IRCC’s future goals to support Francophone immigration comprise the 4.4 percent target of French-speaking new immigrants apart from Quebec. The department plans to achieve this target toward the end of 2023.
IRCC’s future goals to support Francophone immigration
The same target was a part of the initial Action Plan for Official Languages 2018-2023 and the 2019 Francophone immigration strategy.
From September 15, 2022, the percentage of Francophone PR admissions apart from Quebec was 3.7 percent. IRCC’s recent memo supporting Francophone immigration after 2023 indicates that it is discovering specific areas aligned with the proposals of the Action Plan for Official Languages (2023-2028). These include the following:
- Extending the pathways to PR for Francophone international students and workers.
- Collaboration expansion with provinces and territories.
- Development of an Innovation Center on French-speaking immigrants. This will also include new contribution programs and grants to assist Francophone immigration.
- Incorporating the Francophone lens within the reforms of Express Entry.
Francophone Lens aligned with Express Entry
The IRCC memo claims that Express Entry reforms would enable enhanced flexibility while selecting the candidates. Here, the candidate selection is under the new officials for category-based selection. This selection could establish a method to choose bilingual and Francophone candidates directly.
Express Entry serves as the chief method of welcoming French-speaking immigrants. Hence, incorporating a Francophone lens within its reforms will prove beneficial in increasing the potential for Express Entry to welcome French-speaking immigrants.
Extending the TR to PR pathways for Francophone immigrants
IRCC’s memo states that extending the TR to PR pathways for Francophone international students and TFWs is possible through extending the available programs. These existing programs support this shift from TR to PR, targeting specific trades or professions.
In addition, the department can look forward to the temporary resident program as it will facilitate increased Francophone immigration of foreign nationals. These foreign nationals can acquire considerable and relevant Canadian work experience to be eligible for PR pathways.
Furthermore, IRCC operates to extend the Francophone Mobility Stream within the International Mobility Program. This is a measure to incorporate Francophone temporary workers across all occupations and skills to show support for its PR admission targets.
Expansion of collaboration with provinces and territories
IRCC even elaborated that the solution to the importance of Francophone communities will be to comprehend the provincial and territorial workforce requirements for bilingual and French-speaking immigrants. In addition, it encourages the vitality of newcomers for employers and partners.
Moreover, IRCC also expects to solidify these collaborations and function bilaterally with certain provinces or territories. This will establish increased unique approaches for their individual requirements.
IRCC’s future goals to support Francophone immigration – other measures to enhance French-speaking communities outside Quebec
IRCC annually releases a new immigration target plan to execute its admissions. Furthermore, the plan lists the targets for Permanent Residence per the three typical immigration programs. These include economic, refugee/humanitarian, and family class programs.
According to the Canadian Immigration Levels Plan 2024-2026, the targets will remain steady for new permanent residents in each year, 2025 and 2026. The total admission target for PRs each year will be firm at 500,000.
However, the primary objective is to bring forth 26,100 French-speaking Permanent Residents apart from Quebec in 2024. However, for 2025, the target will be 31,500 and 36,000 in 2026. IRCC expects to enhance the Francophone PR admission targets outside Quebec by 4,500 more immigrants. This is in contrast with the targets of 2025.
Notably, it is the sole admission category through which the target will increase between 2025 and 2026. This clearly displays Canada’s dedication toward Francophone immigration.
Additionally, IRCC will also invest $18.5 million to encourage and assist the hiring of French-speaking immigrants in Canada and overseas. This initiative is a part of the Action Plan for Official Languages 2023-2028.
Furthermore, $50 million will be allocated toward strengthening the Francophone immigration pathway. This will also make it more convenient for new immigrants to settle and integrate into Canada. Besides, this will even enhance the reception potential of French-speaking minority communities.
Lastly, the 2019 announcement of Canada’s Francophone Immigration Strategy intends to bolster the strength of Francophone communities. The Strategy seeks to enhance the ability of Francophone communities and facilitate the effective incorporation and continued residency of newcomers who speak French, in addition to achieving the goal of 4.4% of Francophones outside of Quebec by 2023.
Do you have any queries on Canadian immigration? Get in touch with our immigration representatives at MakeHomeCanada by writing to us at [email protected].
