Canadian English

Canadian English (CanE, CE, en-CA)^[5] encompasses the varieties of English used in Canada. According to the 2016 census, English was the first language of 19.4 million Canadians or 58.1% of the total population; the remainder spoke French (20.8%) or other languages (21.1%).^[6] In the Canadian province of Quebec, only 7.5% of the population are anglophone, as most of Quebec's residents are native speakers of Quebec French.^[7]

The most widespread variety of Canadian English is Standard Canadian English,^[8] spoken in all the western and central provinces of Canada (varying little from Central Canada to British Columbia), plus in many other provinces among urban middle- or higher-class speakers from natively English-speaking families.^[9] Standard Canadian English is distinct from Atlantic Canadian English, its most notable subset being Newfoundland English, and from Quebec English. Accent differences can also be heard between those who live in urban centres versus those living in rural settings.^[10]

While Canadian English tends to be close to American English in most regards,^[11][12] classifiable together as North American English, Canadian English also possesses elements from British English as well as some uniquely Canadian characteristics.^[13] The precise influence of American English, British English, and other sources on Canadian English varieties has been the ongoing focus of systematic studies since the 1950s.^[14] Standard Canadian and General American English share identical or near-identical phonemic inventories, though their exact phonetic realizations may sometimes differ.^[15]

Canadians and Americans themselves often have trouble differentiating their own two accents, particularly since Standard Canadian and Western United States English have been undergoing a similar vowel shift since the 1980s.^[16]