Canada has a longstanding policy commitment to strengthening Francophone and Acadian minority communities outside Quebec through targeted immigration of French-speaking immigrants. Unlike Quebec — which operates its own immigration selection system through the Ministère de l'Immigration, de la Francisation et de l'Intégration (MIFI) — immigration to Francophone-minority communities outside Quebec is managed through federal programs with specific Francophone targets, pathways, and pilot programs.

Canada's Francophone immigration targets aim to have 9% of new permanent residents outside Quebec be French-speaking in 2026, rising to 10.5% in 2028 and 12% by 2029. In January 2026, Canada announced that it exceeded its 2025 Francophone immigration target. New initiatives in 2026 include reserved federal selection spaces and enhanced supports for Francophone communities.

• IRPA and the Official Languages Act — federal immigration policy must consider the development of Francophone minority communities; the 2023 amendments to the Official Languages Act strengthened this obligation
• IRPA s 3(1)(b.1) — the immigration objectives include supporting the development of Francophone minority communities
• Policy on Francophone Immigration (2024) — IRCC's policy framework for Francophone immigration outside Quebec, available at canada.ca

Express Entry — French-proficiency category

The most significant pathway for French-speaking immigrants outside Quebec is through Express Entry category-based selection for French-proficient candidates. Under the category, IRCC runs dedicated invitations rounds specifically for candidates who demonstrate strong French-language proficiency.

Requirements for the French-language category:

• Meet the requirements of one of the Express Entry programs (Federal Skilled Worker, Canadian Experience Class, or Federal Skilled Trades)
• Have French-language test results showing at least Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens (NCLC) 7 in all four language abilities (reading, writing, listening, speaking) — the NCLC 7 is approximately equivalent to CLB 7 in English

Category-based draws for French-language candidates have been held since 2023 and continue in 2026. These draws have generally invited candidates with lower Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) scores than general rounds, providing an advantage for strong French speakers who may not otherwise rank highly enough for a general round invitation.

Francophone Community Immigration Pilot

The Francophone Community Immigration Pilot provides a pathway to permanent residence for skilled workers who want to work and settle in rural and remote Francophone-minority communities outside Quebec. The pilot targets smaller communities with significant Francophone populations that are experiencing labour shortages.

Current information on the pilot — including participating communities, eligible occupations, and application process — is available at canada.ca.

Provincial Nominee Program — Francophone streams

Many provinces and territories outside Quebec have Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) streams specifically designed to attract French-speaking immigrants. These streams operate alongside the federal pathways and may provide a nomination that converts a PNP pathway application into an Express Entry application with additional CRS points.

In 2026, the federal government announced that it will reserve 5,000 federal selection spaces to allow provinces and territories to designate French-speaking immigrants — these reserved spaces are in addition to regular PNP allocations.

Quebec — a distinct system

Quebec controls its own immigration selection through the Arrima system administered by MIFI (Ministère de l'Immigration, de la Francisation et de l'Intégration). Immigrants who wish to settle in Quebec must apply through the Quebec system and obtain a Quebec Selection Certificate (CSQ) before applying to the federal government for permanent residence. The federal Francophone targets and pathways described here do not apply to Quebec.

The NCLC (Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens) and the CLB (Canadian Language Benchmarks) are parallel scales — one for French, one for English. NCLC 7 in French is generally treated as equivalent to CLB 7 in English for immigration purposes. Approved French language tests include the TEF Canada (Test d'évaluation de français pour le Canada) and the TCF Canada (Test de connaissance du français pour le Canada).

Immigration professionals advising French-speaking clients should be aware that French-language category draws have offered a meaningful advantage in Express Entry since 2023. Clients who meet NCLC 7 across all four abilities should strongly consider optimising their Express Entry profile for French-language category draws, even if they also speak English.