Canada loses 35 per cent of its French-speaking immigrants, notably in Quebec and Ontario

Canada is losing 35 per cent of its French-speaking immigrants, mainly in Quebec and Ontario, according to the Conference Board of Canada who published their report on Tuesday.

The study, commissioned by the Institute for Canadian Citizenship, noted that this proportion of departures has been garnered over a long period.

However, newcomers are most likely to leave within their first five years of permanent residence in Canada, regardless of whether they speak French or not. For immigrants whose mother tongue is French, their decisive years are the first two.

“There is an urgent need to act so that these first years (…) are excellent. Otherwise, our data indicates that they are very comfortable exploring other options,” said Daniel Bernhard, CEO of the Institute for Canadian Citizenship, at a press conference.

The authors of the report say they’re not surprised by the fact more French speakers are leaving Quebec because “the province welcomes the greatest number of French-speaking immigrants.”

Half of the newcomers who speak French that are leaving Canada live in Quebec, noted the analysis.

“A French speaker who leaves is not a French speaker who contributes to the French character of Quebec,” added Bernhard.

The collected data suggests, according to him, that learning French is far from being the only reason why an immigrant would decide to stay in Quebec permanently or not. Thus, the challenges to access housing as well as integration through the social aspect and a network of colleagues also weigh in the balance.

According to the Conference Board of Canada, the exodus of francophone immigrants is more surprising in Ontario. “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 francophone immigrants at the same rate as immigrants settle there,” reads the report.

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 (of those) who come. I hope that with this data, we will also talk more about the number (of those) who stay,” said Bernhard.

Federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller said he believes the report contains “a lot of speculation,” but said he wants to read it in detail.

“I don’t want to minimize the conclusions, however, the reality is that integration is everyone’s business, whether it’s individuals, cities, provinces, territories and Canada,” he said in a press scrum.

Quebec Immigration Minister Jean-François Roberge’s office did not respond to a request for comment from The Canadian Press.

The Ontario Ministry of Labour and Immigration, for its part, defended the investments made by the province to support French-speaking immigrants, mentioning a $25 million fund for skills development.

“Through targeted investments in Francophone training programs and through policy measures, Ontario is strengthening its Francophone workforce and ensuring that businesses have access to the skilled workers they need to grow and be competitive,” they wrote in an email.

Ottawa announced last month that it will increase its targets for francophone immigration outside Quebec to 8.5 per cent in 2025, 9.5 per cent in 2026 and 10 per cent in 2027 – an increase of 1.5 points for the first two years and a new target for the third.

The Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne is demanding that the target be set at 12 per cent, which it considers to be “the minimum” to restore and increase the demographic weight of Francophones.

Miller said he is concerned that francophone immigrants outside Quebec are leaving rural areas that need their contribution for other poles of attraction in the country. “So, there may be the attraction of other places in Canada,” he said.

The Conference Board recommends that the cases of provinces that perform better in terms of retaining French-speaking immigrants be studied in order “to highlight the best practices that promote the growth of welcoming French-speaking communities.”

Miller added that two pilot projects launched by his department are underway. “(They) still have retention rates that are close to 80 per cent, so it’s successful, but in many ways, we’re going against the tide.”

Bernhard says that Ottawa should consider setting immigration retention targets. The government could unveil them annually, at the same time as it publishes its levels for welcoming new people into each immigration program.

The CEO of the Institute for Canadian Citizenship stated that Canada is failing to retain talent and immigrants who have been “hand-picked” for their skills.

However, Miller argued that skilled immigrants are known to be mobile since they can find, over time, interesting employment elsewhere in the world.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews