In an update sent to multiple media outlets, including Radio-Canada, the Office of the Federal Minister of Immigration reaffirmed its decision-making authority over the number of immigrants it would like to welcome into the country and declined any influence from any of the leading lobby groups listed in Toronto on lobbyist register since 2021.
The views of the Centenary Initiative do not constitute government policy. The government is not acting on the conclusions of the Centenary Initiative and is not aiming to increase Canada’s population to 100 million by the year 2100, Secretary Sean Fraser’s office said.
“These thresholds were set based on the interests of Canada and not in response to the wishes of any independent group. »
– A quote from a statement by the Office of the Minister for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
The federal government announced last November that it aims to take in 500,000 immigrants annually by 2025, but maintained a vague position on longer-term targets. The ambiguity has raised suspicions that the Centennial Initiative is having an impact on setting Canada’s immigration thresholds, which is a particularly controversial issue in Quebec.
Sean Fraser’s office explains that the immigration destinations are a result of demographic shortages and significant labor shortages across Canada. The aging of the population is also a decisive factor: 50 years ago there were seven employed people for every pensioner. Today we are three to one and in less than 15 years it will be two to one, Mr Fraser argues.
incentive to sovereignty
For Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet, Ottawa’s immigration thresholds threaten the future of the French language and only accelerate thinking about sovereignty.
Ironically, this debate about appropriation of all means has just been opened by Canada, or by a couple of intellectuals in a tower in Toronto saying, “No, no, you’ll see, we’re going to do the same.” There we will them, the Quebecers , break once and for all, it will be settled.” Quebecers may be saying to themselves, “Well, it will end soon,” Mr. Blanchet said Thursday.
In his eyes, the federal target merely represents a weakening and possible disappearance of the population of the French nation of Quebec. It is fueling Quebecers’ reflection on independence, and the process is accelerating, argues the sovereignist, whose party opened Thursday’s debate on a motion who denounced the goals of the initiative of the century.
Asked about Quebec’s importance within Canada and the potential implications for its political representation in the House of Commons on Wednesday, Mr Trudeau replied that the bloc was only interested in disputes between Quebec and Ottawa.
For his part, François Legault said on Tuesday it was out of the question to follow the approach [de l’Initiative du siècle] about the increase in immigration.
New surroundings
The proposal to significantly raise immigration thresholds is detailed in a public report (new window) by the Initiative of the Century, For a Canada that thinks big. It is mentioned that the province risks losing its importance within the Confederacy if Quebec cannot keep up with the population growth of the rest of the country.
The advocacy group argues that the Canada-Quebec Agreement on Immigration, an agreement specifically aimed at preserving Quebec’s demographic weight within Canada and ensuring the integration of immigrants in the province while preserving its distinctive character, stems from the Year 1991 For more than three decades, the demographic and economic situation in Quebec and Canada has changed significantly.
According to the same organization, actions aimed at increasing Canada’s demographic weight go against current political forces, which reflect widespread skepticism, a sentiment that the Initiative of the Century is struggling to allay.
With information from Romain Schué and The Canadian Press