Typing in Quebecois requires easy access to French accents like é, à, and ç.

The Canadian Multilingual Standard keyboard layout is the best tool for this job.

It allows you to type English and French without constantly switching your keyboard hardware.

This guide will show you exactly how to install and use this digital keyboard layout on your computer.

Why use the Canadian multilingual keyboard

The Canadian Multilingual Standard keyboard is the official keyboard layout of Quebec and Canada.

It was designed to help people type in both English and French effortlessly.

Standard US or UK keyboards hide French accents behind complicated numeric codes.

The Canadian multilingual layout places these important accents right at your fingertips.

You can still type in English perfectly normally.

The only noticeable difference is that a few punctuation keys change their behavior.

With this keyboard active, you can easily type common Quebecois greetings with perfect spelling.

How to set up the keyboard on Windows

Adding this keyboard to a Windows computer is a very simple process.

Follow these exact steps to add the layout to your operating system.

• Open your Start menu and click on Settings.
• Select Time & Language from the menu.
• Click on Language & Region.
• Find your preferred language (like English or French) and click the three dots next to it.
• Select Language options.
• Scroll down to the Keyboards section and click Add a keyboard.
• Scroll through the list and choose Canadian Multilingual Standard.

You can now switch between keyboards by pressing the Windows key and the Spacebar at the same time.

How to set up the keyboard on Mac

Apple computers also support the Canadian multilingual layout natively.

Mac users often refer to this layout as Canadian French - CSA.

• Click the Apple logo in the top left corner of your screen.
• Select System Settings (or System Preferences on older Macs).
• Scroll down and click on Keyboard in the left sidebar.
• Look for the Text Input section and click Edit.
• Click the plus (+) button in the bottom left corner to add a new layout.
• Search for Canadian Multilingual or Canadian French - CSA.
• Click Add to save your new keyboard.

You can easily toggle between your keyboards by clicking the flag icon in your top menu bar.

How to type French accents

Once your keyboard’s active, you need to know which keys produce which accents.

Many keys on the right side of your physical keyboard now serve a new purpose.

Here’s a simple reference table showing how to type common French letters.

You’ll quickly memorize these key positions after a few days of typing in Quebecois.

If you ever need to type a standard question mark, hold Shift and press the number 6.