Posted 5:00 am Updated 5:00 am
Suzanne Colpron The Press
Easier for francophones to immigrate to English Canada
PHOTO OLIVIER PONTBRIAND, LA PRESSE ARCHIVE
Downtown Halifax
On September 2, 2022, Joe El Ghazouli applied for permanent residency in Canada. Everywhere except Quebec. In December, three months later, he was admitted. And on February 9th he landed in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
“It happened very quickly,” says the 35-year-old Moroccan, who speaks French and English, studied in France and has experience in the construction industry.
As Quebec tries to attract French-speaking immigrants to stem the decline of French, new French-speaking permanent residents settling in other Canadian provinces, such as Joe El Ghazouli, are increasing.
In Nova Scotia, it rose from 180 in 2021 to 795 in 2022, according to data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. In Ontario, it rose from 3,905 in 2021 to 9,760 in 2022. The increase in New Brunswick is even more dramatic: 790 in 2021 , compared to 2,315 in 2022.
Why do they choose other provinces? According to the experts consulted, the federal government is opening its arms to them and facilitating the admission process at the very moment when the Quebec government is turning the screws and sending out negative messages.
Most applications made under the federal Express Entry program are processed in less than six months. In Quebec? “It can easily take two years for permanent residence,” replies Me Gabrielle Thiboutot, an immigration specialist.
The federal government has set itself very ambitious immigration targets of 500,000 newcomers per year by 2025. She has also committed to increasing the proportion of francophone immigrants in French minority provinces.
For its part, Quebec, which aims to welcome 52,500 immigrants by 2023, has tightened eligibility criteria for the Quebec Experience Program to limit the influx.
Result: Quebec immigration delays are longer and the outcome is often uncertain, not to mention costing more.
“For people looking to build a future, applying for permanent residency in Quebec is more expensive and slower than other provinces,” says Benjamin Brunot, an immigration attorney. “The management fees alone add up to about $1,000 more. »
“The message in Quebec is to cut back,” adds Me Brunot. In general, immigrants feel they are not wanted. It’s also economic discrimination. You have a better chance of hiring a professional to help you navigate. But overall the message is: we will make your life as difficult as possible. »
A competitive system
Both in Quebec and at the federal level, the selection system for economic migrants is based on competition. To apply for permanent residency, a professional must create a profile, choose a program and meet eligibility criteria: language skills, education, age, work experience, income, job offer, etc.
His skills give him points. If the overall score is deemed sufficient, his application will be included in a pool of candidates for immigration. Depending on his score and rank in the pool, he could receive an invitation to apply for permanent residency.
In Quebec, the application management platform is called Arrima. At the federal level, it is Express Entry.
Francophones have two advantages when applying outside of Quebec. The first: the federal government awards 50 extra points to those who master French, valuable points that can decide acceptance or rejection. The only condition: you must agree to settle outside of Quebec.
The second is that they skip a long, expensive, and risky step and get the Quebec Selection Certificate (CSQ). “To obtain the CSQ, we are currently about six months away from processing once the person has been selected to submit their application,” Me Thiboutot specifies.
From Togo to NWT.
Koko Avoyi, 35, and his Togolese wife, 32, have decided to settle outside of Quebec. They are parents to two little girls aged 4 and 5, speak French and have a Master’s degree in Management, Accounting Control and Auditing alongside nine years of experience.
“We applied to the Quebec selection program, but I wasn’t selected,” says Koko Avoyi, who also completed an Express Entry application.
He and his wife received a federal invitation in September 2022. They were granted permanent residency and moved to Yellowknife, Northwest Territories (NWT) on March 10. Koko Avoyi found a job in French in her field. His wife takes care of the youngest while she waits to find a place in daycare. And the eldest is at school.
PHOTO BERNARD BRAULT, PRESS ARCHIVE
Yellow Knife
Why Yellowknife?
Because we were selected via Express Entry, we couldn’t go to Quebec. We did a little research and liked Yellowknife. We said to ourselves that we would quickly integrate here and get a job.
Koko Avoyi
The NWT. have 11 official languages, including French. Out of a population of 40,000 inhabitants, 4,395 people speak French or 11%.
France’s Lisa Boisneault, 29, also chose to settle in the NWT to apply for permanent residency in New Brunswick after two years, which she received last summer.
PHOTO SUPPLIED BY LISA BOISNEAULT
Lisa Boisneault, coordinator of Yellowknife’s welcoming Francophone community
Outside of Quebec, there are francophone communities with their own specificities and responsibilities. I found that and I find it very interesting.
Lisa Boisneault, coordinator of Yellowknife’s welcoming Francophone community
Lisa adds that the NWT Provincial Nominee Program has a French component. “It makes the journey easier for a candidate who speaks French,” she notes. We have many vacancies and a well-established Francophone community. »
The beauty of Vancouver
Hajer Ben Ajroudi, 44, chose Vancouver instead.
Originally from Tunisia, she came to Canada on a visitor visa in September 2022 to see her twin sister, who has been living in Ottawa for the past three years. There she decided to create her profile on Express Entry and respond to a job offer in French in Vancouver.
“I arrived in British Columbia in December,” she says. And since I was already registered with Express Entry and had a profile, I became interested in British Columbia. On April 26, Hajer received an invitation to apply for permanent residency.
PHOTO SUPPLIED BY HAJER BEN AJROUDI
Hajer Ben Ajroudi, Communications Director, British Columbia Federation of Francophones
Honestly, it seems like fate gave me a gift. I really like British Columbia and Vancouver is beautiful. I speak English, not as well as French, but I get by.
Hader Ben Ajroudi
Why not Montreal? “Yes, it could have been my choice without hesitation,” admits the Tunisian. Montreal is a city that I love, that I know. If I had had an interesting opportunity, I would have taken it. »
Hajer notes that in recent years more and more Tunisians are going to New Brunswick and Manitoba instead of Quebec.
Call from New Brunswick
Cédrelle Eymard-Duvernay would also have liked to live in Quebec, where she spent two years from 2016 to 2018.
“I could have applied for a study permit or found another solution to stay, but that was more expensive and complicated,” explains the 38-year-old French woman. “So I went back to France with the idea of going back to Canada to settle down. »
She resumed her studies and obtained a master’s degree in teaching French, a second language, from the University of Tours. She was scheduled to go to Moncton, New Brunswick on a temporary work permit in March 2020, but COVID-19 struck. She had to postpone her arrival until spring 2022.
After a year of full-time employment, she has just received her permanent residency invitation. “I can submit all my documents next week,” she says. This is the last step. It’s usually four to six months. »
Why Monton?
In Quebec it is too complicated, too long to have a closed work permit. I did a lot of research and found that we had to give up Quebec for permanent residency. I have French friends who have lived in Quebec for several years and are still undecided.
Cedrelle Eymard Duvernay
She adds: “I don’t regret my decision. It’s about money, victims, there are a lot of bad experiences of course, but at the end of the day it’s permanent residency in Canada and a quality of life that will be much higher here than I could have had in France. »
How much does it cost ?
Applying for a permanent residence permit is not free. Here are the top fees charged by Quebec and Ottawa.
$1365
Amount required by Ottawa per adult to process permanent residency application, including permanent residency fee ($515). An amount of $230 will be added for each dependent child under the age of 22.
$869
Amount the candidate must pay to apply for a Quebec Selection Certificate (CSQ) under the Regular Skilled Worker Program. An additional sum of $186 is required for the spouse and each dependent child. Amount payable only for applicants wishing to settle in Quebec
$340
Approximate cost of the French placement test that can give points for the permanent residence application.
$280
Approximate cost of the English, Reading, Listening and Writing Skills Test.
$250
Average cost of compulsory medical examination for immigration purposes.
$85
Fees for collecting biometric data. Family fare is $170.
Sources: Ministry of Immigration, Francisation and Integration (MIFI) and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)
PHOTO SETH KUGEL, NEW YORK TIMES ARCHIVES
Downtown Vancouver
A tough competitor
Quebec is at risk of facing a strong competitor in its efforts to attract French-speaking immigrants as the federal government has decided to take drastic measures to lure them to the other provinces and territories.
Ottawa relies heavily on Francophone immigration to counter the erosion of the demographic weight of Francophones in a minority situation, i.e. outside of Quebec. It is even the first pillar of his official language action plan 2023-2028, presented on April 26.
“To provide elements of a solution, the action plan proposes the adoption of a new francophone immigration policy. This new policy will guide future actions [dont] improved recruitment promotion and support efforts both in Canada and abroad, combined with more robust immigrant selection mechanisms.
Canada reached its goal of 4.4% French-speaking immigrants outside Quebec for the first time in 2022 with 16,300 people. But more is needed to counteract erosion. According to Statistics Canada, the proportion of Francophones outside of Quebec has increased from 4.4% to 3.3% in 20 years.
To bring the Francophone demographic weight back to 4.4%, the target for Francophone immigration outside of Quebec should be raised from 12% in 2024 to 20% in 2036, according to the Federation of Francophone and Acadian Communities of Canada .
“We propose a progressive goal,” specifies the organization’s president, Liane Roy. We’ll start at 12% and reach 20% in 2036.”
The federal government has yet to announce any new targets, but the $137.2 million budget devoted to the issue in its five-year plan suggests efforts are ramping up.
Of that total, a budget of $18.5 million will be allocated to increased promotional and recruitment efforts, $50 million to support immigrant settlement and integration and to strengthen the capacity of francophone communities, and $25 million for a new Francophone immigration innovation employs a center that will, among other things, support these communities.
word of mouth
This recruitment and admission policy comes at a time when Quebec tends to turn off the faucet. “It means that Quebec will find itself in a major competitor for Francophone immigration because we have another step up with the Quebec Selection Certificate (CSQ),” says Gabrielle Thiboutot, a lawyer specializing in immigration.
There is also another phenomenon: word of mouth.
We have seen in immigration files the extent to which the existence of good evidence can spread like wildfire around the world.
This was evidently the case with the Roxham Strait, known from Venezuela to Pakistan. But other sectors such as B. Colleges that have attracted an Indian clientele. The message that French-speaking candidates are welcome in Canada will quickly be heard across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
The challenge is to convince these candidates that the other provinces of Canada are attractive places to live, knowing that their natural starting point would have been Quebec.
“The best option”
The Algerian Tayeb Oussedik is one of the convinced. He chose Manitoba over Quebec because of its bilingualism. In Winnipeg, for a little over two years, he has been the associate director of Accueil francophone, an organization that facilitates the settlement of francophone and allophone immigrants in Manitoba.
“My wife and I are basically globetrotters,” he explains. We traveled to around thirty countries before deciding to settle anywhere. When we weighed the pros and cons, we thought that Canada might be the best option for our kids because of its education system, its bilingualism. That explains why we didn’t choose Quebec. »
Why Manitoba? “Manitoba has this connection to nature that I haven’t seen anywhere else,” he replies. In addition, it is also about the opportunities that the country could offer from the point of view of employability. I arrived in Winnipeg. After a month I found a job. After three months I was promoted. After two years I had a position in another province that I never thought possible. The reception and processing service was a great help to me. »
112,000
Number of people in Manitoba who speak French slightly increased from 108,000 in 2016
Source: Statistics Canada