The Northwest Territories Nominee Program (NTNP) now has a stream specifically for Francophone applicants. Prospective Francophone nominees can apply to the program themselves if they are currently employed by an NWT employer or live abroad but have a valid job offer from an NWT employer.

The NTNP will now have three streams: Employer-Driven, Business and Francophone.

Introducing a Francophone Stream is an action of ECE’s 2017-2022 Immigration Strategy to attract foreign nationals to the NWT whose skills are aligned with current workforce needs, and to increase francophone applications to the Nominee Program.

Through nominating foreign nationals via the NTNP, employers can maintain or grow their businesses by hiring and retaining quality staff members for jobs that are not able to be filled with NWT residents.

Through the online application process, foreign nationals must:

• Have a valid, full-time permanent job offer in the NWT.
• Have at least one year of full-time experience in the occupation for which they’re being nominated, or six months of full-time experience in the NWT in the occupation for which they’re being nominated.
• Have required territorial certification, licensing or accreditation of the specific trade or occupation for which they’re being nominated.
• Meet the language requirements in both English and French (Canadian Level Benchmark).
• Not be a refugee claimant.

Quote(s)

“The Francophone community is an important component of our society and contributor to the territory’s social, economic and cultural development. Given the challenges of the pandemic and the need for workers locally, nationally and internationally, the new Francophone stream of the Northwest Territories Nominee Program will help NWT employers fill critical gaps by accessing and retaining Francophone talent. By supporting immigration, we are also supporting economic development in the NWT, which benefits all residents.

- R.J. Simpson, Minister of Education, Culture and Employment

Quick facts

• The Departments of Education, Culture and Employment (ECE) and Industry, Tourism and Investment (ITI) deliver the Northwest Territories Nominee Program (NTNP) in partnership with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). ITI delivers the Business Stream of the program, and ECE delivers the Employer-Driven Stream and the Francophone Stream.
• French applications to the NTNP have been increasing in recent years. In 2021-2022, ECE received more than 400 requests for information in French from foreign nationals.
• The NWT, along with other jurisdictions across Canada, supports the Federal/Provincial/Territorial (FPT) Action Plan for Increasing Francophone Immigration (Action Plan) outside of Quebec. It outlines a plan that governments can implement, in collaboration with stakeholders, to improve the promotion, selection, settlement, integration and retention of French-speaking immigrants to Francophone Minority Communities, using tools and approaches that are suitable to each community.
  • As per the Action Plan, French-speaking immigrants contribute to the strength and prosperity of our country, while adding to Canada’s rich cultural and linguistic diversity. Francophone immigration plays a role in maintaining the vitality of Francophone and Acadian communities across Canada, and helps address labour market needs and helps sustain Canada as a bilingual country.

Related links

• www.immigratenwt.ca
• NWT Immigration Strategy 2017 to 2022: Building a Skilled Workforce and a Vibrant Economy
• Federal/Provincial/Territorial (FPT) Action Plan for Increasing Francophone Immigration

For media requests, please contact:

Briony Grabke

Manager, Public Affairs and Communications

Department of Education, Culture and Employment

Government of the Northwest Territories

briony_grabke@gov.nt.ca

867-767-9352  Ext. 71073