Mr. Chair and members of the committee, I am speaking to you today from Moncton, New Brunswick, which is part of the traditional land of the Micmac people. I am accompanied by the executive director of the FCFA, Alain Dupuis, who is joining us from Ottawa.
Thank you for this opportunity to discuss the progressive new francophone immigration target that the FCFA du Canada introduced on Monday.
Members of the committee, the clerk has distributed to you some tables that will accompany my remarks and help you to follow my presentation and the figures they contain.
As you know, in 2003, the federal government established a target of 4.4% of French-speaking immigrants to be admitted outside Quebec every year. That target was to be met in 2008, but the deadline has been pushed back to 2023.
In the past 18 years, we have seen very little progress in meeting that target. Annual results have rarely exceeded 2%. In 2021, the rate was 1.95%. During that time, the demographic weight of the francophone and Acadian communities fell from 4.4% in 2001 to 3.8 % in 2016. If this trend continues, it will be 3.1% in 2036.
As I said when we revealed our restorative target, a major change is needed. We can no longer continue on the same path. The situation is now so harmful that remedies are called for. Which is why we have requested that the government mobilize the resources to achieve a target of 12% by 2024, rising to 20% in 2036.
We didn't pull these numbers out of a hat. They come from a serious demographic study conducted for the FCFA by the Sociopol corporation. Based on a Statistics Canada model and data, it shows what we will need to restore the demographic weight of our communities to 4.4% by 2036. That goal was incidentally set by the government itself and announced twice, first in the action plan for official languages 2018‑23 and then in the official languages reform document released in February 2021. To meet it, we will have to do francophone immigration in a completely different way using all resources at our disposal. For years, the government has relied on general immigration programs such as express entry to meet its target. That hasn't worked.
We need a francophone immigration policy that includes specific programs and measures designed to address specific realities. Those measures must include a distinct francophone economic immigration program that meets the needs of Canadian francophone communities and employers. They will have to provide specific francophone components for family class sponsorship, refugees and provincial nominee programs. Lastly, the communities will have to play a leading role in selecting francophone immigrants. They will also have to facilitate entry by international francophone students by lowering the barriers preventing them from obtaining visas and study permits. We also recommend that the pathway from temporary to permanent residence introduced for a limited time last year be made permanent for francophone candidates.
Above all, additional support must be provided to the francophone and Acadian communities so they can engage fully in all immigration phases, whether it be international promotion, improved French-language reception and settlement services, mobilizing employers for recruitment purposes or developing welcoming and inclusive communities to ensure success for those who settle there.
The francophone and Acadian communities have been working hard to meet the immigration challenge for the past 20 years. We have proven that we have the necessary expertise and know-how to create the francophonie of the future, a diversified and pluralist francophonie. However, that francophonie will exist only if the government adopts this restorative target and genuinely provides the means to achieve it.
Thank you. I am now ready to answer your questions.