More and more immigrants want to learn French. Quebec is therefore adding funds to respond to this “notable increase in customers,” indicated Finance Minister Eric Girard in the budget speech.
The new Francisation Québec one-stop shop was officially launched last June and was immediately criticized. 46,885 people participated in French learning services in 2023, an increase of more than 25% in one year. The strong growth in the number of non-permanent residents – also recalled in the budgetary plan – is not unrelated to this situation, since temporary workers, asylum seekers and foreign students can register for francization under different methods.
However, the largest share of the increase in francization spending is reserved for next year. The government announced Tuesday an additional $40 million for the 2024-2025 fiscal year, and $70 million for each subsequent fiscal year.
In total, the $320 million over five years contained in the Girard budget is 50% higher than the amounts announced in the previous budget.
The details of “certain clienteles” that the Ministry of Immigration, Francisation and Integration (MIFI) wishes to target are not listed in the documents provided on Tuesday. Among the actions envisaged, the MIFI nevertheless affirms that it wants to develop learning services better adapted to workers in companies. “Promoting French learning services abroad” is also one of the main directions.
The growth in spending on francization that began when the CAQ came to power therefore continues, in line with the stated desire of the Legault government. The envelope devoted to francization has tripled since then, going from 94 million dollars during the 2018-2019 financial year to more than 290 million for the coming year, including the additional 40 million announced Tuesday.
Reception support and integration
Francization represents approximately a third of the overall budget of the MIFI. The portfolio of this ministry, of 731 million this year, also continues to grow moderately, and is based mainly on a federal transfer. Each year, the MIFI in turn transfers more than 200 million dollars to other ministries which also offer services to immigrants, particularly in education, health, employment and social solidarity.
A major integration support and support program (PASI) will also receive an additional 10 million, in addition to the 61 million already planned. The number of immigrants who benefited from PASI had increased by 36% in one year, according to data for the 2022-2023 financial year, the latest available. It then amounted to more than 94,000 people.
The Consultation Table of Organizations Serving Refugees and Immigrants, the TCRI, also affirmed in this sense, during the pre-budget consultations, that its members were “subject to colossal pressure” and feared that the funding freeze would not end. continue.
The Quebec Manufacturers and Exporters group, for its part, highlighted on Tuesday afternoon “the additional efforts” of the Legault government in terms of immigration, while affirming that it remained “attentive to the real and concrete impacts of these measures”.