Every year, thousands of French-speaking immigrants come to Canada to settle in Francophone communities outside of Quebec. In 2024, the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) launched a new Policy on Francophone Immigration to enhance the vitality and the economic development of Francophone minority communities across the country. The Policy has four main goals:

• Propose an ambitious, pragmatic and evidence-based approach to leverage immigration in view of respecting the government’s commitment to restore and increase the demographic weight of Francophone minority communities to what it was in 1971 (6.1% of the Canadian population outside Quebec);
• Make Francophone immigration a key and permanent IRCC priority that is integrated into the Department’s decision-making and operational processes;
• Use a whole-of-society approach to assess the impact of immigration on other socio-economic issues (and vice versa), so that implicated partners can work together in a consistent and complementary manner; and
• Strengthen coordinated action in Francophone immigration across the immigration continuum (promotion, selection, integration) for both permanent and temporary residents.

To meet these goals, IRCC has developed a five-year Implementation Plan that includes the following actions, among others:

1. Application of a Francophone Lens to inform the Department’s decisions and actions. With the Policy, Francophone immigration is a priority that is now at the heart of the Department’s program. As such, it requires the development and implementation of a Francophone lens that informs the Department’s decisions and actions. The lens is a tool that applies to existing and future policies, programs and measures, as well as those that are under development. It ensures that at every step of the development, implementation and evaluation of policies, programs and measures, the Department maximizes its contribution to Francophone immigration and the vitality of Francophone and Acadian communities. The lens fosters the adoption of measures that take into account the realities, priorities and needs of newcomers and communities alike. It also helps to identify risks in a timely manner so that IRCC can adjust to achieve its Francophone immigration objectives.

2. Increased promotion and support for international recruitment for Francophone immigration abroad and in Canada. All year long, IRCC promotes Francophone immigration outside of Quebec. To better achieve the new ambitious target, IRCC has increased its human resources. IRCC abroad also works with provinces, territories, organisms and employers to promote French-speaking pool of talents including from the Middle East, Africa, Europe and the Americas.  Since 2003, IRCC abroad organizes Destination Canada Mobility Forum, the annual flagship event for Francophone immigration. Participants from various countries can learn about the diversity of Canada, Francophone minority communities and Canadian immigration programs. More recently, editions of this forum have been held in Rabat, Morocco and in Paris, France, as well as virtually to reach a larger pool of French-speaking and bilingual talent.

3. Adapted and strengthened immigration selection mechanisms to maximize admissions of French-speaking immigrants, including: (1) Adjustments to tailor Canada’s Express Entry system to provide a streamlined and efficient pathway for French-speaking or bilingual immigrants. (2) By increasing the number of invitations to apply sent to candidates with French language proficiency, among others, Canada aims to support the country’s need for bilingual workers across various sectors, as well as the specific labour-market needs of Francophone minority communities. (3) New pilot projects have been created, including a pilot project to increase the attraction and access of French-speaking international students to Francophone post-secondary institutions outside Quebec and a pilot project to help address the labour market needs of smaller communities, including Francophone minority communities, across Canada. (4) Also in 2023, the Mobilité Francophone stream of Canada’s International Mobility Program was expanded (on a temporary basis for two years) to allow Canadian employers to extend job offers to eligible foreign nationals who have a moderate command of spoken French.

4. Strengthened Francophone Integration Pathway, i.e., settlement and resettlement services offered in French in Francophone minority communities for French-speaking newcomers outside Quebec. In 2023-2024, uptake of Francophone settlement and resettlement services continued to increase with 64% of French-speaking newcomer clients accessing at least one service provided by a Francophone Service Provider Organization, compared to 51% in 2019-2020.

5. Multi-stakeholder Collaboration. The federal government and its key partners share a common vision, interests and objectives with regard to Francophone immigration. Thus, all must be able to benefit from the advantages of Francophone immigration, which requires close collaboration among stakeholders.

Interdepartmental roundtables on official languages already exist and are a key mechanism for strengthening information-sharing and aligning various federal initiatives for Francophone minority communities. Also, since 2018, the Federal-Provincial/Territorial Action Plan aimed at increasing Francophone immigration outside Quebec has served as a framework for shared federal-provincial-territorial work on Francophone immigration.

IRCC has also entered into legally-binding bilateral immigration agreements with all provinces and territories, with the exception of Quebec and Nunavut. These agreements include commitments to support official language minority communities. In addition, appendices to agreements specifically covering Francophone immigration have been signed with Ontario and New Brunswick. These bilateral engagements with the provinces and territories are essential in order to better align their needs and priorities with Francophone immigration.

IRCC is also in ongoing dialogue with Francophone community stakeholders, in particular through joint governance tables, as well as through support for Francophone settlement services.