Original sentence: According to the 2001 census, 98% of Canadian residents are able to speak at least one of the country’s two official languages, but only 17.5% of Canadians (5.4 million individuals) are bilingual in French and English.Of these multilingual Canadians, somewhat less than half (5,448,850 persons, or 17.4% of the Canadian population) are able to speak both the official languages.Personal bilingualism and multilingualism are significant features of Canadian society; at least 35% of Canadians speak more than one language
Edited sentence: According to the 2006 census, 98% of Canadian residents are able to speak at least one of the country’s two official languages, As well, personal bilingualism and multilingualism are significant features of Canadian society; at least 35% of Canadians speak more than one language.However, bilingualism in the two official languages is much less widespread; of these multilingual Canadians, somewhat less than half (5,448,850 persons, or 17.4% of the Canadian population) are able to speak both the official languages