Francophone immigration to P.E.I. almost triples
CBC
La Coopérative d'intégration francophone, which provides settlement services for francophone immigrants to P.E.I., is dealing with a sharp spike in arrivals.
CIF director Angie Cormier said the group had 200 clients last year, up from about 75 just two years before.
"It just exploded last year," said Cormier.
"[It] is wonderful for us, but it's also causing us a bit of strain because we're still building, let's say, our resources and our personnel."
CIF has been getting support from Immigrant and Refugee Services Association P.E.I. and P.E.I. Community Navigators in helping the newcomers to settle.
The challenge is not just the increased numbers. The immigrants are coming from new areas. Traditionally they would be from France and Belgium, but more are now coming from countries such as Algeria, Morocco, Lebanon and Cameroon.
The province has been working with CIF to grow the number of francophone immigrants, because they are needed to fill jobs that require knowledge of French.
"Our people come with jobs, always," said Cormier.
"There are shortages all over the province, especially in education and health, and we're working really hard with the province on recruiting efforts."
Even with many of the immigrants settling outside of the Charlottetown area, finding a place for them to live has been one of the biggest challenges.
"Trying to find housing is a nightmare," she said.
"The housing crisis, we are deep into it. As much as we want more people to come."
Despite the difficulties with housing, Cormier expects the number of francophone immigrants to continue to grow, because the demand for them to fill vacant jobs remains high.
Kamloops Coun. Bill Sarai has apologized after admitting he secretly recorded his argument with Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson in January 2023, then sent a snippet of the conversation to the mayor, suggesting someone else had recorded it.
Yellowknife city council removed $550,000, intended to operate its own dog pound, from the city's draft budget on Monday.
The RCMP says it's considering deploying Mounties-in-training to help police the Canada-U.S. border as political anxiety over border control mounts in the face of tariff threats from the incoming Trump administration.
The death and destruction in the Crosschild family didn't stop at the domestic murder of Autumn, a 25-year-old Indigenous woman killed by Brandon Yellowfly, the man she once wanted to marry.
Josh Smee imagines a future in which food banks no longer exist in Canada, because people don't need them.
The Toronto Transit Commission board has voted to ban electric bikes with lithium-ion batteries from TTC vehicles and stations from November 15 to April 15 each year due to safety concerns.
Prince Edward Island now has a law on the books to regulate service dogs, but it could be two more years before it comes into effect.
The partner of a man who went missing near Chetwynd, B.C. more than six weeks ago says she believes their dog, which disappeared at the same time, has been found alive.
WARNING: This story contains details of sexual assault and may affect those who have experienced sexual violence or know someone affected by it.
Multinational food corporation Cargill said on Tuesday it plans to cut roughly five per cent of its staff, or about 8,000 jobs.
The season's first blast of winter weather continued Tuesday in the region and north of the city with some schools and school purpose vehicles cancelled and plows out in force on the roads.