Quebec Anglophones Make More Money On Average Than Francophones, An OQLF Study Suggests

An OQLF study suggests Quebec anglophones, people whose "mother tongue" is English or English and another language other than French, make more money on average than francophones, people whose mother tongue is French or French and another language other than English.

The study also showed that people who "most often" spoke only English at work made more money on average than people who most often only spoke French.

The study is based on figures from 2015 reported in the 2016 census. The OQLF (Office québécois de la langue française) released the results on August 5, 2022.

The agency, whose mission includes monitoring language use in the province, said in the August release that the study "shows the importance of protecting and strengthening the use of French at work."

Anglophones' average income was $48,793 in 2015 compared to $44,029 for francophones. But while anglophones made more money on average, the median salary among francophones, $35,566, was slightly higher than that for anglos, $33,412.

The OQLF says the greater gap between anglophones' average and median incomes ($15,381 compared to $8,463 for francophones) suggests "there was more variation" in incomes among the anglophone population. In other words, there was more disparity between the highest and lowest salaries among anglophones.

Allophones, people whose mother tongue/s is/are neither French nor English, had an average employment income of $39,158 and a median income of $29,851.

The labour market also seemed to reward the use of both English and French. The average income for people who spoke both languages (either "regularly" or "most often") at work was $51,294, compared to $46,047 for people who "most often" only spoke English and $38,346 for people who "most often" only spoke French.

The OQLF also states that age and education seem to have had the "greatest impact" on Quebecers' employment income in 2015, when 32% of anglophones, 23% of francophones and 36% of allophones had a university degree.

The complete study, including a description of its methodology, is online.