Absolutely, it's a priority for me and our government.
To show how much respect I have for the French language, I'm working hard to improve the quality of my French. In fact, I thank my parliamentary secretary Marie‑France Lalonde, who is my French teacher. I also thank our colleague Alexis Brunelle‑Duceppe.
To ensure social cohesion in Canada, I need a plan to increase the number of newcomers in general. It's crucial that we increase the number of francophone newcomers to protect the demographic weight of francophones in Quebec and the rest of Canada. We must invest to help francophone newcomers establish themselves here. We need to open a new office in Dieppe to support innovation in francophone immigration. It's also very important that we increase the acceptance rate for francophone students from Africa.
There are many opportunities for Canada if we continue to increase the number of francophone newcomers. That's a good thing for those arriving in Canada, and it's an even better thing for our country.