In both the Senate and the House of Commons (the House), Indigenous languages are becoming more widely spoken and recognized, despite their historically limited use in Canada’s Parliament.
Language is fundamental to identity and culture. Although the condition of the more than 70 Indigenous languages spoken across Canada varies, many are considered vulnerable or in a critical state. Past colonial policies, such as residential schools and forced assimilation, disrupted the intergenerational transmission of Indigenous knowledge and languages. Despite this, Indigenous languages in Canada have endured and are spoken today, with Indigenous peoples leading various preservation and revitalization efforts.
Language Use in Parliament
The Constitution Act, 1867 guarantees senators and members of Parliament (MPs) the right to use Canada’s two official languages, English and French, in parliamentary debates, and requires that parliamentary publications be prepared in both official languages. The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Official Languages Act also contain provisions affirming the right to use English and French in parliamentary proceedings.
In 2019, Canada adopted the Indigenous Languages Act which, among other things, recognizes “rights related to Indigenous languages” as Aboriginal rights protected under section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982. However, the Act does not confer any official status to Indigenous languages in Canada, nor does it address their use in Parliament.
The use of languages other than English and French has at times been permitted in the Senate and in the House, although generally under specific guidelines and typically not at great length. These interventions were usually short, and the text was provided in advance to the interpreters in either English or French. Parliamentarians have previously been discouraged from speaking in languages other than English or French because difficulties in understanding could make it hard to maintain order during proceedings and to provide accurate records of what was said.
According to the Translation Bureau, which provides interpretation and translation services to Parliament, simultaneous interpretation from an Indigenous language into English and French was first provided in the Senate in 2008 and in the House in 2019. Previously, if a parliamentarian spoke in an Indigenous language, their statements were translated later in the written record. Figure 1 illustrates examples of Indigenous languages that have been used in the Senate and in the House of Commons, including in their respective committees.
Figure 1 – Examples of Indigenous Languages Used in Parliament
Text version
Disclaimer: This infographic contains words and characters that may not be recognized or pronounced correctly by screen readers or other assistive technologies. This includes the names of Indigenous languages, some of which have not yet been integrated into these technologies. Where pronunciation challenges have been identified with screen readers, approximate phonetic spellings have been provided in parenthesis, based on publicly available sources, to support accessibility.
Several Indigenous languages have been spoken in Parliament, including:
In the House of Commons: Algonquin, Anishinaabemowin, Cree, Dakelh (dakesh), Deh Cho Dene, Dene, Dene North-Slavey, Gitxsan, Gwich’in, Innu-Aimun, Inuktitut, Michif, Mi’kmaq, Mohawk, Nisga’a, Salish, SENĆOŦEN (sen-CHOH-sen), Southern Tutchone (two-shown-eee), Tlingit (tling-get), Tsilhqot’in, Ucwalmícwts, Wendat, Wit’sutwit’en (wet-so-a-den) and Wolastoqey (WOOL-ah-sto-gway).
In House of Commons committees: Anishinaabemowin, Cayuga, Cree, Dakelh (dakesh), Dene, Dene Zhati, Hul’q’umi’num’, Innu-Aimun, Inuktitut, Kwak’wala, Lílwat, Michif, Mi’kmaq, Mohawk, Nakota, Northern Tutchone (two-shown-eee), Oji-Cree, Ojibwe, Secwepemctsin (suh-WEP-muhc-teen), Siksika, Wendat, Wit’sutwit’en (wet-so-a-den) and Wolastoqey (WOOL-ah-sto-gway).
In the Senate: Algonquin, Blackfoot, Cree, Gwich’in, Haida, Innu-Aimun, Inuktitut, Inuvialuktun, Michif, Mi’kmaq and North Slavey.
In Senate committees: Anishinaabe Saulteaux, Cree, Dene, Haisla, Innu-Aimun, Inuktitut, Inuvialuktun, Mi’kmaq and Mohawk.
Of these languages, simultaneous interpretation was provided for Cree, Dene, Inuktitut, Mi’kmaq and Mohawk in the House of Commons Chamber; Cree, Innu-Aimun and Inuktitut in House of Commons committees; Inuktitut and Michif in the Senate Chamber; and Inuktitut in Senate committees.
The examples given are not exhaustive. The Indigenous languages included here are based on the information available in Hansard, which typically reflects the language choice specified by the speaker. As a result, alike languages may be identified by different names or various spellings, or they may be subgroups or dialects of a larger language family. In many cases, Hansard does not specify which Indigenous language was used, only that an “Aboriginal language” or “Indigenous language” has been spoken. Interventions also vary in length.
The Senate
The Senate has debated the use of Indigenous languages, particularly Inuktitut, a widely spoken Inuit language, in its proceedings since the early 2000s. With the support of Inuit Senators Willie Adams and Charlie Watt, Senator Eymard Corbin introduced motions on Indigenous language use in the Senate in 2005 and again in 2006. Both motions were debated and ultimately referred to the Standing Senate Committee on Rules, Procedures and the Rights of Parliament (RPRD). The committee then conducted a study on the use of Inuktitut and “prospectively” other Indigenous languages in the Senate.
In its fifth report presented in April 2008, RPRD recommended an incremental approach beginning with a pilot project to permit the use of Inuktitut in the Senate Chamber, before gradually expanding the use of Inuktitut to the Standing Senate Committees on Aboriginal Peoples (now, Indigenous Peoples) and on Fisheries and Oceans. The report also recommended an eventual review to “identify cost-effective approaches” for accommodating other Indigenous languages in the Senate Chamber and underlined “practical limitations” regarding the use of Indigenous languages in the Senate, such as the limited number and availability of interpreters. The report was adopted by the Senate in May 2008, “on division” or without unanimous support, but without a recorded vote.
Although no review has been conducted, the use of Inuktitut is now permitted in the Senate and its committees. “Reasonable notice” must be provided to either the Chamber Operations and Procedure Office or the appropriate committee clerk in order to arrange for simultaneous interpretation from Inuktitut into English and French.
This practice has also been applied to the use of other Indigenous languages in the Senate Chamber in recent years, for example, the Michif language. Senators have also made interventions in other Indigenous languages, like Algonquin, Cree, Gwich’in, Haida, Innu-Aimun, Inuvialuktun, Mi’kmaw and North Slavey, although in many cases, these were short greetings or sentences, and no simultaneous interpretation was provided.
The 2021 Speech from the Throne, which took place in the Senate Chamber, marked the first time such a speech was delivered by the Governor General in English, French and Inuktitut, with simultaneous interpretation.
Credit: Bronze bust of the Honourable James Gladstone, Rosemary Breault-Landry (2000), © Senate of Canada, Ottawa.
Note: Senator James Gladstone was the first First Nations person with status under the Indian Act to be appointed to the Senate. He was a member of the Kainai Nation, also known as the Blood Tribe in Alberta, one of the three nations of the Blackfoot Confederacy. He spoke Blackfoot in his first speech in the Senate on 13 August 1958.
In Senate committees, in addition to Inuktitut, senators and witnesses have spoken in other Indigenous languages, although typically without simultaneous interpretation. Anishinaabe Saulteaux, Cree, Dene, Haisla, Innu-Aimun, Inuvialuktun, Mi’kmaq and Mohawk are a few examples.
Recently, the Standing Senate Committee on Indigenous Peoples invited written submissions in Indigenous languages for its Voices of Indigenous Youth Leaders activities, which are typically only permitted in English or French. Some Senate committee reports have also been published in Indigenous languages, as shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2 – Senate Committee Reports Published in Indigenous Languages
Source: Figure prepared by the Library of Parliament.
In observations made in a June 2023 report of the Standing Senate Committee on Official Languages following its study of changes to the Official Languages Act, some senators urged the federal government to recognize the right of parliamentarians to speak Indigenous languages during parliamentary proceedings and to have their words interpreted in English and in French, and reported in parliamentary publications.
The House of Commons
In the past, MPs have delivered brief statements in the House of Commons in Indigenous languages. For example, former MP Wilton Littlechild delivered part of his first speech in Cree in 1988, and he has since publicly highlighted the difficulties he faced doing so. Former MP Romeo Saganash also advocated for speaking Cree in the House and was eventually successful. However, the changes made to House procedures are more recent than those made in the Senate.
In May 2017, former MP Robert Falcon-Ouellette intervened in Cree in the House, although simultaneous interpretation was unavailable. He later rose on a question of privilege arguing that his parliamentary privileges had been violated as he could not be understood by members and the audience viewing House proceedings.
In a June 2017 ruling, former Speaker Geoff Regan specified that it was up to the House to determine whether to expand the interpretation services provided to MPs. The Speaker found no breach of privilege but suggested that the matter be raised with the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs (PROC). The committee began its study, and several witnesses who testified before it spoke in Indigenous languages.
PROC presented its report in June 2018. It recommended that Indigenous languages be recognized in the House and in its committees, and outlined a process for doing so. The committee’s recommended process included requiring members to give written notice to the clerk of the House of Commons with sufficient time for interpretation services to be organized. The report also recommended that MPs provide a “declaration of Indigenous language ability” to establish a registry of interpreters who could be called upon as needed, as well as entering the written text of an Indigenous language speech into the Debates. The report was concurred in by the House in November 2018, on division.
In January 2019, Robert Falcon-Ouellette delivered the House’s first simultaneously interpreted Indigenous language speech in Cree. Since then, simultaneous interpretation has been provided in the House and in its committees in several Indigenous languages.
MPs have also continued to deliver brief remarks in an Indigenous language along with either an oral or written translation. Written texts of Indigenous language speeches have also been entered into the Debates and into Committee Evidence. Some House of Commons committee reports have been published in Indigenous languages (see Figure 3) and certain written submissions to committees have also included some Indigenous language text.
In addition, in November 2021, Lori Idlout became the first MP to be sworn in in Inuktitut. In May 2025, Senator Nancy Karetak-Lindell was also sworn in Inuktitut.
Figure 3 – House of Commons Committees Reports Published in Indigenous Languages
Source: Figure prepared by the Library of Parliament.
Further Reading
Brideau, Isabelle and Brittany Collier. Legislative Summary of Bill C-91: An Act Respecting Indigenous Languages. Publication no. 42‑1‑C91‑E. Library of Parliament, 31 December 2019.
Buck, Keelan. “Indigenous Languages in the House of Commons: Moving From Exceptions to Practice.” Canadian Parliamentary Review, Vol. 48, No. 2, Summer 2025.
Forget, Chloé, Marie-Eve Hudon and Élise Hurtubise-Loranger. Official Languages and Parliament. Publication no. 2015‑131‑E, Library of Parliament, 12 January 2026.
Goodwin, Timothy B. and Julian R Murphy. “Indigenous Languages in Parliament: Comparing Canada and Australia.” Canadian Parliamentary Review, Vol. 43, No. 4, January 2021.
Murphy, Julian R. “Indigenous Languages in Parliament and Legislation: Comparing the Māori and Indigenous Australian Experience.” Māori Law Review, Vol. 30, No. 1, 1 July 2020.
Ouellette, Robert‑Falcon. “Honouring Indigenous Languages Within Parliament.” Canadian Parliamentary Review, Vol. 42, No. 2, Summer 2019.
Schneider, Ze’ev, and Karen Norman. “A Place to Speak and Be Heard: Building a Collection to Support the Use of Indigenous Languages in Canada’s Parliament.” Collection Management, Vol. 48, No. 2, 2023, pp. 150–163.
Statistics Canada. “Indigenous languages across Canada.” Census in Brief. 29 March 2023.
Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. Canada’s Residential Schools: The Legacy – The Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. Vol. 5, 2015, pp. 103–138.
By Miek van Gaalen, Caitlin Gropp and Manuel Perron, Library of Parliament
Categories: Education, language and training, Government, Parliament and politics, Indigenous affairs