Question Period Note: FRANCOPHONE IMMIGRATION TARGET

Increasing Francophone immigration to reach a target of 4.4% of French-speaking immigrants outside Quebec by 2023

PROPOSED RESPONSE:
• Ensuring the vitality of Francophone communities outside Quebec continues to be a key priority for our government.
• During the pandemic, we have continued to strengthen the Francophone Immigration Strategy by putting in place targeted initiatives, such as creating dedicated streams for French-speaking temporary residents as part of the temporary pathways to permanent residence for essential workers and international students in Canada.
• IRCC has an established working group with the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada to jointly explore the potential of a target beyond 2023 and we will take into consideration its suggestions as we continue to advance this work.
• Moving forward, IRCC looks forward to ongoing collaboration with provinces and territories, other stakeholders and partners to advance our collective interests.

If pressed on the Commissioner of Official Languages report
• I recognize the recommendations of the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages in its study on the 4.4 % target for French-speaking immigrants to Canada outside Quebec.
• The Commissioner’s engagement on Francophone immigration is important. I welcome the recommendations in the study, which will inform our thinking about the Francophone immigration strategy going forward.
• We continue to be committed to meeting the target by 2023.
If pressed on the Study by the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne (FCFA) :
• We recognize the work and efforts of the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne in developing their study on the target for French-speaking immigrants to Canada outside Quebec.
• Their recommendations will inform our thinking going forward.

BACKGROUND:
• Achieving a target of 4.4% of French-speaking immigrants outside Quebec by 2023 is one of the objectives of the Francophone Immigration Strategy.
• Established in 2003, the target is equal to the proportion of Francophones in the Canadian population outside Quebec as per the 2001 Census. According to the 2016 Census, more than 1 million Francophones in Canada were living outside Quebec, representing 3.8% of the population. Unless actions are taken, the proportion could decrease to 3% by 2036. Immigration is one of the elements to address the demographic decline.
• From 2003 to 2021, more than 73,000 French-speaking immigrants were admitted to Canada outside Quebec. French-speaking immigrant admissions represented 2,2% of all immigrants admitted to Canada outside Quebec as of February 2022, up from 2% in 2021; still below the 4.4% target.
• Since the 2017 introduction of additional points to French-speakers with strong language skills under Express Entry, an increased share of invitations issued to French-tested candidates under Express Entry has been observed from 2.9% in 2017 to 5.2% in 2020; however, the pandemic had a toll on this trend with a decline to 3% of invitations issued to French-tested candidates in 2021.
• Between January 2021 and January 2022, 43% of French-speaking permanent residents in Canada outside Quebec were admitted via Express Entry, making it the most promising tool to increase French-speaking admissions outside Quebec. In October 2020, IRCC increased additional points for language skills from 15 to 25 for French-speaking candidates and from 30 to 50 for bilingual candidates. This change will help deliver on the government’s commitment.
• Under the Francophone Immigration Strategy, the Department is also pursuing year-round targeted promotion and recruitment support activities to attract a growing number of qualified French-speaking candidates, as well as supporting the successful integration and retention of French-speaking newcomers, through the consolidation of a Francophone integration pathway and adapted language training. This includes the Welcoming Francophone Communities initiative aimed at creating lasting ties between French-speaking newcomers and their hosting communities.
• With regard to the temporary resident to permanent resident pathway, IRCC has received around 7,000 applications from the two streams dedicated to French-speaking essential workers and the stream dedicated to French-speaking recent international graduates, which accounted for 8% of all applications submitted. However, several applicants indicated a residence in Quebec with the intention to move outside Quebec.
• The Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne (FCFA) released a study on the target for French-speaking immigrants to Canada (outside Quebec) by 2023 on April 4, 2022.
• The study makes several recommendations that the Department is currently reviewing.

None