Canada’s prioritization of francophone economic immigrants is causing higher-ranking Express Entry candidates to be bypassed in the selection process.
To pick the French-speaking applicants, the federal government has to reach deeper into the pool of immigration candidates, which reduces the cutoff score for entry in this category compared to others.
“What’s the objective here? If it’s about economic growth, then this is not a smart policy,” said Mikal Skuterud, a University of Waterloo economics professor.
“But clearly, that’s not what this is about. They’re using economic-class programs to achieve different objectives.”
C.D. Howe Institute’s Parisa Mahboubi said that “It is definitely going to affect our ability to select the top talent.”
The federal government has been using the EE system to boost francophone immigration, aiming for 6 per cent total PR admissions to be French speakers outside Quebec for 2024.
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The target is aimed to rise to 8 per cent by 2026.
However, francophone applicants have much lower expected earnings in Canada than bypassed candidates with higher scores, according to a Globe and Mail analysis of figures published by the Immigration Department.
Since the overhaul of the Express Entry system for skilled immigration in 2023, Ottawa has welcomed 19,700 people to apply for a Canadian PR based on their French skills, which is more than in other new categories for selection, namely health care, skilled trades, agriculture, transportation, and STEM.
Ottawa has also extended 36,150 invites to the broad pool of candidates, whose selection is based only on points rather than specific attributes.
These changes, according to the federal government, are directed at alleviating labour shortages and supporting francophone communities outside Quebec.
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Unlike before, when the government would regularly invite people with the highest scores to apply for a Canada PR, the Immigration Department is filtering for certain attributes and recruiting from a smaller group.
This causes the scores to be lower, along with their expected earnings.
On February 1, 2024, a major Express Entry draw targeting French speakers issued 7,000 invitations to apply (ITAs), with a minimum CRS score of 365.
Since the category-based selection’s introduction, the French category’s cut-off over the course of nine rounds conducted has been 418.
Many economists feel like desirable candidates are being overlooked and are criticizing the immigration selection process that Ottawa currently has.
