Four successful years

Planning for the Welcoming Francophone Communities (WFC) pilot project began in 2018. Since then, 14 Francophone communities across the country have set up projects to help French-speaking newcomers build a life for themselves here in Canada. Hawkesbury is one of three towns in Ontario selected by the Ministry of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for this wonderful adventure.

THE VERY BEGINNING

With the support of IRCC, the Réseau de soutien à l’immigration francophone de l’Est de l’Ontario (RSIFEO) has joined forces with a handful of partners to set up a community action plan. These include:

• Association canadienne française de l’Ontario (ACFO) of Prescott and Russell
• Le Chenail Cultural Centre
• Moi j’apprends Centre
• Employment Services Centre of Prescott-Russell (CSEPR)
• Conseil des écoles publiques de l’est de l’Ontario (CEPEO)
• Conseil scolaire de district catholique de l’Est ontarien (CSDCEO)
• Corporation of the Town of Hawkesbury
• Nathalie Ladouceur, Hawkesbury resident
• Sol-Air Consultants

Beyond the organized activities, a marketing and communications plan was developed in collaboration with Chabo Communications & Design, another community partner. Through a variety of efforts, including the vivreahawkesbury.ca website and social networks, we reached out to members of the community and beyond. In fact, our online efforts had an impressive impact in the years that followed!

RAISING AWARENESS IN THE LOCAL COMMUNITY

The main objective of RSIFEO, IRCC and community partners is to raise awareness, inform and engage the community to improve the reception of newcomers. As a result, workshops are organized for employers on fair hiring processes, and opportunities for discussion are created to foster open-mindedness and new habits in the community. These are just a few examples of the many activities organized and the varied efforts made since the launch of the pilot project.

A WELCOMING CLIMATE CONDUCIVE TO INTEGRATION

The partners raise awareness in the local community of the important role it plays in welcoming and integrating newcomers. But WFC also seeks to create opportunities for newcomers to connect with other immigrant and community families, explore the region, learn about Franco-Ontarian culture and share their own.

In the summer of 2022, the Town of Hawkesbury held its first-ever multicultural Canada Day festival, featuring world-renowned musical greats such as Corneille. For one of our first testimonials and a summary of the festival, check out our blog post on the subject: Johanesa and his family’s first Canada Day. The festival was so successful that a second edition was held in 2023.

On the professional side of things, training programs have also been developed to better equip newcomers to start a business or simply improve their professional skills in a Canadian or even Franco-Ontarian context.

BOOMING IMMIGRATION

In 2023, there was a noticeable increase in interest in the Town of Hawkesbury as a host city.

Visits to the website and the number of followers on social networks have risen surprisingly. The Vivre à Hawkesbury Facebook page now has over 15,000 subscribers.

According to data from IRCC and an article from Radio-Canada, more and more families are taking steps to move to Hawkesbury. Compared to the years preceding the pilot project, the number of people obtaining permanent residency rose from 0 in 2018 and 2019, to 35 in 2020, 68 in 2021, 63 in 2022 and 85 as of now. As for temporary residences, there were 23 people in 2020, 12 in 2021, 30 in 2022 and 38 in 2023. This brings the total number of new residents registered since the start of the program to 354. Francophone immigration to our region has a bright future!

Having begun in 2020 after two years of planning, the four years of the Welcoming Francophone Communities initiative have been a resounding success, and are just the first step on a wonderful adventure! The partners have set up programs and put efforts forward that, in many cases, are ongoing. Conversation within the host community is open; residents and employers are now better informed and equipped to support immigrant families throughout their integration. Various avenues are being discussed for the future of the project and could see the light of day soon, but nothing is official yet. Stay tuned!