Priority: Continue to increase Francophone immigration and ensure that sufficient resources in French are available to support reception and settlement services that facilitate the integration of Francophone newcomers.
The linguistic data from Statistics Canada’s 2021 Census confirms a decline of the French language across the country and calls for urgent action. The vitality of Alberta’s Francophonie depends in part on immigration. For more than a decade, less than 2% of the immigrants admitted each year outside Quebec were French-speaking – far from the 4.4% targeted by the federal government. However, in 2022, 1,510 French-speaking permanent residents settled in Alberta; this is double the number in 2021. Even with this increase, there are still systemic barriers that make the immigration process very difficult for those who do not have English as their first language.
Reference to read: “Faire le point sur la cible en immigration francophone : Bilan, enjeux et pistes d’action“, Sociopol, study commissioned by the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada (In French only)
