(Ottawa) Canada is losing 35% of its French-speaking immigrants, a trend that is particularly marked in Quebec and Ontario, concludes the Conference Board of Canada in a report published Tuesday.
Posted at 11:06 a.m.
Updated at 12:33 p.m.
Emilie Bergeron
The Canadian Press
The study, commissioned by the Institute for Canadian Citizenship, notes this proportion of departures over the long term.
However, it is in their first five years of permanent residence in Canada that newcomers are most likely to leave, regardless of whether they are French-speaking or not. For immigrants who have French as their mother tongue, it is the first two years that are decisive.
There is an imperative to act urgently so that these first years […] are excellent. Otherwise, our data indicates that they are very comfortable exploring other options.
Daniel Bernhard, CEO of the Institute for Canadian Citizenship, at a press briefing
The fact that the exodus of French speakers is more marked in Quebec does not surprise the authors of the report, since it is “the province which welcomes the greatest number of French-speaking immigrants”.
Half of French-speaking newcomers leaving Canada reside in Quebec, according to the analysis.
“A Francophone who leaves is not a Francophone who contributes to the French character of Quebec,” added Mr. Bernhard.
According to him, the data collected suggests that mastery of French alone is far from being the only reason why an immigrant would decide to stay in Quebec for good or not. Thus, the challenges of access to housing as well as integration through a social fabric and a network of colleagues also weigh in the balance, he gave as an example.
The phenomenon of exodus of French-speaking immigrants is more surprising in Ontario, according to the Conference Board of Canada. “The cumulative rate of subsequent migration of Francophones is high compared to the lower proportion of Francophone immigrants who settle there. This means that Ontario is struggling to retain French-speaking immigrants at the same rate as immigrants are settling there,” we read.
Thus, the authors of the report believe that, without better retention capacity, Canada’s objectives of increasing the proportion of French-speaking immigrants outside Quebec could be difficult to achieve.
“We always talk about the number [de ceux] who come. I hope that with this data, we will also talk more about the number [de ceux] who remain,” argued Mr. Bernhard.
Ottawa announced last month that it will increase its targets for French-speaking immigration outside Quebec to 8.5% in 2025, 9.5% in 2026 and 10% in 2027, an increase of 1.5 points for first two years and a new target for the third.
The Federation of Francophone and Acadian Communities is calling for the target to be set at 12%, which it considers to be “the minimum” in order to restore and advance the demographic weight of Francophones.
“A more in-depth study of the situation in provinces which have a significant share of Francophone immigration, but where subsequent migration of Francophones is absent or low [c’est-à-dire, la Colombie-Britannique et le Nouveau-Brunswick] would highlight exemplary practices that promote the development of welcoming Francophone communities,” believes the Conference Board.
Among French-speaking, English-speaking and allophone newcomers, the rate of exile is higher among economic immigrants, and particularly those who were foreign students before obtaining their permanent residence.
Mr. Bernhard believes that Ottawa should consider setting immigrant retention targets. The government could unveil these each year, at the same time as publishing its levels set for welcoming new people into each immigration program.
The CEO of the Institute for Canadian Citizenship deplores that Canada is unable to retain talent and immigrants who have been “handpicked” for their skills.
