Punjabi now third language in Parliament of Canada

JNANASELE

 GK4KPSC

Four years after Punjabi became Canada's third most common language, it has now attained the same status in the country's new Parliament after English and French following the election of 20 Punjabi-speaking candidates to the House of Commans.

Of the 20 who speak Punjabi, 18 are Liberals and two are Conservatives. Among the newly-elected Punjabi-speaking MPs, 14 are males and six are females. Ontario elected 12, British Columbia four, Alberta three and one is from Quebec.

According to Statistics Canada’s 2011 National Household Survey, 430,705 Canadians identified Punjabi as their mother tongue, making it the third most common language after English and French. The 430,705 native Punjabi speakers make up about 1.3 per cent of Canada’s population. The 20 Punjabi-speaking MPs represent almost six per cent of the House of Commons.