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MONTREAL — While some politicians and Quebec nationalists fretted in 2017 over the perception Montreal has become too bilingual, new data from the 2016 census reveal the city is truly Canada’s trilingual metropolis.

Quebec made international headlines when its legislature voted 111-0 in November in favour of a motion calling on store clerks to greet customers with a “Bonjour” instead of the English-French mix, “Bonjour/Hi.”

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The reality on the ground in Montreal, however, is that customers to the city’s stores and restaurants would likely be just as comfortable with an Hola, Ciao, Namaste, Salaam or Marhaba.

Census numbers from 2016 reveal Montreal is by far the country’s most trilingual city.

The data were specially ordered by Montreal International, a business association, and provided Friday to The Canadian Press.

Statistics Canada’s figures indicate more than 21 per cent of Montrealers can speak at least three languages, compared with 11 per cent of Torontonians and 10 per cent of people in Vancouver.