As Canada’s only officially bilingual province, New Brunswick has francophone and anglophone communities, so you can live and work in French, English, or both—it’s totally up to you. For French speakers and francophone newcomers, organizations and services are available, and all provincial government services are accessible in French, including a French-language education system.
While there’s still work to do, there is a real desire to maintain New Brunswick’s unique linguistic balance now and into the future.
As Canada’s only bilingual province, New Brunswick offers government services, education, and healthcare in both languages to ensure individuals are served in their language of choice.
The province’s world-class education system boasts the highest school graduation rate in Canada. This provincially funded system runs from kindergarten to Grade 12 and is offered through a dual system of English and French public schools.
Our provincial government provides healthcare coverage and most medically required services to every New Brunswick resident (both citizens and non-citizens). The province is divided into two healthcare regions – Vitalité Health Network (francophone) and Horizon Health Network (anglophone) – although you can access care in your language of choice at both.
Similarly, government services and public bodies must also serve citizens in the official language of their choice.
It is important that the people of New Brunswick can live, work, and play in their language of choice to ensure the vitality and longevity of the language.
Many French-speaking international students are drawn to New Brunswick’s top-quality post-secondary institutions. These include the Université de Moncton, which has campuses in Edmundston, Moncton, and Shippagan, and offers nearly 200 programs. As Canada’s largest exclusively French-language university outside of Quebec, it offers training and research in the fields of management, arts, social sciences, law, engineering, natural sciences, health, social work, and education. In addition, the Collège communautaire du Nouveau-Brunswick (CCNB) is a community college offering quality French-language post-secondary education in the Atlantic region for more than 40 years. It is recognized for the quality of its professional and technical training, including apprenticeships.
Many students who complete their studies here often want to stay. These international students are perfect candidates for permanent residency because of their Canadian credentials, proficiency in one or both official languages, entrepreneurial skills, and familiarity with Canadian culture. These factors facilitate integration into the community and labour market, and in turn, lead to both population and economic growth, as well as job creation.
By providing these students with the tools required to stay and be successful, the province can continue to grow its francophone community.
Attracting and retaining French-speaking newcomers is a top priority for New Brunswick and its efforts are being met with success. In recent years, the province welcomed 31% French-speaking newcomers through the Provincial Nominee Program.
As New Brunswick expands its provincial immigration efforts overall, this creates increased demand and opportunity to welcome more French-speaking immigrants. Maintaining New Brunswick’s unique linguistic balance now and into the future is a top priority, and part of striking this balance requires meeting its francophone immigration targets.
Let us know your questions and we’ll get back to you with answers.