Activity 3 page 2

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Immigration is very important to Canada. For Canada's population to grow, and with current birthrates, immigration is required. Labour-force growth is vital to economic growth; immigration is needed to help as part of Canada's population retires.

Immigration is a responsibility of the federal government . However, the federal government cannot always guarantee that newcomers will move to the provinces where immigrants are needed. As you have seen in the section inquiry and in your investigation of provincial government policies in Activity 2, many immigrants move to the three major cities: Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver.

To ensure each province has the opportunity to be host to its share of immigrants and skilled workers, some provinces have their own immigration department and minister. Quebec has its own immigration minister, but so do Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia. These ministers are responsible directly for immigration into their respective provinces.

With Quebec a Francophone province, that the immigration minister works to ensure that Quebec maintains its population of Francophones is important. This can be achieved partially by the immigration of Francophones from French-speaking nations.

28 other nations on Earth have French as an official language, and another 25 nations have significant French-speaking populations. Many of these nations, including Canada, are part of an international organization named La Francophonie.

Quebec's policy is to attract immigrants from these nations.

The government of Quebec has used various strategies to protect the French language in Quebec. For example, one strategy is to provide free French-language training as soon as immigrants arrive in Quebec. The children of immigrants also attend free French-language public schools. However, not all families choose to educate their children in French. This is one of several challenges concerning immigration that Quebec faces.

To further the goals of a French-speaking Quebec, the provincial government worked with the federal government. In 1991, the federal government and Quebec signed the Canada - Quebec Accord. This made Quebec the first province in Canada to have an immigration agreement with the federal government.

The Canada - Quebec Accord gives the provincial government of Quebec the responsibility of selecting immigrants and refugees living in foreign countries who have applied to immigrate. Upon selection, the immigrants must still pass the medical and security qualifications specified by the federal government before they receive their visas and enter Quebec.

The goal of the Canada - Quebec Accord is to ensure that French-speaking immigrants come to Quebec. The idea behind the accord is if Canada's French-speaking population equals 20 percent of the total Canadian population, then the French-speaking immigrants should total 20 percent of all immigrants accepted into Canada.


Read "Canada - Quebec Accord" on page 191 of your textbook, Issues for Canadians.

Answer question #1 in the Connect to the big ideas at the bottom of the page in your notes.

Use your learning in this reading to answer in your notes the critical inquiry question located on the right-hand side of the page: How does the Canada - Quebec Accord attempt to strengthen the French language in North America?

Save your notes to your Activities folder.

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Workbook Summary

In this workbook, you investigated the following questions.

What impact does increasing immigration have on Aboriginal peoples and communities?

How are provincial governments able to influence and implement immigration policies?

How is the implementation of immigration policies in Quebec an attempt to strengthen the French language in North America?

Canada is a nation built on immigration. For more than 100 years, our nation has been shaped by the people who have come from all over the world to live and work here.

As one of the nation's founding peoples, Aboriginal peoples believe it is their constitutional right to be consulted when the federal government makes or amends immigration policies that affect directly Aboriginal peoples and their communities. This agreement is written in Canada's constitution.

Aboriginal peoples believe that existing treaties and land claims must be respected by immigration policies and programs. Therefore, Aboriginal peoples believe that treaty obligations and land claims must be addressed before the government implements or amends immigration policies.

Because Canada is such a geographically vast nation, the provinces have differing immigration needs. As a result, the provincial governments have established Provincial Nomination Programs to inform the federal government of particular needs. Then, the federal government can use these nominations to guide its immigration policy.

The federal government has provided provinces with Provincial Nomination Programs to expedite the immigration process for skilled workers. In Quebec in 1991, the provincial government signed the Canada - Quebec Accord to ensure that the government of Quebec controls its immigration process. This allows Quebec to select immigrants and refugees, especially those who are French-speaking.