Francophone immigrants to Canada will soon benefit from increased community support in settling.
Over 2025-2026, Canada’s immigration department will operationalize the Welcoming Francophone Communities (WFCs) initiative
The WFCs will incorporate 24 francophone and Acadian communities across Canada, aiming to facilitate the settlement and successful integration of francophone immigrants into the country.
Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced the upcoming rollout of the WFCs in its departmental plan for 2025-2026.
The WFCs began as a pilot program which started in 2020 and ended in March 2024.
What is the Welcoming Francophone Communities Initiative?
The WFCs initiative is a key component of Canada’s Policy on francophone Immigration. Its purpose is to aid the reception and settlement of French-speaking newcomers by encouraging connections, providing settlement support services, and nurturing a sense of belonging for newcomers within their host communities.
This initiative uses a “by and for francophones” approach, meaning that members of francophone communities have been tasked with identifying and recommending participating communities to the department, led by the Réseaux en immigration francophone (Canada’s francophone immigration networks).
The initiative is jointly managed by:
- IRCC; and
- francophone and Acadian communities, represented by
As with most federally funded settlement services, this program will primarily cater to new immigrants (permanent residents) in Canada.
That said, due to the joint execution between IRCC and the individual communities, it is possible that francophone workers and students within the 24 select communities may also be able to benefit from these settlement services.
More information on eligibility is expected to be announced closer to the operational date of the initiative.
Which communities will participate in the new iteration of the WFCs initiative?
The WFCs will include the following communities:
| Province/Territory | Community |
|---|---|
| Alberta | Calgary |
| British Columbia | Nanaimo |
| Prince George | |
| Manitoba | Red River (Ritchot, Salaberry, Montcalm, and St-Pierre-Jolys) |
| Seine River region | |
| New Brunswick | Belle-Baie (including Bathurst and the Pabineau First Nation) |
| Caraquet (including Rivière du Nord and Hautes-Terres) | |
| Haut Saint-Jean region | |
| Restigouche West Region (Saint-Quentin and Kedgwick) | |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | Labrador City–Wabush |
| Nova Scotia | Chéticamp (including St. Joseph du Moine) |
| Clare | |
| Ontario | Cochrane District (Route 11 Corridor) |
| Cornwall | |
| Hamilton | |
| Hawkesbury | |
| London | |
| Sudbury | |
| Prince Edward Island | Évangéline region |
| Saskatchewan | Moose Jaw and Gravelbourg |
| Prince Albert | |
| Northwest Territories | Yellowknife |
| Yukon | Whitehorse |
| Nunavut | Iqaluit |
The increasing emphasis on Francophone immigration to Canada
Francophone immigration is slated to become an increasingly large proportion of Canada’s overall immigration intake in the coming years.
Canada’s francophone immigration strategy aims to increase the percentage of francophone immigrants welcomed to the country (outside of Quebec) every year—from 7% of overall immigration in 2025, to 8% of overall immigration in 2026.
In addition to this, Prime Minister Mark Carney ran on a platform of increasing the rate of francophone immigration to Canada, proposing to raise the proportion of francophone immigrants to 12% of Canada’s total intake by 2029. At current immigration levels, this would equate to 47,400 new francophone immigrants each year.
What did the earlier version of the WFCs look like?
Between 2020 and 2024, the WFCs initiative ran as a pilot program funded by IRCC to test community-driven models for integrating French-speaking newcomers outside Quebec.
The pilot supported 14 designated minority francophone communities across Canada, each of which received federal funding via contribution agreements. Each community received hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding towards initiatives outlined by communities to aid the integration of francophone newcomers.
Local francophone organizations, municipalities, employers, and settlement agencies formed community advisory boards to design and deliver tailored action plans.
These action plans typically included
- French-language settlement services;
- Cultural orientation and networking events;
- Support for employment integration;
- Public awareness campaigns to promote inclusivity; and
- Capacity-building for local service providers.
The pilot tested this “by and for francophones” model to strengthen local capacity and demonstrate what makes a community truly welcoming for French-speaking newcomers. Results and best practices from the pilot informed federal policy, leading to the renewal and expansion of the program in 2024.
