List of endangered languages in Canada


An endangered language is a language that is at risk of falling out of use, generally because it has few surviving speakers. If a language loses all of its native speakers, it becomes an extinct language. UNESCO defines four levels of language endangerment between "safe" and "extinct":
  • Vulnerable
  • Definitely endangered
  • Severely endangered
  • Critically endangered
Table of Languages:
LanguageStatusNumber of Native SpeakersLanguage FamilyProvince / Territories Spoken
Algonquin/AnishinàbemiwinVulnerable3,320 Algonquian languagesOntario, Quebec
Aivilingmiutut/AivilikVulnerableEskaleut languagesNunavut
AssiniboineCritically endangered150 Siouan languagesSaskatchewan; Montana
AtikamekwVulnerable6,200 Algonquian languagesQuebec
Blackfoot/SiksikáDefinitely endangered2,900 Algonquian languagesAlberta; Montana
BungeeCritically endangered< 200 Indo-European languages Manitoba
Cayuga Critically endangered< 55 Iroquoian languagesOntario; New York
Central OjibwaVulnerable8,000 Algonquian languagesOntario
Chilcotin/TsilhqotʹinSeverely endangered860 Athabaskan languagesBritish Columbia
Chinook JargonCritically endangered1 Wakashan languagesBritish Columbia, Yukon; Alaska, California, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington
Chipewyan/Dene/DënesųłinéVulnerable11,325 Athabaskan languagesAlberta, Manitoba, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Saskatchewan
Comox-Sliammon/ʔayajuθəmCritically endangered~47 Salishan languagesBritish Columbia
DakotaCritically endangered290 Siouan languagesManitoba, Saskatchewan; Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota
Dane-zaa/BeaverDefinitely endangered270 Dene–Yeniseian languagesAlberta, British Columbia
Dogrib/Tłı̨chǫDefinitely Endangered1,735 Athabaskan languagesNorthwest Territories
Eastern Cree/James Bay CreeVulnerable400 Algonquian languagesQuebec
Eastern Ojibwe/OjibwaSeverely endangered26,000 Algonquian languagesOntario
GitxsanSeverely endangered1,020 Tsimshianic languagesBritish Columbia
Gwich'inSeverely endangered~560 Athabaskan languagesNorthwest Territories, Yukon; Alaska
HaislaCritically endangered240 Wakashan languagesBritish Columbia
Halkomelem/Hul'qumi'numSeverely endangered100–260 Salishan languagesBritish Columbia; Washington
Hän/HanCritically endangered6 Athabaskan languagesYukon; Alaska
Heiltsuk/Bella BellaCritically endangered220 Wakashan languagesBritish Columbia
Innu/Eastern MontagnaisVulnerable10,075 Algonquian languagesLabrador, Quebec
InuinnaqtunDefinitely endangered1,310 Eskaleut languagesNorthwest Territories, Nunavut
Inuit Sign Language/InuiuukCritically endangered47 Language isolateNunavut
Inupiaq/Alaskan Inuit Severely endangered1,250 Eskaleut languagesNorthwest Territories; Alaska
KaskaSeverely endangered240 Athabaskan languagesBritish Columbia, Northwest Territories, Yukon
Kivallirmiutut/KivalliqVulnerableEskaleut languagesNunavut
KutenaiSeverely endangered345 Language isolateBritish Columbia; Idaho, Montana
Kwak'walaCritically endangered150 Wakashan languagesBritish Columbia
Lillooet/St̓át̓imcetsSeverely endangered120Salishan languagesBritish Columbia
Malecite-PassamaquoddyDefinitely endangered310 Algonquian languagesNew Brunswick; Maine
Maritime Sign LanguageCritically endangered90 BANZSLNew Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island
Maniwaki Algonquin/Southern AnishinàbemiwinSeverely endangered3,330 Algonquian languagesOntario, Quebec
MichifCritically endangered1,800 Plains Cree and Métis FrenchAlberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Saskatchewan; North Dakota
Mi'kmaq/MigmawVulnerable7,140 Algonquian languagesNew Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island; Maine
Mohawk/Kanienʼkéha Definitely endangered3,875 Iroquoian languagesOntario, Quebec; New York
Moose Cree/IlilîmowinVulnerable3,000 Algonquian languagesOntario
Munsee/Munsee Lenape/Ontario Delaware Critically endangered1 Algonquian languagesOntario
Naskapi/Iyuw IyimuunVulnerable1,230 Algonquian languagesNewfoundland and Labrador, Quebec
Natsilingmiutut/NetsilikVulnerableEskaleut languagesNunavut
Nisga'aSeverely endangered470 Tsimshianic languagesBritish Columbia
Nootka/Nuu-chah-nulthSeverely endangered945 Wakashan languagesBritish Columbia
North SlaveyDefinitely endangeredAthabaskan languagesNorthwest Territories
Northern HaidaCritically endangeredLanguage isolateBritish Columbia; Alaska
Northern TutchoneDefinitely endangered360 Athabaskan languagesYukon
Northwestern OjibweVulnerable20,000 Algonquian languagesManitoba, Ontario
Inuttitut/Nunatsiavummiutut/NunatsiavutVulnerableEskaleut languagesNewfoundland and Labrador
Nuxalk/Bella CoolaCritically endangered17 Salishan languagesBritish Columbia
Oji-Cree/Severn OjibwaVulnerable13,630 Algonquian languagesManitoba, Ontario
OkanaganDefinitely endangered125 Salishan languagesBritish Columbia; Washington
OneidaCritically endangered210 Iroquoian languagesOntario; New York, Wisconsin
OnondagaCritically endangered40 Iroquoian languagesOntario; New York
OdawaSeverely endangered5,108Algonquian languagesOntario; Michigan, Oklahoma
Plains CreeVulnerable3,200 Algonquian languagesAlberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan; Montana
PotawatomiCritically endangered5 Algonquian languagesOntario; Indiana, Kansas Michigan, Oklahoma, Wisconsin
Qikiqtaaluk Nigiani/South Baffin dialectVulnerableEskaleut languagesNunavut
Qikiqtaaluk Uannangani/North Baffin dialectVulnerableEskaleut languagesNunavut
Rigolet InuktitutCritically endangeredEskaleut languagesNunavut
Sarcee/TsuutʼinaCritically endangered80 Athabaskan languagesAlberta
Saulteaux/NakawēmowinVulnerable10,000 Algonquian languagesManitoba, Saskatchewan
SecheltCritically endangered2 Salishan languagesBritish Columbia
SekaniCritically endangered35 Athabaskan languagesBritish Columbia
SenecaCritically endangered100 Iroquoian languagesOntario; New York
Shuswap /SecwepemctsínDefinitely endangered200 Salishan languagesBritish Columbia
SallirmiutunSeverely endangeredEskaleut languagesNorthwest Territories
South SlaveyDefinitely endangeredAthabaskan languagesNorthwest Territories
Southern HaidaCritically endangeredLanguage isolateBritish Columbia; Alaska
Southern TutchoneCritically endangered360 Athabaskan languagesYukon
Squamish/Sḵwx̱wú7meshCritically endangered25 Salishan languagesBritish Columbia
Stoney/Nakota/NakodaVulnerable3,025 Siouan languagesAlberta
North Straits SalishSeverely endangered105 Salishan languagesBritish Columbia; Washington
Swampy Cree/Maskekon/OmaškêkowakVulnerable1,805 Algonquian languagesOntario
TahltanCritically endangered235 Athabaskan languagesBritish Columbia
Thompson/Nlaka'pamuctsinSeverely endangered105 Salishan languagesBritish Columbia; Washington
TlingitCritically endangered170 Dene–Yeniseian languagesBritish Columbia, Yukon; Alaska, Washington
Coast Tsimshian/Sm'álgyaxCritically endangered278 Tsimshianic languagesBritish Columbia; Alaska
Upper Tanana/NabesnaCritically endangered110 Athabaskan languagesYukon; Alaska
Western Abenaki/WôbanakiôdwawôganCritically endangered14 Algonquian languagesNew Brunswick, Quebec; Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont
Woods Cree/Bush CreeVulnerable1,800 Algonquian languagesManitoba, Saskatchewan

Changes in Canadian Endangered Languages

Oneida">Oneida language">Oneida

  • Critically Endangered
There is a "phonological process" in the Oneida language that has been passed down for generations. This process is described as the loss of voicing in the vowel of the last syllable of a word. It is vital to the preservation of the language, and has been changing among the speakers, such that some speakers have introduced a degree of voiced vowels in these final forms, which poses additional stress on the small population of speakers. The introduction of voicing the last syllable in words that typically are unvoiced changes the traditional morphology of the language, pushing the original dialect towards language death, especially since the majority of speakers are older in age. It is part of the Iroquoian language family.

Blackfoot">Blackfoot language">Blackfoot

  • Definitely Endangered
The Blackfoot language features the loss of voicing in the last syllable of a word, which is typically inaudible. Certain inflections and the use of inaudible vowels has been identified as "old Blackfoot", and are not in frequent use by younger speakers. Similarly, a minority of Blackfoot speakers use the "soundless" suffixes, which is pushing the traditional language towards more extreme language endangerment and potentially language death. It is part of the Algonquian language family.

Chipewyan">Chipewyan language">Chipewyan

  • Definitely Endangered
The Chipewyan language exhibits morphological characteristics that are far more complex than the majority of European languages. This includes conditioning of tone and morphology of phonemes, as well as frequent contractions, elisions, metatheses, and consonantal substitutions. Chipewyan is mainly endangered due to its complex structure, which makes it difficult to decipher the morphological code, as well as the fact that the majority of the speakers are in their mid-late adulthood. It is part of the Athapaskan language family.

Assiniboine">Assiniboine language">Assiniboine

Also called Nakoda or Hohe
  • Critically Endangered
Assinibone is one of the language divisions out of five main language divisions within the Dakotan group of the Siouan family. The sound of this language differs from the other languages in the group because it merges voiceless stops with voiced stops. There are reports that syllabaries have been used by Assinibone speakers. The Assiniboine language is spread over 2 communities in Canada, and is mainly used by older adults.

Central Ojibwe">Central Ojibwa language">Central Ojibwe

Also called Anishinaabemowin, Ojibway, and Chippewa
  • Definitely Endangered
There are about 8,000 speakers of the Central Ojibwe language, and it is spread over 16 communities in Canada. The language is spoken from Ontario to Manitoba. It is also spoken in places from Michigan to Montana next to the Great Lakes which is the home of the Ojibwe people. The language today is spoken by people over the age of 70. The people of the Ojibwe language note that double vowels in their language are treated as standing for unit sounds, therefore they are alphabetized after corresponding single values.

Lakota">Lakota language">Lakota

  • Critically Endangered
There are about 6,000 speakers in the Northern Plain States of North Dakota and South Dakota. Most native speakers are in their mid-50s. There is a growing interest to revitalize the language. At the Red Cloud Indian school, there are immersion classes for children to teach the language. However, at the moment, there are no children on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation that are fluent in the language. Within the next ten years, it is expected that there will be children fluent in Lakota. It is mutually intelligible with Dakota and part of the Siouan language family.

Dakota">Dakota language">Dakota

  • Definitely Endangered
There are about 20,000 native speakers, primarily in the North Dakota and South Dakota area, and additionally a speaker community of about 4,000 in Minnesota. Dakota Wicohon is an after-school camp that helps children learn the language, since it is not taught in the government-run boarding schools for American Indian youth. To help preservation efforts, technology like phraselators come into play, allowing learners to type in the words they want or orally speak the word they want and the machine will find it for them. It is mutually intelligible with Lakota and part of the Siouan language family.

Dogrib">Dogrib language">Dogrib

Also called Tlinchon
  • Vulnerable
There are about 2,640 speakers of the language in the Canadian Northwest Territories from the Great Slave Lake to the Great Bear Lake. Dogrib phonology is rather intricate and is organized into 5 levels. The first person to write a book in Dogrib was Herb Zimmerman, who translated the Bible into the language in 1981. Unlike many other Native American languages, there are children who are fluent in the language. It is part of the Northern Athabaskan language family.

Kaska">Kaska language">Kaska

  • Severely Endangered
Kaska was typically a First Nations speaking language, and mainly lived in northern British Columbia and some from southeast Yukon in Canada. People who speak Kaska today still live within the British Columbia and Yukon Territory area. The speakers are elders, such as grandparents, and their children and grandchildren would speak English. First Nations have started work to re-create and preserve their heritage language. It is part of the Athabaskan language family.

Ottawa">Ottawa dialect">Ottawa

Also called Odawa
  • Severely Endangered
The number of people who speak the Ottawa dialect is unknown, though it is predicted to be around 13,000. Native communities received $5 million a year for 7 years to help them in their efforts to preserve their languages and teach it to their children. The language is written with Latin letters and is a dialect of the Ojibwe language. Many descendants of migrants now live in Kansas and Oklahoma.

Stoney">Stoney language">Stoney

Also called Nakoda or Alberta Assiniboine
  • Vulnerable
There are roughly 3,200 people who speak Stoney in the Northern Plains and the Alberta province of Canada. Stoney uses the Latin alphabet. The stress is one of the harder aspects about the language. The Stoney Indian Language Project was created to help make a standard format of the Stoney language. The project created 6 books for adults and children, as well as a videotape for third graders. Stoney is part of the Siouan language family.

Potawatomi">Potawatomi language">Potawatomi

  • Critically Endangered
The Potawatomi Language is critically endangered because there are only 52 fluent speakers left surrounding the Great Lakes region in Michigan. Within a decade, those who are fluent will soon be dead, causing the culture to die out with them, along with the knowledge of history that has been passed down from previous generations. English has become the predominant language spoken in homes due to the halt of parents speaking Potawatomi to children from 20 to more than 50 years ago. Currently there are no teachings of the language but there are revitalization efforts to bring back the language and the culture that could possibly be gone forever. Potawatomi is a Central Algonquian Language.

Tuscarora">Tuscarora language">Tuscarora

  • Critically Endangered
Tuscarora entails complex morphology dealing with the copying of words, roots, stems, and affixes. Historically, the language was situated in North Carolina There was a time where the Tuscarora language was spoken 'as the mother tongue,' used for all situations, but now there are approximately only four to five remaining elders who are fluent in the language. All of the elders are around the ages of seventy to eighty years old, where a possible result is the extinction of the Tuscarora language. It is a Northern Iroquoian Language.

Cayuga">Cayuga language">Cayuga

  • Critically Endangered
The Native American Cayuga speaking people are located in Oklahoma and Ontario. With the splitting of the people into two geographical locations, they now begin to differ in terms of language usage, morphology and phonology. In the setting of Oklahoma, Cayuga has become influenced by other tribes and has, to a certain extent, lost its original vocabulary. Cayuga contains a pitch accent where the placement of it can be predicted by metrical structure and constraints on the structure of the syllables. It is a Northern Iroquoian Language.

Upper Tanana Language">Upper Tanana language">Upper Tanana Language

  • Critically Endangered
The Upper Tanana Language originally was spoken in only five villages, each with a different dialect. Those villages were Beaver Creek, Scottie Creek, Northway, Nabesna, and Tetlin. Today, the language is only spoken by about 95 people, above the age of 50, in eastern interior Alaska. Depending on the dialect, the Upper Tanana Language has about six to seven phonemic vowels. The primary difference between the dialects is the pitch of the tone. Also a major factor in the split of different dialects is that different dialects have different vowel inventories.

Nootka">Nuu-chah-nulth language">Nootka

Also called Nuu-chah-nulth language.
  • Severely Endangered
Despite misinterpretation of studies which describe the phonetic inventory of Nootka, these studies do not suggest that its phonemic inventory is the main reason why the Nootka language may be severely endangered. A process known as glottalization is a key factor in being able to articulate certain sounds in the language, called ejective consonants. Though these sounds are not found in English, they are not linguistically rare. Many languages with large speaker communities, including Arabic and Amharic, contain these sounds, an observation which discredits this theory. It is clear that Nootka, like all Canadian aboriginal languages, is endangered due to social factors alone.