(Montreal) The regions of Quebec have a deficit of 18,000 immigrants annually to meet their labor needs, says the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
“In all regions, there is quite a lot of pressure,” said François Vincent, vice-president for Quebec of the CFIB, in an interview Monday.
The organization that represents SMEs arrived at this estimate by cross-checking data such as the number of vacancies by region and the statistic that 19% of labor needs are now met by immigration, according to Emploi Quebec.
This “foreseeable deficit” in immigrants would particularly affect Montérégie (deficit of 4,845), the Laurentians (deficit of 2,840), Lanaudière (2,186), Chaudière-Appalaches (1,535) and Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean (1,072).
Among the regions, only Montreal and Laval do not have a labor shortage to be filled by immigration, affirms the CFIB in its report on the regionalization of immigration in Quebec.
Mr. Vincent also points out that all types of businesses, all types of activities are affected.
Recommendations
We have been talking about regionalizing immigration for several years. To achieve this, Mr. Vincent recommends setting a quantified objective; to increase the immigration thresholds by ensuring that they meet the needs of the labor market, particularly those of SMEs; then to increase residential construction in the regions.
CFIB also recommends reducing the financial and administrative burden on small and medium-sized businesses related to temporary and permanent immigration.
She also wants a better match between the skills of immigrants and the needs of employers of all sizes, “especially for skilled trades, positions requiring low-skilled labor and entry-level jobs.”
“The evolution of the level of priority given to this issue by the owners of SMEs in Quebec remains just as striking, rising from 59% to 80% in less than two years. This should serve as a strong signal to the Government of Quebec,” concludes the CFIB in its study.