Canadians who speak both English and French earn more money, according to Canadian 2021 Census data released last week.

The average income for people who can speak both English and French in Canada reached $60,550, nearly 10 percent higher than the average for English-only speakers at $55,250 and about 40 percent higher than those who speak only French at $43,040.

Income gaps can be seen, although they vary, in every Canadian province, with the most noticeable difference in Quebec cities.

According to the census data, bilingual English and French speakers in Montreal earned on average 40 percent more than those who speak only one of these languages.

Regardless of whether employees speak only one language, both groups in Montreal earned an average of $43,280 annually compared to their bilingual peers, who earned an average of $60,650.

In Toronto, English-only speaking employees earned an average of $59,600, while English and French speaking employees earned an average of $78,400, representing a difference of nearly 32 percent.

Among other provinces, cities in Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, British Columbia, and Manitoba had the largest income gaps between those who speak English and French and those who speak only one of them.

Further data shows a decline in French speakers across the country.

A different StatCan 2021 census found that the percentage of Canadians who list French as their mother tongue decreased between 2016 and 2021 in all provinces except Yukon.

There was also increasing linguistic diversity in Canada, with a record number this year of Canadians whose mother tongue was neither English nor French.

Speaking both English and French, despite achieving higher income gains, is declining in all Canadian provinces except Quebec.

According to Statistics Canada, the percentage of people who speak both English and French in Quebec increased from 44.5 to 46.4 percent in 2016, and the three Canadian cities with the highest rates of bilingual English and French speakers are Gatineau, Montreal, and Quebec City.

The release of census data comes after Quebec adopted a new language law that limits access to bilingual services offered by the provincial government.