IRCC Deputy Minister Transition Binder 2024 – Francophone Immigration

Context

Under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, the Department’s mandate includes supporting the development of francophone minority communities, as part of the Government’s commitment to enhance the vitality of official language minorities in Canada

• The 2021 Census confirmed an ongoing demographic decline for Francophones outside Quebec, whose demographic weight is currently 3.5% of the population, as compared to 4.4% in 2001 and 6.1% in 1971. Immigration is one of the solutions to address this decline.
• Additionally, increasing the numbers of French-speakers and bilingual newcomers will support Canada’s economic growth and respond to a variety of specific labour market needs, as well as help preserve the country’s bilingual character.

The modernized Official Languages Act (OLA) makes Francophone Immigration a permanent priority for Canada and imposes greater accountability on Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC); it now includes:

• For the first time, the inclusion of immigration-related provisions, mainly to the preamble and to Part VII, notably to section 41 and 44.1;
• Whole-of-government commitment to restore and increase the demographic weight of Francophones outside Québec (reference year of 1971 for restoration, 6.1% of the population);
• Recognition of the importance of immigration to enhance the vitality of Francophone minority communities, including to restore and increase their demographic weight;
• Recognition of the contribution of Francophone immigration to the economy;
• Obligation for IRCC to adopt a Francophone immigration policy, including objectives, targets, indicators, as well as mechanisms for information sharing and reporting; and,
• Strengthening of positive measures, including to: restore and increase demographic weight of Francophone minority communities and support sectors essential to their vitality.

Impacts

• With the modernized OLA, IRCC faces a legal context requiring obligations and commitments for attracting and integrating more French-speaking immigrants outside Quebec.
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Current Program

In 2024, the Department launched its policy on Francophone Immigration

• The Policy provides the overarching strategic framework to guide the development of policy and programs across the immigration continuum and paves the way for concrete, ambitious and innovative action in the short, medium and long term for the following five key action areas:
  • a Francophone lens;
  • admissions targets for French-speaking permanent residents;
  • actions across the immigration continuum (promotion, selection, integration);
  • multi-stakeholder collaboration; and,
  • data and research.
• The Policy includes a five-year Implementation Plan (the Plan) that outlines objectives for each action area, as well as flagship measures, targets and indicators. The Francophone Immigration Branch plays a horizontal coordination and implementation monitoring role for the Policy as a whole. It also plays an important role in guiding the development and implementation of some flagship measures such as the new Francophone Immigration Support Program, the strengthening of a Francophone Integration Pathway, and the Welcoming Francophone Communities (WFC) Initiative. However, putting into place this framework involves all implicated sectors and divisions, namely with respect to their accountability in the development and implementation of several measures included in the Implementation Plan.
• In line with new commitments in the OLA, the Policy aims to enhance the vitality of Francophone minority communities and to chart an ambitious, reasonable, and evidence-based approach to gradually restore their demographic weight to what it was in 1971 (6.1%).
• Though the Policy is departmental, contributions from provinces and territories, other federal departments, and communities themselves will be crucial to the long-term success of the Policy, considering the many factors that influence demographic weight.
• The Policy replaces the Francophone Immigration Strategy adopted in 2019 and builds on its gains, notably:
  • The achievement of the 4.4% admissions target in 2022, a year ahead of schedule, and the exceeding of this target in 2023 with 19,633 admissions for French-speaking immigrants outside Quebec (4.7%).
  • Continued increases in the percentage of French-speaking immigrants served by Francophone service providers: 57% in 2021-2022, versus 44% in 2018-2019; and,
  • The establishment of 14 WFCs since 2020.

Recent Developments

• On January 16, 2024, the IRCC Minister also announced the renewal and expansion of the WFC Initiative, a new Francophone Immigration Support Program, and the implementation of the Action Plan for Official Languages (APOL) 2023-2028.
  • Through the 2023 Federal Budget, IRCC secured $137.2M over five years for seven immigration initiatives included in the APOL.
    • Francophone Immigration Policy ($13.4M)
    • Targeted expansion of promotion and recruitment support ($18.5M)
    • Corridor for the selection and retention of French teachers ($16.3M)
    • Strengthened Francophone integration pathway ($50M)
    • Targeted mechanisms for the selection of French-speaking and bilingual immigrants and a Francophone lens integrated into economic immigration programs ($3.5M)
    • Language training in English and/or French to French-speaking and allophone newcomers, based on need, to support their settlement in Francophone minority communities ($10.5M)
    • Centre for Innovation in Francophone Immigration, including a new grants and contributions program to support Francophone immigration ($25M)
• New annual French-speaking immigrant admissions targets for 2024-2026 are integrated into the current Multi-Year Levels Plan announced in November 2023.

These targets – 6% in 2024, 7% in 2025, and 8% in 2026 - are ambitious and informed by evidence and partner perspectives.

Welcoming Francophone Communities

• 14 communities and cities across the country (outside Quebec) are piloting a community-based initiative called Welcoming Francophone Communities in order to create spaces where newcomers feel welcomed.
• The 14 participating WFCs (since April 2020) are in the process of getting their contribution agreements renewed. These agreements will come into effect on April 1, 2024.
• IRCC works closely with the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada, the Réseaux en immigration francophone, and current WFCs and the Association francophone des municipalités du Nouveau-Brunswick in order to prepare for the expansion phase of the Initiative, which will add up to 10 new communities.

Centre for Innovation in Francophone Immigration – Francophone Immigration Support Program

• Located in Dieppe, NB, the Centre for Innovation in Francophone Immigration (CIFI) has a national mandate to: incorporate a Francophone lens into immigration programs; increase the promotion of immigration programs to Francophone employers and stakeholders; and make immigration programs more accessible in order to improve the outcomes when it comes to the selection and admission of French-speaking immigration candidates.
• On January 16, 2024, the CIFI launched a new grants and contribution program – the Francophone Immigration Support Program (FISP). This program aims to benefit from the expertise of Francophone Minority Communities (FMCs) and facilitate their participation in innovating projects related to the promotion of FMCs overseas, as well as the recruitment of and subsequent support for French-speaking immigration candidates. The Francophone Immigration Support Program also supports case studies and researches that allow for the production and dissemination of data relating to the systemic barriers in Francophone immigration. The CIFI currently accepts the submission of project plans until funds are fully committed.
• The eligible beneficiaries for the FISP are provincial and territorial governments, municipalities, non-profit organizations, international organizations, and designated post-secondary institutions.

Francophone Integration Pathway

• A robust Francophone lens was integrated into the funding guidelines of the Call for Proposals (CFP) 2024, which has defined the strengthening of the Francophone Integration Pathway as a priority.
• Through this priority, IRCC aims to strengthen the delivery of settlement services by and for Francophones in Francophone communities (outside Quebec). To achieve this, funding opportunities have been clearly identified in the CFP. Furthermore, targeted webinars in French were made available to help Francophone organizations navigate through this process.
• In addition, IRCC began developing a national community-based strategy to address the specific needs of Francophone women newcomers living in minority communities.

Upcoming milestones

• In the coming months, IRCC will work on the implementation of the Policy on Francophone Immigration, including the suite of APOL initiatives. The main action areas will include, notably:
  • The development and dissemination of the Francophone immigration lens;
  • The development of monitoring and reporting tools for the Policy;
  • The implementation of a strengthened governance structure for the Department-wide Implementation Plan for the Policy;
  • The expansion of WFCs: IRCC will engage all stakeholders to discuss the specific parameters for the initiative through a formal launch event in mid-February. The proposed new communities will be selected based on their potential to become a more welcoming and inclusive community. A list of projects (up to 10 communities) will be submitted to the Minister for approval;
  • The assessment and subsequent selection of service providers in support of the Francophone Integration Pathway through CFP 2024, launched in November 2023;
  • The selection of future projects that will be a part of the new Francophone Immigration Support Program;
  • Annual targets for Francophone admissions outside Quebec for the next Multi-Year Levels Plan (2025-2027);
  • The development of a dedicated economic program for French-speaking workers;
  • The expansion of adapted language training;
  • The development of the Strategy for Francophone Newcomer Women;
  • The rollout of the expanded promotion strategy on Francophone immigration.