Nova Scotia Released a New Francophone Immigration Action Plan
This week, the Province of Nova Scotia released a new action plan (2022-25) to promote the expansion of its French-speaking population. The new action plan, which is part of the Province’s National Francophone Immigration Week, includes efforts on:
- increased community and partner engagement
- promotion and attraction
- population growth programs
- retention and inclusion through settlement services
- research and evaluating programs.
Growing Nova Scotia’s Francophone Population
The Province wants to achieve or surpass the 4.4% goal set by the federal government for immigrants who speak French in Canada. To achieve this goal, on November 7, Nova Scotia invited 150 Francophone candidates from the federal Express Entry system to apply to Nova Scotia’s Labour Market Priorities stream of the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP).
According to the province, since the launch of the first francophone immigration action plan in 2019, the percentage of French-speaking candidates approved through the PNP grew to 6.4 per cent in 2021. Jill Balser, Minister of Labour, Skills and Immigration, said that:
“The Acadian and francophone communities have been an essential part of our province’s identity and heritage for more than 400 years”. He added “Our new action plan demonstrates Nova Scotia’s commitment to increasing the number of French-speaking newcomers throughout the province and ensuring they have opportunities and supports to thrive.”
The new action plan is the result of collaboration with francophone partners from across Nova Scotia, including:
- Fédération acadienne de la Nouvelle-Écosse,
- Conseil de développement économique de la Nouvelle-Écosse,
- Université Sainte-Anne,
- Provincial Council of School Boards, and
- Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency.
Nova Scotia to welcome more immigrants this year
Every year the federal government, through the IRCC, allocates a certain number of nominations a province can put forward for the PNP and the Atlantic Immigration Program (AIP). In 2022, Nova Scotia’s PNP allocation was increased by 17% from last year. This amounts to 400 more spots. In 2021, they approved 2,443 applicants.
The federal government has also given Nova Scotia 1,173 more spaces for the AIP in 2022 than in 2021. This represents a considerable 75% increase year-over-year. Last year, Nova Scotia accepted 1,657 applicants from the AIP.
To read more about Nova Scotia’s target, please visit the following article: Nova Scotia to welcome more immigrants this year.
About the Atlantic Immigration Program
The AIP is a new, permanent immigration stream as of January 2022. It started off as a pilot program for the Atlantic provinces in 2017 and has seen high retention rates among successful applicants. There are 3 streams for the AIP: the Atlantic International Graduate Program, the Atlantic High-skilled Program, and the Atlantic Intermediate-Skilled Program. To learn more about these different streams, read our article on the program.
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