Kelly Burke took office as Canada’s eighth Commissioner of Official Languages on March 30, 2026.

Born and raised in Cornwall, Ontario, with both English and French roots, Kelly Burke embodies Canada’s linguistic duality, which she has worked to protect and promote since the start of her career.

Ms. Burke holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor in Education from Queen’s University, a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Ottawa and a Master of Laws from York University with a specialization in alternative dispute resolution. She has been a member of the Law Society of Ontario since 1996, and her career has combined strict legal standards, strategic leadership and an unwavering commitment to language rights.

She began her career as a French immersion teacher, which shaped her in‑depth understanding of Canada’s linguistic realities. Since then, she has dedicated her expertise to promoting the French language, supporting the development of linguistic minority communities and strengthening Canada’s language policy.

An experienced bilingual lawyer and administrator, Ms. Burke has more than 25 years of experience in Ontario’s public service. In Toronto, she held a number of senior management positions at the Ministry of the Attorney General, where she advised the provincial government on employment, governance and French-language services. She also developed continuing education programs for legal professionals to improve access to justice in French.

From 2014 to 2019, Ms. Burke was the Assistant Deputy Minister and Chief Administrative Officer in the Ministry of Francophone Affairs, where she co-chaired the Ministerial Conference on the Canadian Francophonie, helping to strengthen intergovernmental cooperation on official languages. From 2019 to 2020, she was the Assistant Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Colleges and Universities.

Ms. Burke then served as Ontario’s French Language Services Commissioner from 2020 to 2023 and was responsible for protecting and promoting the language rights of Franco-Ontarians. She also played an active role on the world stage as Vice Chair of the International Association of Language Commissioners.

Recognized for her strategic vision, her ability to engage in dialogue and her commitment to a truly bilingual Canada, Ms. Burke is approaching her new role with a focus on modernizing the language policy framework, strengthening public trust and making official languages a catalyst for unity, equity and vitality for all generations.

Additional information on the Commissioner

About the Member's Office

The Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages supports the Commissioner of Official Languages in his mission as an agent of Parliament to ensure that the main objectives of the Official Languages Act are met:

• Ensure the equality of English and French in federal institutions
• Support the preservation and development of official language minority communities in Canada (English-speaking communities in Quebec, and Francophone and Acadian communities outside of Quebec)
• Advance the equality of English and French in Canadian society, taking into account the diversity of provincial and territorial language policies
• Promote the future of French across Canada, including in Quebec
• Clarify the official languages obligations of federal institutions

The Commissioner’s mission is also to ensure that the rights and obligations set out in the Use of French in Federally Regulated Private Businesses Act, which was adopted in 2023 and will become effective on a date to be set by decree, are recognized.

To support the Commissioner in fulfilling his mission, the Office of the Commissioner has two main areas of activity that go hand in hand and complement each other: compliance and promotion.

Key Information on the Language Situation in this Country/Region

Today, Canada has two official languages—English and French—as well as over 70 Indigenous languages and more than 200 immigrant languages. It was established on the ancestral lands of Indigenous peoples (First Nations, Métis and Inuit), colonized by the British and French in the 16th and 17th centuries, and became a new home for immigrants (mainly European and American until the mid‑20th century; immigration has since become increasingly diversified).

In Canada, the progressive recognition of English and French as the country’s official languages evolved over a period of just over 150 years with the adoption of:

• the Constitution Act, 1867, at the time of Confederation, which allowed the use of either English or French in debates and required documents to be drafted in both languages in Canada’s Parliament and federal courts, as well as in the legislature and provincial courts of Quebec;
• the first Official Languages Act at the federal level in 1969, which recognized the equal status, rights and privileges of the official languages within Parliament and the Government of Canada, particularly with regard to federal communications and services, and created the position of Commissioner of Official Languages;
• a revised Official Languages Act in 1988, which broadened the scope of language of work and participation of English-speaking Canadians and French-speaking Canadians in the federal public service, and enshrined the federal government’s commitment to foster the development of official language minority communities and to promote the use of English and French in Canadian society; and
• a modernized Official Languages Act in June 2023, which aims to ensure substantive equality of English and French through the promotion and protection of French to meet 21st century challenges, which recognizes the declining demographic weight of French‑speaking minorities (outside Quebec) and which enshrines the federal government’s commitment to reversing it.

In response to the 2021 Census question on first official language spoken:

• 76.1% of respondents in Canada indicated English, and 22.0% said French;
• 84.1% of respondents in Quebec indicated French, and 14.9% said English; and
• 94.4% of respondents in Canada outside Quebec indicated English, and 3.5% said French.

The Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages also reports on official languages issues in Canada in its various products, including its publications (annual reports, studies, other reports, audits, etc.), its tools and resources (infographics, language census data tables, guides, best practices and others), and its press releases, speeches, articles and op‑eds.