A study into French immigration to the NWT calls for better resources to prepare immigrants before they arrive, and identified several barriers that discourage immigrants from staying in the territory.
The Fédération franco-ténoise’s French Immigration to the NWT research report, published last month, found that since 2022, French immigration to the territory has changed from young people coming on vacation with open work permits to families coming on temporary work visas with closed work permits.
The report said the NWT has many characteristics that are attractive to immigrants like employment opportunities, higher salaries and job stability, but people struggle with unknown factors like the harsh winters and lack of housing when they arrive.
“The NWT is rarely a first choice, rather it is a compromise between pragmatic considerations and specific attractions,” stated the report, which was written in French and has been translated for this article.
Its authors heard from immigrants who said they had little to no understanding of the NWT before arriving because they were choosing the territory for an employment opportunity. Information on the NWT, according to the report, “is often too general, fragmented or poorly adapted to concrete needs.”
Advertisement.
Advertisement.
Because newcomers researching the territory found government sites to be difficult to navigate, the report said they would go to the internet and social media as the first place to learn about the NWT, potentially showing them inaccurate information.
The report suggested a welcome kit should be made based on the realities of living in the NWT, and should include essential information about services available, rights of people living in Canada, the financial system and local quirks.
More support should also be given to French organizations that help immigrants, the report said, like the Conseil de développement économique des Territoires du Nord-Ouest, which supports business in recruiting employees, residents with developing job skills, and immigrants with the immigration process.
“French organizations are known for their engagement and their ability to maintain services regardless of their restricted means, even if the institutional support doesn’t match the reality on the ground,” the report said.
Advertisement.
Advertisement.
NWT as a stepping stone
The report found that “the NWT is often seen as a step towards permanent residency before leaving for another province.”
Its authors said immigrants often stay for two to three years before moving to Alberta, Ontario or Quebec, where employment prospects, training opportunities and resources in French are thought to be easier to access.
Events like wildfires and evacuations can also encourage people to leave the territory in search of security in another province, the report said.
In 2024, the NWT’s population reached more than 45,000 people for the first time since records were adjusted in 2023, thanks to an increase in international immigration.
Even though a lot of immigrants are coming to the NWT with jobs already secured, the report said some struggle to find employment because speaking French as a first language is seen as a barrier, or they are competing with others for the limited number of jobs for French-speakers available in Yellowknife.
This pushes immigrants out of Yellowknife to regional centres and smaller communities “where access to resources, reception conditions and the possibilities for integration differ,” the report said.
A stated limitation of the report is that most of the respondents were living in Yellowknife, so the realities of French immigrants in other communities and regions were not well represented.
Other challenges the report identified include partial or total lack of recognition for people’s international education, the lack of bilingual services offered by government institutions, and the insecurity associated with certain immigration statuses.
Advertisement.
Advertisement.
In 2026, the GNWT rolled out a new immigration points system to score applicants in the territory’s nominee program – a key means of filling job vacancies and helping foreign workers acquire permanent residency.
According to a points grid posted on the NWT’s immigration website, applicants are scored on their proficiency in English and French, education level, work experience, and connections to the NWT and Canada.
They can get up to 340 points if they have work experience in the NWT and have employment already secured in the territory.
