Sask. Tagalog speakers double since 2011

The number of Tagalog speakers in Saskatchewan rose 123 per cent in 2016 compared to 2011, Statistics Canada reports.

By comparison, the number of Tagalogspeakers in the rest of Canada rose 35 per cent.

In 2016, 20,000Saskatchewan residents named Tagalog as their mother tongue, and 11,350reported it as the language they most often speak at home.

MoreTagalogspeakers expected

GinaCruz-Johnson, owner of Filipino-Canadian International Travel in Regina, expectsthe number ofTagalog-speakingFilipinos to keep rising in Saskatchewan.

She hails fromthe Philippines and ownsa travel agency that caters to predominantly Filipino people.

She says work visas are hardto obtain for Filipinos wanting to work in Canada, but "I keep booking families coming here, and not only families being sponsored, also the visitors, like the parents."

Regina attracting Filipino businesses

Glenda Obes, who is from the Philippines, is the co-owner of one of a few Filipino stores that have cropped up in Regina.

"This is the best place to build your family, to start your family that's what I feel," said Obes. "It feels safe, the people here [are] very warm, and Canada is very welcoming to immigrants."

Obes lives in Regina with her husband and two children, both of whom were born in Canada. The rest of her family is in the Philippines.

Other languages spoken in Sask.

Of the 1.1 million people in Saskatchewan, 173,500 of them reported a mother tongue that isn't English or French.

In Saskatchewan,French-English bilingualspeakers formed nearly five per cent of the population. By comparison, the percentage of French-English bilingual speakers was 18 per cent in the rest of Canada.

Twelve per cent of Saskatchewan residents reported speaking more than one language at home.

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