What Keyboard Layout Do They Use in Canada?

Canada uses the CSA keyboard. The keyboard is sometimes known as the CAN/CSA Z243.200-92 and is referred to as the ACNOR keyboard. 

The CSA keyboard is a Canadian-French layout which is a QWERTY layout and utilizes easy access to the letters which are accented for the French language.

Is a US keyboard layout the same as Canadian?

No, it is not completely the same but there are only small differences between the two layouts but only if you’re a French-speaking Canadian. 

One of the main differences is that a Canadian keyboard has an additional key to the left of the “Z” key, which contains the letters “É” and “è”. The US keyboard does not have this key.

Another difference is that Canadian keyboards have European symbols to support French language usage, including the “¢” symbol and the “€” symbol.

Some of the keys might also be labelled different, the ‘Shift’ key being one example because sometimes it’s labelled ‘Maj’ on Canadian keyboards, which translates to “Majuscule”, or uppercase in French.

Does Canada use ANSI or ISO keyboard?

You’ll find that the vast majority of Canadian computer keyboards use the ISO standard, although ANSI keyboards are also available.

What’s the difference between US and ISO keyboards?

US keyboards use ANSI which is the most common layout. The ANSI standard is 104 keys with no spare keys in the standard layout, and 87 keys in a compact form factor.

The ISO keyboard (primarily found in Europe) comes with 105 keys on the full-size keyboard and 88 keys when using a compact keyboard format.

Does Quebec use AZERTY or Qwerty?

Quebec uses a QWERTY keyboard. However, the keyboard has been adapted to be the multilingual standard Canadian keyboard, the CSA keyboard.

How do I change my keyboard to a Canadian layout?

Windows 10

1. Open Settings from the start menu.
2. Then go to Time & Language.
3. Next up click on Language.
4. Under “Preferred languages”, choose he current default language.
5. Now click on Options.
6. Under the “Keyboards” section, click the Add a keyboard button. Select the new keyboard layout.

Windows 11

1. Open Settings from the start menu.
2. Click on Time & Language.
3. Click the Language & Region option on the right hand side of the page.
4. Click the menu button (dots) next to the language and select Language Options.
5. Under ‘Keyboards’ click ‘Add a keyboard’.
6. Select your desired layout.

Mac users

1. Open System Preferences.
2. Click on Keyboard.
3. Click on the ‘Input Sources’ tab and then click the + button which is at the bottom.
4. Choose the desired language from the left hand side and it will offer the keyboard layout option to the right.

Choose your desired keyboard layout and click Add.