(La Pêche) François Legault concedes that the demographic weight of Quebec in Canada could decrease over the next few years in the context where the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) promises to limit the annual number of immigrants that the province welcomes to 50,000.
Posted at 1:30 p.m.
According to the CAQ leader, increasing the immigration threshold to more than 50,000 would exceed Quebec’s “reception capacity”. To date, there is no study that has measured this threshold. Mr. Legault also believes that the Liberal position, which is to establish this threshold at 70,000 immigrants, or that of Québec solidaire, which would like to welcome between 60,000 and 80,000, could accelerate the decline of French.
“I have a question for [Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois] : how will he stop the decline of French with 80,000 immigrants a year? I would be very curious to hear his answer, unless he tells us that the decline of French is not important to him, ”said Mr. Legault on Monday.
The parliamentary leader of Québec solidaire quickly replied. “The difference between Mr. Legault and me is that he points the finger and I open my arms,” he said.
“Me, I think that immigration can work in Quebec if we do it like people. If we welcome people, if we have resources for people to settle in all the beautiful regions of Quebec. If we do the work so that there is francization in the workplace. Immigration is wealth, and you will never hear me breaking sugar on the backs of immigrants,” he added.
Labor shortage
François Legault also sweeps aside the repeated demands of economic groups for Quebec to increase the number of immigrants it welcomes in order to meet the challenges of labor shortages. In this regard, the CAQ prefers to rely on the requalification of employees who work in declining sectors rather than raising the immigration threshold.
“We are able to solve a large part of the problem with the Quebecers who are here today,” he said. According to the CAQ leader, the threshold proposed by the Parti Québécois, at 35,000, is however too low and it would harm economic growth.
Mr. Legault then cited countries that inspire him and which, in his view, show that it is possible to create wealth without increasing immigration, contrary to what the Canadian government wants to do in the coming years.
“Switzerland, a small, extraordinarily rich, extraordinarily dynamic country. Take the Scandinavian countries, small, extremely rich, extremely dynamic countries. Being big can indeed be beautiful, but what is important is to have a quality of life for people who live in Quebec,” pleaded the head of the CAQ.
“It is not an objective in itself to increase to 10 million, 20 million, 30 million people in Quebec. We are 8.6 million inhabitants, I think it is still a size that allows us to offer quality services, ”he added.
Weight of Quebec in Canada
Despite everything, if Ottawa chooses to move forward by accelerating, as it intends to do, the number of immigrants who come to settle in the country each year, the demographic weight of Quebec will decrease in the Canadian federation to the benefit of the other provinces. who will welcome these new families.
François Legault said on Monday that he accepted this fact in the name of protecting French. Why would the federal government pay particular attention to Quebec’s demands, if its weight in the House of Commons is diminishing?
“Because Quebec is a nation. We talked for a long time about being a distinct society, we are one of the founding peoples and I think so, we must keep a certain weight in the House of Commons and we must respect the fact that Quebec is a nation that needs certain powers, for example in immigration, for example in terms of language, ”replied François Legault.
With Charles Lecavalier, The Press