What is it?
Mother tongue is one of the language questions in the Canadian census. It is the first language a person learned at home as a child and still understands at the time of the census.
If the person no longer understands the first language, the second language learned becomes the mother tongue. If two languages were learned together as a small child, it is the one spoken most at home before starting school.
How is it different from other questions?
- Mother tongue: the first language learned as a child. A second-generation person born in Canada who speaks English better can still have Korean as a mother tongue if they learned Korean first at home.
- Home language: the census asks separately for the language spoken most often at home now. Its numbers are different.
- Ethnic or cultural origin: a separate question about a person’s ancestors. Some people of Korean origin do not have Korean as a mother tongue.
- It is also different from citizenship or place of birth.
How to read neighbourhood numbers
- The “Korean mother tongue” number in our neighbourhood guides is the number of people who gave Korean as their only mother tongue in the 2021 Census (City Neighbourhood Profiles table).
- The share is divided by all people living in private households in that neighbourhood. These are sample numbers, so small counts are not exact, and very small values are shown as “—”.
- We show this census fact the same way for every neighbourhood. It does not mean an area suits any group of people. Ontario’s Human Rights Code bans discrimination in housing because of ethnic origin and other grounds.
What the law and official sources say
Quotes are copied word for word. The "In plain words" lines are our explanation, not an official translation.
Mother tongue refers to the first language learned at home in childhood and still understood by the person at the time the data was collected. If the person no longer understands the first language learned, the mother tongue is the second language learned.In plain wordsIn plain words: mother tongue is the first language learned at home as a child that the person still understands. If not, it is the second language learned.
Source: www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=9810020401 · checked Nov 5, 2026
Every person has a right to equal treatment with respect to the occupancy of accommodation, without discrimination because of race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, creedIn plain wordsIn plain words: everyone has the right to equal treatment in housing, without discrimination because of race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, creed and other grounds.
Source: ontario.ca/laws/statute/90h19 · checked Oct 30, 2026
Common questions
Is the Korean mother tongue number the number of Korean people in the area?
No. It counts people who gave Korean as their mother tongue. People of Korean origin who have another mother tongue, and people who gave Korean with another language, may not be in it. The Korean ethnic or cultural origin number is a separate figure.
Why might mother tongue shares not add up to 100%?
One person can give two mother tongues, and sample numbers are rounded.
Guides that use this term
Sources checked
- Statistics Canada, Table 98-10-0204-01, Mother tongue by age and gender (2021 Census), footnotes · checked Nov 5, 2026
- City of Toronto Open Data, Neighbourhood Profiles · checked Nov 5, 2026
- Human Rights Code, R.S.O. 1990, c. H.19, s. 2 (e-Laws) · checked Oct 30, 2026