The Carney Liberals have proposed new regulations under the Use of French in Federally Regulated Private Businesses Act that would require federally regulated employers with more than 100 employees in designated regions, including Calgary and Edmonton, to provide services in French and give employees the right to work in French.

The rules would apply to federally regulated sectors such as banks, airlines, airports, railways, interprovincial trucking and bus companies, telecommunications, broadcasting, ports and other federally regulated employers. They would not apply to most provincially regulated businesses.

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But do the numbers support expanding these requirements into Alberta?

According to the 2021 Statistics Canada census:

• Edmonton: Approximately 1,280 residents speak only French as their official language, while about 67,000 people know French. That means the overwhelming majority of Edmonton's French speakers are bilingual and already speak English.
• Calgary: Approximately 825 residents speak only French as their official language, while more than 86,000 Calgarians know French. Again, virtually all French speakers are also able to receive services in English.

Combined, fewer than 2,200 people in Alberta's two largest cities speak only French, despite a combined population of 4.5 million. In practice, employers covered by the legislation will have a strong incentive to hire bilingual English-French workers for many customer-facing and service positions, potentially putting the vast majority of Albertans who do not speak French at a disadvantage when applying for those jobs.