The elected members of the National Assembly unanimously adopted a motion on Wednesday to declare “incompatible with the protection of the French language in Quebec” the federal objective of welcoming 500,000 new immigrants to Canada each year.
The motion tabled by the Minister responsible for the French Language and Canadian Relations, Jean-François Roberge, also “reiterates” “that it is up to Quebec alone to make its own choices” in terms of immigration and French.
In the morning, the federal prime minister, Justin Trudeau, had once again defended the pan-Canadian target set by his government of 500,000 newcomers per year by 2025.
“Of course, Quebec largely controls its immigration thresholds, but we will work with them to fill labor shortages and create opportunities for economic growth,” Trudeau said as he spoke. was going to a caucus meeting.
The day before, Mr. Legault spoke out against the Initiative of the Century, this plan of an influential pressure group which wants to increase the population of Canada to 100 million inhabitants by 2100.
Earlier this week, Official Languages Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor stressed that this is not an official Ottawa policy. Nevertheless, the official target of 500,000 immigrants per year is also viewed negatively by the Legault government.
“The objective of something like 500,000 permanent immigrants each year in Canada makes no sense, neither for Canada nor for Quebec,” said Minister Roberge on Monday.
Weight of Quebec
For his part, François Legault indicated on Tuesday that “there is no question of following the approach [de l’Initiative du siècle] regarding the growth of immigration. He hinted that he was concerned because of the threat that this approach poses to the French fact and the demographic weight of Quebec in the federation.
Asked Wednesday about the issue of Quebec’s weight within Canada and the possible consequences on its political representation in the House of Commons, Mr. Trudeau avoided answering the question directly.
“Everyone has the right to make the decisions they want within their immigration threshold in Quebec, but we will be encouraging economic growth and the creation of good jobs across the country. “, he offered as an answer.
During the recent election campaign in Quebec, François promised to limit permanent immigration to 50,000 newcomers per year, his current threshold. Re-elected, the leader of the Coalition avenir Québec indicated that his government would soon make an announcement on the annual immigration thresholds.
With information from Patrice Bergeron