The Montreal Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce (CCMM) estimates that it needs 60,000 immigrants annually to meet the needs of Quebecers and fill the labor shortage.
“Our entire society needs to work together with a sustained increase in job vacancies in everything from healthcare to education to high-tech industries. Accepting immigrants selected according to the needs of our economy is part of the solution,” Michel Leblanc, CCMM President and CEO, said in a press release on Tuesday.
He recalls that since 2016, the CCMM has recommended that the Quebec government raise the annual immigration thresholds to reach 60,000 admissions in 2027.
“One lesson we can learn from the post-pandemic catch-up process is that we know we can absorb and integrate 60,000 new immigrants every year. “We need to have a global approach that targets immigrants who can integrate well into Quebec society in the metropolitan and regional areas, and that is consistent with a strategy to alleviate the housing shortage,” he said.
For Mr Leblanc, the question of raising the thresholds must also take into account the evolution of Quebec’s demographic weight in Canada. “This proportion has been falling every year since 1966, and this decline may accelerate with Ottawa’s new immigration targets,” he said, suggesting that the 60,000 threshold “must be viewed as a minimum that is expected to increase further in the future.”
The CCMM also recommends that the government streamline the offering of franchising services to newcomers and strengthen cooperation with the federal government to facilitate the transition from temporary to permanent status for temporary foreign workers.
In addition, the Chamber of Commerce believes waiting times for permanent residency applications should be reduced to compete with immigration programs outside of Quebec.