proposal was one of Pearson’s last acts before leaving politics in April 1968. He was succeeded as leader of the Liberal Party and as Prime Minister of Canada by Pierre Elliott Trudeau. The Trudeau Cabinet’s deliberations on the bill are well documented in the Cabinet Conclusions for the period from August 1968 to the coming into force of the Act in September 1969.

Two typewritten pages titled “Official Languages Bill.”

Cabinet conclusions, meeting of August 14, 1968, pages 6 and 7 (note that Cabinet conclusions were written in English only at that time). © Governement of Canada (e000836640 and e000836641) © Governement of Canada

These documents reveal some of the nationwide issues that the government considered in drafting the bill, including possible amendments to Canada’s constitution, the definition of “first official language spoken as a mother tongue” as a criterion for creating bilingual districts, and the use of official languages for the administration of justice in provincial courts. The Cabinet at the time also studied the duties and responsibilities of a new Commissioner of Official Languages, and the time needed to implement the dispositions of the Act in the federal public service.

The new Official Languages Act, which came into force on September 7, 1969, confirmed the status of English and French as the two official languages of Canada. It reflected the endorsement by the Trudeau government of various recommendations made by the Royal Commission. From that point on, all orders in council, regulations, acts, ordinances and other public documents of the Parliament of Canada and the federal government had to be produced in both official languages, and it was the responsibility of departments and agencies, and judicial or quasi-judicial bodies, to ensure that the public could communicate with them and receive their services in both official languages. In the same spirit, anyone testifying before a judicial or quasi-judicial body could do so in his or her official language of choice.

The Act also established the position of Commissioner of Official Languages. The role of the Commissioner, who is directly accountable to Parliament, is to ensure recognition of the status of each of the official languages and compliance with the spirit of the Act in the administration of the affairs of Parliament and the Government of Canada. The Commissioner has the authority to investigate public complaints about the application of the Act, to conduct such studies as are deemed necessary, and to report annually to Parliament on the status of the Act. In 1970, Keith Spicer became the first Commissioner of Official Languages for a seven-year term.

A colour reproduction of a page from a learning kit about bilingualism with a story of two children learning French / English and a drawing of the kids thanking M. Spicer.

A page taken from hte learning kit called Oh! Canada produced in 1971. © Government of Canada (e011163973)

Maxwell Yalden (1977–1984), D’Iberville Fortier (1984–1991), Victor Goldbloom (1991–1999), Dyane Adam (1999–2006), Graham Fraser (2006–2016), Ghislaine Saikaley (interim, 2016–2018) and Raymond Théberge (since 2018) have succeeded Spicer as Commissioner.

The Act also gave the federal government the power to designate bilingual districts, a concept suggested by the Commission, within which federal offices must provide bilingual services. The boundaries of these regions were to be determined by the Bilingual Districts Advisory Board; however, this section of the Act was never implemented. Despite the recommendations of two iterations of the advisory board in 1971 and 1975, the government abandoned the concept of bilingual districts, considering it to be unworkable since a consensus on the boundaries could not be achieved.

The proclamation of the new Constitution Act, 1982 and its Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms led to the modernization of the Official Languages Act. The Charter enshrines the language rights of Canadians. It guarantees the protection of English and French as the official languages of Canada and New Brunswick, as well as the right to minority-language education for Francophone communities outside Quebec and the Anglophone community in Quebec. In 1988, the Canadian government adopted the new Official Languages Act, which more precisely defines constitutional language guarantees, the federal government’s role and responsibilities in supporting these rights, including the services provided to Canadians and possible legal remedies for non-compliance with the law, and the effective use of both official languages in the federal public service workplace.

A colour copy of the Charter with a piece of adhesive tape in the corner. The coat-of-arms of Canada is centred at the top of the page, with the title, Canadian flag and silhouettes on both sides below it. At the bottom is an illustration of the Parliament building. The text of the Charter is displayed in four columns.

Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Robert Stacey fonds. © Government of Canada (e010758222_s1)

Part VII of the new Act sets out the federal government’s commitment, through positive measures, to enhance the vitality and support the development of official-language minority communities, and to significantly promote English and French in Canadian society.

Find out more …

Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism:

Cabinet Conclusions:

Official Languages Act:

Normand Laplante is a senior archivist in the Social Life and Culture Private Archives Division of the Archives Branch at Library and Archives Canada.

Found in translation: discovering Canadian literary translations

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By Liane Belway

Discovering new and exciting books and authors is a rewarding experience for most readers. In Published Heritage—the library side of Library and Archives Canada (LAC)—we connect with the publishers who bring us these works and make our diverse published Canadian heritage accessible to a wider audience.

When Canadian publishers make material available, they deposit copies with LAC with the help of our Legal Deposit team. What kinds of material do we acquire in Legal Deposit? A wealth of Canadian content: books, music, spoken-word recordings, magazines and other serials, and digital material as well. Each offers a unique perspective on Canadian society and culture, reflecting the publisher’s vision, interests and identity. One source of new knowledge and literary artistry is the translation of such works, making these publications available to a completely new audience.

Canadian Translations

One way of making great literature available to wider audiences is through literary translation, an often overlooked literary skill but a highly valuable one in a multicultural and multilingual society. Translations offer a window into new perspectives and styles, and a chance to discover literary traditions and innovations often not otherwise easily accessible. In fact, the Governor General’s Awards have a category for Translation, acknowledging the value of bringing French-language works to new readers in English when they would not ordinarily have the chance to read them. Each year, this award recognizes the translation of a work into English for its literary excellence and cultural contribution.

Award Winners

The 2017 Governor General’s Literary Award for Translation was awarded to Readopolis, translated into English by Oana Avasilichioaei and published by BookThug in Toronto. It is a translation of Lectodôme by Bertrand Laverdure, published by Le Quartanier, a francophone publishing house in Montreal. The Peer Assessment Committee had high praise for Avasilichioaei: “In Readopolis, Oana Avasilichioaei has risen to and matched the stylistic acrobatics of Bertrand Laverdure’s Lectodôme. The many voices of Quebecois writing sing through in this intelligent translation – a vertiginous ode to the pure, if rarely rewarded, pursuit of literature.”

David Clerson’s Brothers, a worthy finalist for the same award in 2017, also offers an excellent introduction to a new publisher’s vision. QC Fiction, an imprint of Baraka Books with a fresh perspective, is a Quebec-based English-language book publisher in Montreal. Recognizing the value of translations, QC Fiction’s goal is to publish contemporary Quebec fiction originally published in French, in English translations for a wider Canadian and international audience. Another QC Fiction title, I Never Talk About It, contains 37 stories and as many translators. As Fiction editor Peter McCambridge states, “37 different translators to translate each of the short stories published in a collection by Véronique Côté and Steve Gagnon. It’s a reminder that there are at least 37 different ways to translate an author’s voice—something to consider the next time you pick up a book in translation!”

Six colourful book covers with similar designs laid out side by side, displaying all titles: Listening for Jupiter, I Never Talk About It, Behind the Eyes We Meet, Brothers, The Unknown Huntsman, Life in the Court of Matane.

A selection of publications from QC Fiction, including Brothers (2016), the finalist of the Governor General prize for translation. Image used with permission from QC Fiction.

Providing works in translation allows audiences outside of Canada access to a large and, in our ever more connected world, growing national literature, and Canadian authors are enjoying an increasingly international audience. QC Fiction is also a great example of Canadian fiction’s global appeal. Says McCambridge: “So far the formula seems to be working: 3 of our first 5 books have been mentioned in The Guardian newspaper in England and bloggers from Scotland to Australia have picked up on what we’re doing and praised our ‘intriguing light reads.’”

With these award-winning publishers—just two examples of the innovative work in the world of Canadian literary translations—Canadian publishing remains a creative, varied, and thriving world that LAC strives to collect and preserve for readers now and in the future. To see what else LAC has in its collections, try our new search tool at: http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/lac-bac/search/all.

Liane Belway is the Acquisitions Librarian for English monographs in the Published Heritage Branch at Library and Archives Canada.