Ottawa spends $9.5M on ads in French-speaking countries to boost immigration
The federal government has spent more than $9.5 million promoting immigration to Canada in French-speaking countries, as part of a broader effort to bolster francophone populations.
Figures disclosed by the Department of Immigration show the ad campaign, running over four years, targeted dozens of countries across Africa, Europe and the Middle East with messaging aimed at attracting French-speaking workers.
“French is an asset to work in Canada,” the department said in documents tabled in the House of Commons, with ads encouraging applicants to “choose Canada for immigration.”
Campaign materials promoted economic opportunities and pathways for skilled workers, directing potential applicants to government websites for more information on settling in Canada.
The advertising push spanned a wide range of countries, including Cameroon, Senegal, Morocco, France, Belgium and Haiti, among others, reflecting Ottawa’s focus on regions with large francophone populations.
The spending significantly outpaced other federal immigration ad campaigns. By comparison, the government spent $207,856 warning prospective applicants in Mexico and South America about the risks of bad immigration advice, and $372,692 on a campaign in India cautioning against scams and fraud.
The figures were released in response to a parliamentary inquiry from Conservative MP Andrew Lawton, who requested details on all federally funded advertising campaigns abroad since 2022.
Ottawa has increasingly pointed to francophone immigration as a key tool in maintaining the use of French in Canada, particularly outside Quebec where the proportion of French speakers has been declining.
Former official languages minister Randy Boissonnault previously told a Commons committee that immigration plays a critical role in restoring and growing French-speaking communities.
Similarly, former languages commissioner Raymond Théberge emphasized the importance of recruiting from Africa, describing the continent as central to the future of the French language globally.
“Francophone immigration is crucial to development of our official languages communities,” Théberge said in earlier testimony, warning the demographic weight of French speakers in Canada continues to decline.
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