Immigration Suggestions

Ministers Fraser and Petitpas Taylor mark National Francophone Immigration Week

Ottawa, November 7, 2022—The Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, and the Honourable Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Minister of Official Languages and Minister responsible for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, issued the following statement:

“Today, we are proud to mark the 10th annual National Francophone Immigration Week, which celebrates the contributions of French-speaking newcomers and recognizes the important role they play in fostering the vitality of Francophone communities across Canada.

“This year’s theme—our traditions, our future—offers an opportunity to reflect on the richness that French-speaking newcomers bring to Canada’s cultural landscape. It is a celebration of the many contributions Francophone newcomers bring, helping to grow our communities through shared language, culture and history. It is also a commitment for our future and a reflection of how Canada will continue to grow and prosper by promoting its 2 official languages.

“Through its immigration programs, the Government of Canada has made great strides in welcoming more French-speaking newcomers, who continue to build our workforce, grow our economy and strengthen our linguistic duality. In fact, from January 1 to September 30, 2022, Canada has already welcomed more than double the number of French-speaking newcomers outside of Quebec compared to the same period in 2021. Thanks to our provincial and territorial partners, key stakeholders, and our welcoming Francophone communities, we will continue to do everything we can to make Francophones feel at home in their new communities.

“But recent Statistics Canada data revealed the percentage of Francophones has decreased in every region of the country, except for the Yukon. This underscores why immigration to Francophone minority communities is so critical and why we are redoubling our efforts to reach 4.4% French-speaking admissions outside Quebec by 2023.

Canada announces 3 new initiatives to welcome and support more refugees
News release

June 18, 2021—Ottawa—The world is facing a refugee crisis. Across the globe, millions are displaced and longing for what most of us take for granted: a safe place to call home. As a global leader in protecting those who need it most, Canada welcomed nearly half of all refugees resettled around the world in 2020. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) recently called Canada “a bright light in a horrible year for refugee resettlement.”

Our efforts are making a difference—yet the world’s most vulnerable are counting on us to do more. In advance of World Refugee Day, the Honourable Marco E. L. Mendicino, Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship, met with UNHCR’s representative in Canada, Rema Jamous Imseis, to announce 3 new initiatives to assist even more refugees.

These important steps will help Canada offer asylum to more people who need it, welcome more refugees through new channels and increase support to those welcomed through community sponsorship.

Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot

Launched in 2018, the Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot (EMPP) is a ground-breaking initiative that recognizes the talents and skills of refugees by welcoming them through economic immigration streams. This not only allows Canada to welcome more refugees, but also flips the stereotype of refugees as solely victims by demonstrating all that they contribute to our country. Today, the Minister announced a new policy that will help settle 500 refugees and their families.

The new measures will improve the EMPP process by

expediting the processing of permanent residence applications for EMPP applicants in several streams, so they can start working and contributing faster
making it easier for refugees under EMPP to get settlement funds
waiving fees for permanent residence applications
making the application process more flexible
providing pre-departure medical services to assist with immigration medical exams
Protected persons in Canada

Despite the many challenges of the pandemic, Canada’s asylum levels have remained stable. We are now building on this success by increasing the number of protected persons we’ll welcome this year from 23,500 to 45,000. We will also expedite the processing of applications, meaning that more protected persons can quickly become permanent residents and put down roots in their communities.

Currently, there are over 40,000 protected persons and their dependents residing in Canada with open permanent residence applications. In 2021, almost 17,900 protected persons became permanent residents.

Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program

Canada’s Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program is a world-leading initiative, helping us welcome more refugees and better equipping them for lasting success. Since it began over 5 decades ago, private sponsors have welcomed more than 350,000 refugees to Canada. This program is now emulated all over the world, from the United Kingdom and the European Union to New Zealand, and the US has committed to creating one as well.

To further strengthen this program, IRCC recently launched a national call for proposals to improve existing pre- and post-arrival support services for private sponsors and ensure refugees take full advantage of the assistance offered to them. As a result of this process, up to $3 million over 2 years will be invested in supporting 9 organizations.