OLLO – Narrative – November 4, 2024

Francophone immigration and the impact of the cap on French language post-secondary institutions outside Quebec

Background and recent achievements

Francophone immigration plays a key role in supporting the vitality and growth of Francophone communities outside Quebec. Canada therefore intends to increase its efforts to welcome more Francophone immigrants to these communities.

Over the past year, the Government of Canada has consolidated its recent efforts in Francophone immigration outside Quebec by strengthening, improving and introducing a variety of complementary measures.

On January 16, 2024, the Government of Canada unveiled its new Policy on Francophone Immigration outside Quebec. The policy will support Francophone immigration as a key and ongoing priority of the Government of Canada. It includes a five-year implementation plan that outlines concrete objectives and flagship measures, as well as key targets and indicators. The policy will contribute to progressing toward the restoration and increase of the demographic weight of Francophone minority communities and their economic prosperity.

The support of community stakeholders and federal, provincial and territorial partners is essential to achieving the ambitious objectives of the Policy on Francophone Immigration in the years to come.

In 2022, the Government of Canada met the target of 4.4% of Francophone permanent residents outside Quebec, one year ahead of schedule. In 2023, Canada surpassed the 4.4% target and welcomed over 19,600 French-speaking immigrants outside Quebec, or 4.7%, from January to December 2023.

Exceeding the 4.4% target reflects the Government of Canada’s commitment to supporting the development and vitality of Francophone minority communities.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is well positioned to meet the goal of 6% admissions of French-speaking permanent residents outside Quebec for this year. The 2025–2027 Immigration Levels Plan sets new targets of 8.5% in 2025, growing to 9.5% in 2026 and 10% in 2027. These targets are ambitious, realistic and achievable.

The 2023–2028 Action Plan for Official Languages includes a historic federal investment in official languages. Pillar 1 of the action plan, entitled “Francophone Immigration: Towards the Re-establishment of the Demographic Weight of Francophones,” is entirely dedicated to immigration and presents investments of $137.2M to support Francophone immigration.

Measures in the action plan include the renewal and expansion of the Welcoming Francophone Communities initiative; the Francophone Immigration Support Program, which will fund innovative projects aimed at removing barriers to Francophone immigration; and enhanced efforts to promote and support recruitment.

Recently, we announced the implementation of a new pilot immigration program in Francophone communities. The project will be launched in the fall of 2024 and will help address labour shortages in small and medium-sized communities by enabling them to attract and retain Francophone newcomers in priority jobs.

Study permit cap and next steps

In January 2024, we set an intake cap on student permit applications. This cap is intended to curb the unsustainable growth of the International Student Program and protect its integrity and quality. Early signs indicate that the cap is effectively reining in international student volumes, and recent reports also show that rent prices are decreasing in some cities. However, further reductions are necessary both to make sure that the International Student Program remains sustainable and to meet the commitment announced in March 2024 to decrease Canada’s temporary resident population to 5% of Canada’s total population by the end of 2026. As such, the intake cap will continue in 2025 and 2026. Education is a provincial or territorial responsibility, and provinces and territories designate learning institutions to host international students. Regarding the intake cap, provinces and territories are responsible for determining how to distribute provincial allocations to the designated learning institutions (DLIs) in their jurisdiction.

We will continue to monitor the impact of the cap and other measures to improve the integrity and sustainability of the International Student Program.

Francophone immigration and equitable access to study permits remain priorities that IRCC is pursuing through special measures and program reform. However, we recognized the possibility that the cap may have a negative impact on some underrepresented cohorts, particularly Francophone students wishing to study in Francophone DLIs outside Quebec. IRCC has strongly encouraged its provincial and territorial counterparts to distribute their allocations of spaces in a way that supports their individual immigration goals, including Francophone immigration objectives. This issue was also raised and reiterated in federal-provincial-territorial working group meetings between officials and in bilateral meetings. While provinces and territories are not subject to the Official Languages Act in the same way as federal institutions, we are committed to finding ways to collaborate and meet our obligations under the Act.

As an additional mitigation measure, IRCC set aside a buffer of study permit application spaces that could be used for in-year adjustments related to immigration objectives, including Francophone immigration priorities. We have since used this buffer to distribute top-up allocations to provinces and territories specifically for the purpose of accounting for differential approval rates. This enables provinces and territories to extend additional application spaces to help Francophone institutions to fill their cap quotas.

On August 26, 2024, IRCC launched the new Francophone Minority Communities Student Pilot Program, in partnership with French-language and bilingual post-secondary DLIs outside Quebec. Pilot program participants will benefit from a direct pathway from temporary to permanent status after completing their study program, and they will have access to settlement services while they’re studying to help them integrate successfully into their communities.

Pilot study permit applications are separate from the overall study permit intake cap, allowing each participating DLI to welcome a dedicated number of French-speaking international students who will eventually become permanent residents. With their proficiency in French and their Canadian education, graduates will be able to contribute to the Canadian labour market and enrich Francophone minority communities across the country.

Canada is continuing its work on Francophone immigration outside Quebec, a key priority in the years ahead. We will continue working to achieve the ambitious Francophone immigration targets in the years to come.

Key messages

• Francophone immigration outside Quebec is a key priority of the Government of Canada. It promotes the vitality of Francophone minority communities, supports their economic prosperity, and helps progress toward the restoration and increase of their demographic weight.
• The new Policy on Francophone Immigration will guide IRCC’s future actions to support Francophone communities outside Quebec. This includes promotion efforts, more robust selection mechanisms for skilled French-speaking or bilingual immigrants, and settlement and integration services.
• IRCC will continue to work closely with provinces and territories, educational institutions and other key partners to address the ongoing challenges facing French-speaking international students outside Quebec.
• Canada launched the Francophone Minority Communities Student Pilot as part of its commitment in the Policy on Francophone Immigration. The pilot will make it easier for French-speaking students from certain regions in the world to study in French at participating post-secondary DLIs outside Quebec. Once they are here, they will have access to settlement services and be able to apply for permanent residence after they successfully complete their studies.
• The pilot will reduce barriers, making Canada’s International Student Program fairer for French-speaking study permit applicants from regions in the world that have faced low study permit approval rates in the past.