Welcoming Francophone Community

A Welcoming Francophone Community in Yellowknife

Under the Action Plan for Official Languages, the Government of Canada has chosen 14 cities as Welcoming Francophone Communities or Communautés francophones accueillantes (CFA). Yellowknife is one of them.

This four-year pilot project (2020 to 2024) helps French-speaking newcomers integrate within the community. The Yellowknife CFA is co-led and supported by:

• Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)
• Fédération des communautés francophones et acadiennes (FCFA)
• Fédération franco-ténoise (FFT) – Trustee
• Réseau en immigration francophone des Territoires du Nord-Ouest (RIF TNO)

Building lasting relationships with the Francophone community

The CFA implements initiatives and supports partnerships to welcome French-speaking newcomers to Yellowknife, and it encourages connections between newcomers and Francophone minority communities. It achieves this by organizing French-language community connections activities and by raising awareness among stakeholders in the Northwest Territories to stimulate demographic and economic life.

The goal is to help newcomers integrate and thrive (geographically and linguistically), foster a sense of belonging, and make them want to stay!

An initiative by and for Francophone communities

The CFAs were designed in response to the request of Francophone minority communities (FMCs), expressed during the 2015 and 2017 consultations on Francophone immigration. The initiative takes an innovative approach that promotes the participation and collaboration of a wide range of stakeholders:

• Identifying needs and creating an action plan by members of the Francophone community.
• Establishing a community advisory committee.
• Frequent consultations with newcomers to better understand their needs.

From an inclusion perspective, the welcoming Francophone community is exploring ways to respond to the specific needs of French-speaking newcomers (women, youth, visible minorities, etc.).

To contact the CFA coordinator, call 1-867-680-0610 Ext. 107 or email cfa-yk@franco-nord.com

Community Advisory Committee

The Community Advisory Committee brings together individuals and community groups to:

• Give advice to implement CFA actions.
• Represent the needs of the community.
• Share information about the CFA within it’s network.

We are looking for new members to join the Community Advisory Committee! If you are interested, please contact us at cfa-yk@franco-nord.com.