Canada reached for the first time, in 2022, its target of 4.4% French-speaking immigrants outside Quebec set nearly 20 years ago. According to the federal government, 16,300 new French-speaking immigrants have settled outside La Belle Province.
The target was established in 2003 by Ottawa. It corresponded to the demographic weight of the Francophone population outside Quebec in 2001. However, it had never been reached before 2022.
A report by the Commissioner of Official Languages published in 2021 revealed that the country suffered a shortfall of nearly 76,000 French-speaking permanent residents outside Quebec between 2008 and 2020 since Ottawa had not reached its target.
Canada has never welcomed so many French-speaking immigrants outside Quebec. The number of admissions of French-speaking residents outside Quebec increased by 3 percentage points between 2006 and 2022. Over the past five years, the number of French-speaking immigrants has increased by 42,470 residents permanent. “We are showing that Francophone immigration is at the heart of the values that make Canada a rich country,” commented Immigration Minister Sean Fraser.
Further details will follow.
This story is supported by the Local Journalism Initiative, funded by the Government of Canada.
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