A woman takes a photo as a group of new Canadians take the oath of citizenship during a ceremony held as part of 2009 Canada Day celebrations in Vancouver. (Darryl Dyck/Canadian Press)

Vouchers for free English or French training will be mailed out to encourage 2,000 immigrants to learn one of Canada's two official languages.

As part of a pilot project, the vouchers will be sent to randomly chosen immigrants in Alberta, Ontario and Nova Scotia. The 18-month test will cost $250,000, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney announced in Calgary on Friday.

New Canadians fare better economically if they know either English or French, but only about 25 per cent of those eligible for language training take classes, said Kenney.

"People have a right to come to Canada as immigrants, but they have a duty to integrate once they're here," he said.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada offers free language training to newcomers who are permanent residents, but it's limited to certain local settlement agencies.

The voucher, valid for one year, will allow newcomers to redeem it for a language course at an agency of their choice, based on their schedule and needs.

Good in all areas

Kenney said the convenience and flexibility of the vouchers, which don't have a cash value, will help those who move within Canada.

"Fast-growing provinces like Alberta get a lot of secondary immigration, people arriving in Vancouver and six months later they move to Calgary," he said.

"Alberta settlement organizations don't see those dollars for settlement flow from Ottawa. This will allow the dollars to follow the immigrant, and that is fairer for the faster-growing areas that receive more secondary immigrants."

Newcomers can be so busy trying to find homes, work and raising families that taking a course may slip to the bottom of the priority list, said Wendy Fehr, manager of resource development and communications at Immigrant Services Calgary.

"It's fairly valuable in that it provides another stream of outreach to newcomers and letting them know that resources like ours are available to them," said Fehr of the test program.