Quebec pauses key immigration programs for permanent residents
Government using freeze to reassess its immigration strategy
The Quebec government is suspending two major pathways to permanent residency as part of a reassessment of its overall immigration strategy.
Over the next few months, the Legault government will stop issuing Quebec Selection Certificates (CSQs) — an essential document in the immigration process — for economic immigrants and foreign students applying through two of its main pathways to permanent status.
This freeze will target those wishing to immigrate to Quebec under the Regular Skilled Worker Program and the graduate stream of the Quebec Experience Program (PEQ).
At a news conference Thursday, Immigration Minister Jean-François Roberge said freezing admissions was the "courageous" decision, arguing that Quebec would otherwise have reached almost 70,000 permanent residents.
The government said it will use this period to clear out the backlog of applications in the system and to re-evaluate its immigration policy.
The moratorium will be in place until June 30, 2025, at which time the guidelines for a new multi-year plan will be unveiled that will, for the first time, take into account the number of people on temporary work and study permits in Quebec.
In August, Quebec announced a six-month freeze for certain temporary foreign worker applications in Montreal, and earlier this month, it introduced legislation to cap the number of international students in the province.
Higher immigration targets for 2025
On Thursday, Roberge also announced his 2025 immigration forecast at the National Assembly, which includes raising its target for permanent immigration.
Next year, Quebec could have 10,000 more permanent residents than expected, thanks to the explosion in popularity of the graduate component of the PEQ.
The number would go from 3,800 students in 2024 to up to 15,000 in 2025, taking into account the new freeze. Without it, that number could have reached 19,000, according to the ministry.
"Seeing that the number may go too high, we are taking action. So we are in control," Roberge told reporters.
This means some 66,500 people could get permanent status next year — up from the 56,500 planned by Roberge's predecessor, Christine Fréchette.
Asked about the difference between these thresholds and Premier François Legault's statement in 2022 that it would be "suicidal" for Quebec to welcome more than 50,000 immigrants a year, the minister argued that the context had changed and that the rate of French-speaking immigrants was much higher today.
Roberge said the province is projected to welcome 59,000 newcomers by the end of this year.
The news comes a week after the federal government announced plans to cut its projected number of newcomers.
The Trudeau government is cutting the projected number of new permanent residents from 485,000 to 395,000 in 2025, with further cuts to 380,000 in 2026 and 365,000 in 2027.
Opposition slams minister for '180-degree turn'
On Thursday, the leader of the Parti Québécois slammed the Legault government for changing its tune on immigration less than 48 hours after the PQ tabled its plan to substantially reduce the number of permanent residents in Quebec.
"It's a 180-degree turn that the government decided to put a moratorium not only on economic immigration from outside of Quebec, which we proposed, but also on the PEQ," said Paul St-Pierre Plamondon.
He said this indicates the government is scrambling to regain control of its targets.
Quebec Liberal Party interim Leader Marc Tanguay also said the Legault government is all over the place.
"It's like a government on a slippery road giving another sudden direction," he said. "It's going to impair the competitiveness of Quebec in terms of workers and in terms of students."
Karl Blackburn, president of the business group Conseil du patronat du Québec, criticized both the provincial and federal governments' "improvisation" on the issue of immigration, saying their plans directly hurt Quebec businesses that rely on qualified workers to address staffing shortages.
"If companies had the ability to find Quebec workers to meet their labour needs, of course they would turn to Quebec workers," Blackburn said.
"But unfortunately, it's like fishing in an empty lake," he said, adding foreign workers are the solution to alleviating the pressure on businesses.
Written by Sabrina Jonas, based on reporting by Romain Schué, with files from The Canadian Press