Beware of the bilingual Canadian keyboard layout 
If you’re looking to buy a computer in Canada, or more importantly a laptop, you will probably look at things like brand, screen size, battery life, hard drive space, operating system, CPU speed, RAM, and other even more technical aspects. However, don’t forget to look at the keyboard layout.
Many computers in Canada come with a bilingual keyboard layout, which is different than a US-style, “English-only” keyboard. If you or the person you’re buying the computer for is used to the US-style keyboard, certain properties might be difficult to adjust to. Here are two of the most obviously differences in those keyboard layouts:
Tall and narrow bilingual Enter key and the short and fat US Enter key:
Narrow bilingual left Shift key and the wider US left Shift key:
If the bilingual keyboard layout (or US layout, to be fair) really bugs you regarding a computer you already own, you can search around for a replacement keyboard with the layout that you want. You’ve got to be careful when replacing laptop keyboards, but it’s certainly a possibility.
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November 26th, 2009 at 5:44 pm
JaneB says:
Also, for people who want a bilingual keyboard the cheap and easy way, just get the usual US keyboard and (in Windows) go to the control panel and set the language to Canadian English and the keyboard to the Canadian Multilingual Standard. Forget about this changing the physical keyboard thing, just let the software remap a few keys! No numerical codes for accents, no weird enter key, just a few remapped keys on the right hand side. If you don't touch-type, you can buy little decals and stick them on the keys….
November 28th, 2009 at 8:41 am
Claire says:
The number of keyboard layouts a bilingual Canadian has to remember in order to type in both languages is nuts. I have a laptop that has a US keyboard and a Canadian multilingual keyboard that I plug in when at my desk. When I set to French, a lot of the characters are set to different keys and for some reason the keyboard at work has yet another layout in French. Drives me a little crazy, especially as a couple of mystery characters just don't seem to exist in some layouts but, still, maybe it'll help prevent Alzheimer's one day.
January 6th, 2010 at 9:05 pm
Cam says:
My bilingual keyboard looks worse. The right shift key is half the original size and is shared with another | and \ key. I bought mine online so I didn't know what the keyboard would be like. Because of this layout, I'll probably be buying my laptops from the States from now on, or at least going in-store to make sure I'm accustomed to the keyboards.
February 23rd, 2010 at 11:26 am
Kevin J. Woolley says:
The only problem I've found with switching keyboard layouts on a standard US keyboard is that you lose a couple of characters — I can't remember which ones off the top of my head (backslash?), but they were deal-breakers for me, as I needed them for programming. The extra key to the left of Z is where those live on a bilingual/UK keyboard.
I still haven't made up my mind how to fully deal with it, but I'm making do with knowing the finger dance to switch keyboard layouts quickly.
March 4th, 2010 at 11:04 am
Justin says:
I want to know who decided we should all adopt this multilingual keyboard layout and what does the extra backslash keys have to do with French anyway (see diagram above)? When did this keyboard layout take over? I’ve lived in Manitoba all my life and I don’t know a single person who speaks French and all I can find are laptops with these asinine multilingual keyboards. I spell colour with a ‘u’ and measure almost everything in metric but these keyboards are bu|| sh*t!
April 23rd, 2010 at 9:23 am
Chris says:
I couldn't agree more with the guy above (Justin – March 4th, 2010)!! That horrendous multi-lingual keyboard layout that is forced on so many Canadians making a regular retail laptop purchase must be the product of a dysfunctional international committee. Shrinking two of the most commonly used keys on your keyboard in order to squeeze extra keys between in the way that they have done is an ergonomic disaster! If you look at the official layout <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:KB_Canadian_Multilingual_Standard.svg>, you can see the lunacy of it all–if they hadn't overlaid so many keys with special characters (like fractions, copyright symbols, etc.) that are all accessible via software in the OS, there would have been no need to add extra physical keys for the language modifiers. They could all have been accommodated as overlays on the existing keys of the standard US layout.
April 24th, 2010 at 8:55 am
Frank says:
I am also having trouble getting used to the Multilingual keyboard! We have 2 laptops that we regularly use, and it is difficult to switch between them.
April 29th, 2010 at 9:45 am
Jeremy says:
Does anyone know how this fiasco happened?
Canadian vendors are not even allowed to import laptops with US keyboards.
Now I have to buy laptops from US vendors and import them in to Canada myself.
This is an absolute mess.
What committee was responsible for this?
This is an outrage!
Where can I vent my frustration?
April 30th, 2010 at 5:02 pm
Mario says:
Fortunately I've started to see again a few laptops with the English keyboard in Staples, Best Buy and Future Shop. They are usually "business laptops" like the HP Probook.
Let's cross our collective fingers!!!!
May 11th, 2010 at 8:16 am
Pam says:
I can't use the new keyboards, my fingers are too small to use the left shift key. And I am a grown-up. Really.
May 18th, 2010 at 8:44 am
Lia says:
I wish I had seen this page before I bought my new Acer Aspire 5741. Changing to Windows 7 was frustrating enough without throwing in a keyboard with flat keys that changed to French when you accidently hit shift and alt together. I am so far behind in my invoicing and correspondence that my boss is quite "unhappy". The extra cost to Canadians to be bilingual is much more than printing everything in 2 languages!
May 20th, 2010 at 7:57 pm
Denis Lemire says:
Yes, I first noticed this a little under two years ago (http://www.denis.lemire.name/2008/09/17/bilingual-keyboards-suck/). The whole situation is ridiculous.
I have not and will not ever purchase any laptop that has this bastardized layout. It is completely unusable.
Two things frustrate me about it:
a) Nobody seems to notice or care so there's no going back now. The keyboards are just fine if you don't know how to type, I guess.
b) I can't find any information on who's responsible for this change, when it occurred or what drugs they used to conclude this was a good idea.
May 22nd, 2010 at 6:04 pm
Joe Hann says:
I too am frustrated with this multilingual keyboard crap. Been three days trying to find out how to input an apostrophe s! Acer or Windows 7 onboard help is no help.
May 29th, 2010 at 7:59 am
Darren says:
The Canadian multi-lingual keyboard is complete crap.
We have been using US-English keyboards in this country for 30 years. All desktop computers and all Apple computers still come with US-English keyboards, and it's outrageous that Canadian retailers are now stocking only multi-lingual laptops.
I never have and never will buy a laptop with a multi-lingual keyboard. When you buy your next laptop, demand a US-English keyboard, and if they won't give it to you then order your laptop on-line.
June 8th, 2010 at 6:17 am
kzaban says:
I'd like to chime in too. I HATE THE BILINGUAL KEYBOARD on Laptops.
I haven't bought a laptop since these new keyboards appeared. I cannot for the life of me use the left shift properly since it is now smaller. Dell for sure has not opt for the bilingual crap keyboards but still holding out. PLEASE KEEP THE BILINGUAL STUFF IN QUEBEC and BRING BACK THE REGULAR KEYBOARD FOR THE REST OF THE PROVINCES IN CANADA !!!! Hello….!!!!!
June 16th, 2010 at 6:28 pm
Frédéric says:
I'm fluently bilingual and have typed French on computers for over 15 years. US keyboards have absolutely no key missing to type anything we want, I have no idea where these "bilingual" keyboards come from. I can't stand them.
June 21st, 2010 at 3:22 pm
Geof says:
I just discovered this problem. I checked Costco, London Drugs, and Staples. This is infuriating. I am happy French Canadians can find what they want (assuming this broken layout is it – what hunt-and-peck committee thought the caps lock key is more important than shift?), but this is unusable to me. I live in BC. I know lots of people who type Chinese. No-one who types French. The situation is ridiculous. I am planning a shopping trip to the States to get something sane. I have contacted those retailers and I urge others do spend a couple of minutes and do the same. You would think if they can sell laptops in blue and pink they might also consider selling machines with usable keyboards.
Reply from Peter: Check some of the smaller retailers. I picked up an Asus laptop with a nice keyboard
June 29th, 2010 at 7:05 pm
Debbie says:
It's time to stand up people. I just bought a new laptop and after 24 hours I am returning it. I have used the English keyboard in school and now in business. Who said it should be changed? Certainly not the paying public. For some it may be too late to return but
ATTN ALL FIRST TIMERS – IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT TAKE IT BACK AND COMPLAIN. TELL THEM YOU'LL ORDER FROM A BUSINESS WHO WILL GIVE YOU WHAT YOU NEED. YES, TAKE YOUR BUSINESS ELSEWHERE.
July 12th, 2010 at 7:49 pm
Darryl says:
24 hours – wow – I'm impressed you lasted that long. I lasted about 3 hours. The manager at Best Buy did not seem surprised at all. Obviously the returns of these ridiculous keyboards are piling up. So for anyone out there with this 'non-standard' keyboard, RETURN IT. If we as a public cannot be heard, maybe the business community will be! I have not seen anything so ridiculous in my life!
July 14th, 2010 at 8:28 am
Stephen says:
Let me make a suggestion.
Look in the mirror. If you don't know what you are buying, it is your own fault.
The keyboard is specified by the buyer, and I have yet to see a product SKU where the language was not clearly marked.
There is no great "French conspiracy" trying to force "French" keyboards on you. It is an option, like any other.
And that is quite apart from the fact that some people use that keyboard layout quite successfully, all the time. What it is, is *new to you*. You could take a few minutes to learn it (it isn't hard — it's a keyboard).
Or, you could stop complaining and return it for a US-104 keyboard (or exchange your laptop).
And next time you order a computer… look more closely at the product description.
"Caveat emptor."
July 16th, 2010 at 5:24 pm
Gerry says:
yup hate these bi keyboards as well, bought one – samsung r380 with an i3 and can't stand it – plug in an apple aluminum keyboard and remap the F13 key to insert with SharpKeys. Was going to buy one of 2 other laptops (Sony Vaio or Acer as843g – both awesome laptops) but said to salesguy "dealbreaker is the bilingual keyboard". Being a programmer I can't be looking at they keys all day to figure out which key is where and then when you do look it's all scattered with >> etc.
July 18th, 2010 at 7:38 pm
Max says:
Thank you for this post – I can't stand these keyboards! When did this mass migration happen? Like Geof I know lots of people who type Chinese (me included) – where's my keyboard? (FYI computers in Hong Kong are sold proper US keyboards)
I have been using a Mac laptop for four years and thought I would buy a little laptop just for working (Office for Mac is worthless). Going to FS and BB I found all laptops these stupid keyboard layouts (except for Dell and Apple – good for them), and ordering from Costco I got the same terrible keyboard, after making sure the images of the product on the website showed a proper US keyboard. This is crazy – I have found a number of laptops that I would buy (HP, Sony, Toshiba) and the dealbreaker is the keyboard! Forget it, I'm getting one from the US on eBay or through a reshipping service. I'll probably get a better deal anyway. UGH.
August 2nd, 2010 at 3:28 pm
Don Gibbs says:
Lets all sign this petition to bring back the regular keyboard!!
http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?KEYBOARD
August 17th, 2010 at 10:39 pm
Adam says:
Keyboard layout is useless. What moron came up with this. Shift key is way too short I can't reach it and enter just literally sucks. Returning laptop tomorrow!. Sorry Acer though you make decent machines, you've lost my sale!
August 18th, 2010 at 8:14 pm
Stephen S says:
To Stephen above:
>>Let me make a suggestion.
>>
>>Look in the mirror. If you don't know what you are buying, it is your own fault.
>>
>>The keyboard is specified by the buyer, and I have yet to see a product SKU >>where the language was not clearly marked.
If this was something people could choose that might make sense. I think what pisses people off (me included) is that the retailers are saying that this is the only keyboard layout they are legally permitted to sell in Canada.