Yes, and the answer changed recently enough that many employers still believe otherwise.
What changed in 2023
Francophone Mobility originally covered only higher-skilled occupations — NOC TEER 0, 1, 2 and 3. In June 2023 the program expanded to all TEER categories.
That brought in TEER 4 and 5: cooks, food counter attendants, kitchen helpers, food service supervisors. The single exclusion is primary agriculture in TEER 4 and 5.
For restaurant operators this is the most consequential change in the program's history, and it arrived with very little publicity.
Why it matters now
The alternative route has narrowed at the same time. Low-wage LMIA applications are not processed in census metropolitan areas where unemployment is 6% or higher, and food service was not granted an exemption from that rule — though food processing was.
So for many restaurant operators, the LMIA route is closed and the Francophone Mobility route is open.
The two conditions
The worker must speak French at NCLC 5 in speaking and listening. And the job must be located outside Quebec.
The kitchen does not need to operate in French. The worker needs to speak it.
The practical obstacle
Not eligibility. Sourcing. A French-speaking cook is not someone you find on a Canadian job board, because that pool is the one you have already exhausted.
Most immigration consultants will file the application but will not find the candidate — that part stays with you.
FrancoBridge publishes your job to French-speaking candidates in Morocco, Tunisia, Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon and Mauritius, alongside Canada. Applications come directly to you.
Program rules change. This is not immigration advice. Consult a licensed immigration consultant or lawyer.