Immigration minister pledges to invite more francophone candidates to Canada
The targets for francophones will be increased.
Canadian Immigration Minister Marc Miller said Canada will raise immigration targets for francophones from other countries hoping to settle in Canada outside the province of Quebec.
The government regulates the number of French-speaking immigrants by targets. A year ago, the 4.4% mark was reached for the first time — a target set for Citizenship and Immigration Canada back in 2003. In absolute numbers, that means 16,380 people settled in the country outside the province of Quebec in all of 2022. Compared to the 6,950 immigrants of 2021, this number is an increase of 135.7%.
In Miller's own words, "the French language is threatened in a sea of English".
The new target has not yet been finalized, although a 6% level is being discussed. However, the Federation of French-speaking and Academic Communities of Canada (FCFA) believes that "no figure below 10% will be sufficient to stop the demographic decline in the French-speaking world".
This year, Canada has already welcomed 10,190 francophones between January and July. If the trend continues until the end of 2023, the number of French-speaking immigrants will exceed 17,000 by the end of the year.
The issue of preserving French in Canada is regularly on the agenda. A few months ago, Ottawa launched a special program for French-speaking immigration, and just the other day Quebec decided to make life more difficult for English-speaking students. The government is working hard to maintain the prevalence of the second official language in the country.
