Thank you, Mr. Chair and members of the committee.
I am pleased to present to the Standing Committee on Official Languages on Destination Canada Mobility Forum.
Destination Canada is an event promoting francophone immigration. The objective is to introduce francophone communities across Canada, and federal and provincial immigration programs to people planning to live and work in Canada.
From the first edition of the forum in Paris in 2003, there were many booths. These included those of the provinces, representatives of francophone organizations, members of the networks of the Federation of Francophone and Acadian Communities, or FCFA, and the Economic Development Network, or RDÉE Canada. A few hundred applicants were also present to meet them.
With the COVID‑19 pandemic, Destination Canada went virtual, and the organizing team designed a fully online activity for February 2021. Without geographical border, 170,000 applicants asked to participate. After selection, 13,000 participated live to chat or videoconference with exhibitors.
With the return of face-to-face activities in 2022, we wanted to keep the advantages of virtual while returning to the in-person meetings requested by exhibitors and applicants. It was therefore a hybrid edition that took place in November 2022, again in Paris, but for the first time in Rabat, Morocco, with also three days online.
Among the 370 exhibitors present at 63 booths, I would highlight the presence of seven provincial governments and a delegation of 20 representatives of francophone communities, whose attendance was funded by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, or IRCC. The November 2023 edition of Destination Canada Mobility Forum will once again be hybrid: in Paris, Rabat and online. In 2024, we are planning to organize the event in sub-Saharan Africa, in Cameroon to be more precise.
I would like to point out that Destination Canada Mobility Forum is part of a set of promotional activities organized by IRCC abroad. Approximately 270 activities take place each year to promote immigration to provinces and territories other than Quebec among French-speaking applicants.
I thank you for your attention and will be happy to answer your questions.