Canada has recently announced an additional 5,000 permanent residence selection spaces for French-speaking immigrants, to be distributed among provinces and territories. The announcement, delivered on January 19 in Moncton, New Brunswick, by Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab, aims to enhance Francophone immigration outside Quebec.

These spaces will be sourced from federal selection allocations and will supplement existing provincial and territorial quotas under Provincial Nominee Programs and regional pilots. The move is expected to provide a boost to Francophone immigration and increase opportunities for French-speaking applicants at the provincial level. However, the specific distribution of the 5,000 spaces and the potential creation of new Francophone-specific streams by the federal government remain unclear.

The recent announcement also highlighted that Canada surpassed its Francophone immigration target in 2025, with French-speaking immigrants representing approximately 8.9% of Permanent Residence admissions outside Quebec, exceeding the 8.5% goal. Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada have outlined increasing targets, aiming for 9% in 2026, 9.5% in 2027, and 10.5% in 2028, as part of a broader strategy to achieve a 12% target by 2029.