Prince George has been selected as a Welcoming Francophone Community as part of the Government of Canada’s Action Plan for Official Languages.

“Francophone communities open up their hearts to welcome French-speaking newcomers to Canada. Prince George will be able to be even more inviting to Francophone immigrants so they can feel welcome and where they will have more opportunities to make Canada their home. Through the launch of the Francophone Immigration Strategy, we are committed to increasing the proportion of French-speaking immigrants in Francophone minority communities.”

– The Honourable Ahmed Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship

“The British Columbia Francophone community and the members of the RIFCB (Francophone Immigration Network of British Columbia) are going to combine their efforts for this initiative in Prince George to be successful, so that Francophone newcomers feel welcome, can thrive in French and firmly establish themselves there.

“The Fédération is pleased with IRCC’s trust in local Francophone stakeholders as part of this initiative. It is confident that the significant progress made by IRCC with regard to the development of Francophone immigration in British Columbia, according to the ‘by and for’ principle, will continue.”

– Robert Rothon, Executive Director, Fédération des francophones de la Colombie-Britannique

“Francophone immigration is a collaborative project designed to build a diverse and open Francophonie where everyone has a sense of belonging and feels at home, regardless of what their mother tongue is or where they are from. The Welcoming Communities Initiative is another tool for achieving this as it enables our organizations and institutions to create activities that build the relationships and bridges, and the collective ‘we’ that we want. Moreover, we are confident that the national strategy announced today will finally make it possible to meet and even exceed the targets set for Francophone immigration.”

– Jean Johnson, President, Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada (FCFA)

• Francophone Welcoming Communities initiative

  • The initiative is a pilot project co-led by IRCC and Francophone communities, which include the 13 Réseaux en immigration francophone, the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada (FCFA) and the Comité atlantique sur l’immigration francophone (CAIF).

• Meeting Our Objectives: Francophone Immigration Strategy

  • A number of initiatives under the new strategy are already under way, including those announced by the Minister in November 2018 as part of National Francophone Immigration Week.
  • As of December 2018, 4.5% of Express Entry invitations to apply were issued to French-speaking candidates, compared to 2.9% in 2017.
    

Associated links

• Meeting Our Objectives: Francophone Immigration Strategy 2018-2023
• Francophone Immigration (Outside Quebec)
• Action Plan for Official Languages – 2018-2023: Investing in Our Future
• Immigration Minister announces key initiatives to promote Francophone immigration from pre-arrival to citizenship
• Federal/Provincial/Territorial Action Plan for Increasing Francophone Immigration Outside of Quebec

Contacts for media only

Mathieu Genest
Minister’s Office
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
613-954-1064

Media Relations
Communications Branch
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
613-952-1650
IRCC.COMMMediaRelations-RelationsmediasCOMM.IRCC@cic.gc.ca