This is quite a reversal on the part of the Coalition avenir Québec. After reducing the immigration threshold to 40,000 in 2018 – “Take less to take care of it”, chanted the caquists – then having set this threshold at 50,000 during the last election campaign – it would be “suicidal” to take more, said François Legault — now the Immigration Planning for 2024-2027, which will be the subject of consultations later this year, proposes a scenario that would push the number of immigrants admitted to nearly 70,000 per year within three years.
The increase would relate to the immigrants selected by Quebec, essentially skilled workers, while in the other categories of immigrants — family reunification and refugees — the numbers would remain stable during the period. The share of the Quebec selection would thus increase from 72% to 77%. In fact, the threshold would gradually rise to 60,000 in 2027. To this number would be added French-speaking foreign students from the Quebec experience program (PEQ).
Raising the thresholds is accompanied by regulatory reform. From now on, for so-called economic immigration, knowledge of French – advanced intermediate level and a little less for low-skilled workers – is a sine qua non admission condition. Previously, workers who did not speak French but whose qualifications were in high demand could obtain enough points in the selection grid to be opened the doors to them.
Another major change: the Legault government is denying the reform of the Quebec Experience Program (PEQ), at least for the student component, which the former Immigration holder Simon Jolin-Barrette had put in place. For foreign students who have a Québec diploma in hand, there is no longer any need to have acquired work experience and hold a job before taking advantage of this fast and automatic route to settling in Québec. However, the PEQ will only be offered to candidates who have obtained a diploma in a program in French or to Francophones who have studied in their language before arriving in Quebec, the French who study at McGill being the typical example.
Restrictions on the PEQ have significantly reduced the number of foreign students emigrating to Quebec. There is every reason to believe that we will find the same level as before their application, ie 8,000 students, and perhaps more. There is no limit as to their number.
Without taking into account these French-speaking students, the generalized requirement of knowledge of French will increase from 71% in 2019 to 96% in 2026 the proportion of applicants for economic immigration who speak the common language. All categories combined, the proportion of immigrants speaking French would increase from 67% to 72% in 2027.
The Legault government therefore plans to significantly increase the number of immigrants admitted, but this increase, instead of contributing to the decline of French, will aim to strengthen its presence. In general, however, the effect of immigration on the situation of French in Quebec is negligible, as shown by a study by the Office québécois de la langue française: it’s mathematical. On the other hand, we can expect such a selection of immigrants to have a beneficial effect on the ability of Quebec society to integrate.
It is not without irony to see the Legault government propose thresholds that are hardly different from the electoral commitments of the Liberal Party of Quebec — 70,000 — and Quebec solidaire — from 60,000 to 80,000.
Currently, pressure has never been greater for Quebec to welcome more immigrants, especially from employers. Under the circumstances, choosing immigrants who speak French, including those African students that Ottawa persists in discriminating against, is essential.
The Fréchette reform, let’s call it that, obscures the whole question of temporary foreign workers, in particular the International Mobility Program (IMP) that the federal government considers its preserve. Nearly 75,000 of these PMI workers find themselves on Quebec territory without the Quebec government having a say and without it knowing who they are. As can be seen in English Canada, the influx of these so-called temporary workers who often occupy permanent jobs has as its corollary, in a context of labor shortage, the rise in immigration thresholds. It’s a ripple effect.
François Legault said that there would be a second stage in this reform, which would target temporary workers. This is an essential step for Quebec to regain control of its immigration. But that depends on the goodwill of Ottawa, which does not seem willing to let go.