Race, ethnicity and religion are all intertwined for the Eyobs, a Montreal Ethiopian-Jewish family. But the experience of being black differs from grandmother to mother to daughter. Three generations of the Eyob family shared their experiences with CBC Montreal, as part of our Real Talk on Race series.
What ethnicity is Montreal?
Montreal Population Demographics
The largest ethnic groups are those of European origins. The largest European ancestries in Montreal include French (26%), Italian (7%), Irish (6%), English (4%), Scottish (3%) and Spanish (2%).
Is Montreal a majority in French?
In Montreal, 58.4 per cent of the population cited French as their first official language spoken, whereas the percentage for nearby Laval is 68.9.
What percentage of Montreal is French?
Knowledge of official languages, Montréal, 2011 and 2016
| Language | 2016 | |
|---|---|---|
| Number | Percent | |
| Total | 4,053,360 | 100 |
| English | 286,280 | 7.1 |
| French | 1,472,055 | 36.3 |
Who were the first inhabitants of Montreal?
The first settlers of the region were the Iroquois, who spent time in what’s now called Québec long before the Europeans arrived. The Vikings landed in Canada more than 1,000 years ago, probably followed by Irish and Basque fishermen.
Is Montreal Dutch or French?
French is the city’s official language. In 2021, it was spoken at home by 59.1% of the population and 69.2% in the Montreal Census Metropolitan Area. Overall, 85.7% of the population of the city of Montreal considered themselves fluent in French while 90.2% could speak it in the metropolitan area.
Are people from Montreal French?
It is a French province, despite being in Canada. Although many people in Montreal speak English, in any other part of the province you will find that English is rarely used. This is also true of parts of New Brunswick, the province to the east of Quebec.
What is the largest ethnic group in Quebec?
Ethnic origin
| Ethnic origin | Population | Percent |
|---|---|---|
| Canadien/Canadian | 4,474,115 | 60.1% |
| French | 2,151,655 | 28.8% |
| Irish | 406,085 | 5.5% |
| Italian | 299,655 | 4.0% |
What are people from Montreal called?
A native or resident of the city is called a Montrealer or occasionally a Montréaler. And, while the demonym Montrealer is encountered in newspapers and magazines, it is often replaced in more formal writing by native, resident or inhabitant of Montréal, or some similar phrase.
Can you live in Montreal without speaking French?
Yes, you can live in Montreal without speaking French, but it’s not enough to emigrate. As we have established before, you must prove that you can speak, read, write and understand it to become a Canadian citizen. For newcomers, learning the mother tongue is a fundamental step of immigration.
Why is Montreal so European?
Montréal has been heralded as one of the most European cities—outside of Europe, of course—and here are just a few reasons why. Naturally, a lot of Montréal’s je ne sais quoi comes from its history. The French explorer Jacques Cartier was the first European to map the area in 1535 while looking for passage to Asia.
What language does Montreal speak?
Figure 4.1 Population by knowledge of official languages, Montréal, 2011
| Official language | Population (percentage) |
|---|---|
| English only | 7.4 |
| French only | 37.0 |
| English and French | 53.9 |
| Neither English nor French | 1.7 |
What percentage of Montreal is black?
10.3%
City of Montreal
| Visible minority and Aboriginal population | ||
|---|---|---|
| Population group | % of total population (2011) | |
| Visible minority group | South Asian | 3.3% |
| Chinese | 3.3% | |
| Black | 10.3% |
Why did Jews settle in Montreal?
Jewish immigrants began settling there as far back as the 18th century. Between 1904 and 1914, Montreal saw the largest wave of Jewish immigration, with many Jews arriving to the city from Eastern Europe fleeing from antisemitism and violent pogroms.
Why did the Irish come to Montreal?
Lower Canada (early 1800s)
Overpopulation and the enclosure movement in Ireland along with established commercial shipping routes between Quebec City and ports in Dublin and Liverpool encouraged large waves of Irish emigration to Lower Canada starting in 1815.
Who lived in Canada before the French?
An estimated 200,000 First Nations people (Indians) and Inuit were living in what is now Canada when Europeans began to settle there in the 16th century. For the next 200 years the Indigenous population declined, largely as a result of European territorial encroachment and the diseases that the settlers brought.
What is a Montreal accent?
The native English speakers in Quebec generally align to Standard Canadian English, one of the largest and most relatively homogeneous dialects in North America. This standard English accent is common in Montreal, where the vast majority of Quebec’s native English speakers live.
What is the culture of Montreal?
As a North American city, Montreal shares many of the cultural features characteristic of the other metropolis on the continent, including representations in all traditional manifestations of high culture, a long-lasting tradition of jazz and rock music, and tentative experimentation in visual arts, theatre, music, and
What kind of French do they speak in Montreal?
Quebec French (French: français québécois [fʁɑ̃sɛ kebekwa]), also known as Québécois French, is the predominant variety of the French language spoken in Canada. It is the dominant language of the province of Quebec, used in everyday communication, in education, the media, and government.
What race is French-Canadian?
However, the descendants of French Canadians are no longer construed, and no longer construe themselves, as a racialized group, but rather as a modern, white, western nation. These changes in racial assignment still influence how French and English Canadians make sense of Canadian politics and identities today.
Do people from Quebec identify as French?
As shown by the 2016 Statistics Canada census, 58.3% of residents of Quebec identify their ethnicity as Canadian, 23.5% as French and 0.4% as Acadian.