For months, Karl Blackburn has been calling for Quebec’s immigration threshold to be raised to 100,000 people a year to alleviate the labor shortage.
Angered by the pressure and criticism from the Conseil du Patronat on the matter, in the House of Representatives, in response to a question from Marc Tanguay, interim leader of the Quebec official opposition, François Legault wondered if Karl Blackburn had the direction of the QLP in mind.
The CEO of the Conseil du Patronat responded vigorously, saying he had no intention of returning to politics, he was deputy, director of the PLQ and organizer to former Prime Minister Jean Charest. For Karl Blackburn, therefore, Prime Minister Legault was partisan.
9 of the 10 recommendations of the CPQ
Today the tone has changed. Radical. Of the ten recommendations made to the Quebec government by the Quebec Employers’ Council in a white paper on immigration a year ago, nine were included in the plan presented by Immigration Minister Christine Frechette.
No more worries about the impact of immigration on French survival or reception capacity, no more tensions with the CEO of the Conseil du Patronat, whom the CAQ suspected of wanting to position himself as the leader of the PLQ, the government François Legault aggressively responds to the suggestions and demands of employers.
In addition, the business community has generously welcomed the government’s immigration plan. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business, the Federation of Quebec Chambers of Commerce and the Conseil du Patronat see in this plan a genuine desire by the government to match immigration to the needs of the labor market and believe this plan will help reduce the labor shortage .
“I think the Quebec government has heard the call from the business community,” Karl Blackburn said in an interview with the Economic Zone Thursday night.
We have long been asking the government to increase the immigrant pool, facilitate the integration of immigrant workers and alleviate certain problems related to learning French. And I think we can be happy about the proposals that have been published, because the government of Quebec has heeded the employers’ call.
Soon 60,000 or even 70,000 immigrants?
Employers’ organizations welcome the government’s willingness to raise the immigration threshold from 50,000 to 60,000 people per year. In fact, there will be more, perhaps over 70,000 per year, as graduate access to the Quebec Experience program is simplified.
The new specialist selection program comprises four components, each of which places different demands on French depending on the qualification level of the profession. It reflects the reality of small businesses, says the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB).
The business community is also welcoming the return of programs for entrepreneurs and migrant investors, and the creation of a dedicated area for corporate takeovers. All the employers’ organizations are convinced that the actions of Christine Fréchette’s plan will contribute to a further regionalization of immigration.
However, the organizations are concerned about delays in processing applications, which are particularly lengthy in Quebec. They are also concerned about the issue of diploma recognition, which is far from resolved. And the CFIB believes that we must remain open to people who don’t speak French, to people who are Francophiles or to people who want to learn French.
Launch of the widget. Skip widget?
end of the widget. Back to the top of the widget?
The demographic reality
The new vice president for labor and economic information at Investissement Québec, Mia Homsy, recently told us at Zone économique that 100,000 people leave the Québec labor market every year.
And we learned Wednesday that Quebec’s population growth is no longer driven solely by immigration: Of the 149,900 people added to Quebec’s demographics in 2022, 146,000 were permanent or temporary immigrants. The natural increase resulting from the difference between births and deaths added only 2,300 people. This is the lowest natural rise ever recorded in Quebec.
You don’t have to be an accountant to understand that Quebec doesn’t have the luxury of forgoing immigration. Choosing to demographically grow at a slower rate than its neighbors, Quebec faces major competitive challenges as labor shortages slow to ease.
This economic reality finally seems to have found a hearing in Quebec.