Today, Marc Miller, the Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship, introduced a new immigration pilot program designed to welcome more international students into Francophone communities across Canada.
The Francophone Minority Communities Pilot Program (FMCSP) aims to make it easier for students from Africa, the Middle East, and the Americas to gain admission and benefit from a fairer system.
Under this program, students and their families won’t need to prove they’ll leave Canada after their studies. Plus, the financial requirements will be adjusted to be more affordable, set at 75% of the local low-income threshold where the college or university is located.
Students in this program will also have a direct path to permanent residency once they finish their studies and will receive help with settling in Canada.
The pilot program starts on August 26, 2024, and will initially accept 2,300 students, with plans to review this number in August 2025.
Who Can Apply?
To be eligible for the Francophone Minority Communities Pilot Program (FMCSP), students need:
- A letter of acceptance from a participating Designated Learning Institution (DLI) that shows they’re applying through the FMCSP.
- To be enrolled in a study program that meets these requirements:
- At the post-secondary level.
- Full-time.
- Lasts at least 2 years.
- Leads to a degree or diploma.
- Primarily taught in French (more than 50% of the classes are in French).
Students must also be citizens of one of these countries:
- Benin
- Burkina Faso
- Burundi
- Cabo Verde
- Cameroon
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Comoros
- Côte d’Ivoire
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Dominica
- Republic of the Congo
- Djibouti
- Egypt
- Equatorial Guinea
- Gabon
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Haiti
- Lebanon
- Madagascar
- Mali
- Mauritania
- Mauritius
- Morocco
- Niger
- Rwanda
- Saint Lucia
- São Tomé and Principe
- Senegal
- Seychelles
- Togo
- Tunisia
Students in this program can also bring their spouses, common-law partners, or dependent children with them. Spouses and partners may be eligible for a visitor visa, open work permit, or study permit.
Additionally, FMCSP students do not need to follow some of the recent rules for international students in Canada. They don’t need a Provincial Attestation Letter (PAL) from their DLI, and they are not subject to the IRCC’s application cap for international students.
New Communities Join the Welcoming Francophone Communities Initiative
Minister Miller also announced that 10 new Francophone communities will join the Welcoming Francophone Communities (WFC) initiative. This program helps Francophone newcomers settle and integrate into Francophone and Acadian communities across Canada. It offers services like community support, skills training, and job assistance, provided by both IRCC and the local community.
Along with the 14 communities already in the program, the following new communities will now be part of the initiative:
Province | New Communities Selected |
British Columbia | Nanaimo |
Manitoba | Red River (Ritchot, Salaberry, Montcalm, and St-Pierre-Jolys) |
Nova Scotia | Chéticamp (including St. Joseph du Moine) |
New Brunswick | Belle-Baie (including Bathurst and the Pabineau First Nation) |
Caraquet (including Rivière du Nord and Hautes-Terres) | |
Restigouche West Region (Saint-Quentin and Kedgwick) | |
Saskatchewan | Prince Albert |
Ontario | Cornwall |
Cochrane District (Route 11 Corridor) | |
London |
The expansion of the Welcoming Francophone Communities (WFC) program now includes 24 communities. This initiative is part of Canada’s broader strategy to promote both English and French across the country, with a focus on increasing the use of French outside of Quebec. Liane Roy, President of the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada (FCFA), highlighted that the WFC program demonstrates the dedication of Francophone and Acadian communities to supporting immigrants. These communities have organized activities to encourage integration and enhance their appeal, aiming to boost French-speaking immigration.
Canada’s Francophone immigration policy includes two pilot programs aimed at increasing the number of French-speaking newcomers. This year, the government set a goal for 6% of all new immigrants to be French speakers.
The Official Languages Act requires the immigration minister to implement a policy that supports and grows French-speaking minority communities in Canada. The new programs are one way the IRCC is working to boost the number of Francophone immigrants. Additionally, the department is likely to issue many Invitations to Apply for Express Entry to candidates with French language skills through targeted selection rounds.
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