OLLO – Deputy Minister’s Opening Statement – February 6, 2023

Speaking Notes, Christiane Fox - Deputy Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

Standing Committee on Official Languages (OLLO), Francophone Immigration to Minority Communities

February 6, 2023

Word count: 554 words

Check against delivery

Thank you, [Mr./Madam] Chair and members of the Committee.

I’d like to begin by acknowledging that I join today’s meeting from the traditional unceded territory of the Anishinaabe Algonquin People.

Immigration plays a key role in supporting Canada’s immediate economic needs, reversing our longer-term downward demographic trends, sustaining our official languages, and continuing to support humanitarian needs as part of the global community.

In 2019, IRCC announced a comprehensive Francophone Immigration Strategy that aimed to reach a 4.4‑percent target of French-speaking immigrant admissions outside Quebec by the end of 2023. This target was established in consultation with community stakeholders.

In addition to the 4.4‑percent target, the strategy supports the successful integration and retention of French-speaking newcomers and strengthens the capacity of Francophone minority communities.

I’m very pleased to say we achieved the target of 4.4 percent French-speaking immigrants admitted to Canada outside Quebec by the end of 2022, reaching the government’s goal one year earlier than planned.

In 2022, Canada welcomed over 16,300 French-speaking newcomers outside Quebec, three times as many as in 2018. This is the highest number of French-speaking immigrants admitted to Canada outside Quebec since we started collecting data in 2006. This increase is, in part, thanks to our Francophone Immigration Strategy.

These French-speaking newcomers have already begun to enrich and contribute to their new Francophone minority communities.

They will support the preservation of the French language and help address the labour shortages across Canada, which will be beneficial to population growth and economic prosperity in Francophone minority communities outside Quebec.

We reached our target through concrete actions, including

• allocating additional points to Francophone and bilingual candidates under the Express Entry system in 2020;
• introducing the time-limited temporary resident to permanent resident pathway in 2021 that had no cap; and
• improving promotional activities in Canada and abroad, including the Destination Canada Mobility Forum.

Financial investments made through the Action Plan for Official Languages 2018–2023 provided nearly $500 million over five years to support official languages, including $40.7 million for Francophone immigration initiatives.

We will strive for even more in the coming years. The groundwork is being laid for a new Francophone immigration policy, including a new admissions target beyond 2023 that will be ambitious, realistic, and attainable.

We have set up a working group, co-chaired by the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada, to inform and guide the work being done to develop the new Francophone immigration policy and the associated consultations.

We have also proposed a set of initiatives for the upcoming Action Plan for Official Languages 2023–2028. These initiatives respond to advice from stakeholders and support the legislative proposals set out in Bill C‑13 and related administrative measures to implement the modernized Official Languages Act.

We will continue to work in close collaboration with partners to provide Francophone minority communities with the tools they need to welcome and retain people who want to set down roots in these communities.

In closing, I hope I have given the Committee a good sense of what my department has done to provide newcomers with incentives to settle in Francophone minority communities across the country, and what we plan to do going forward to achieve new, ambitious Francophone immigration objectives in the years to come.

With that, I would be pleased to answer the Committee’s questions.