Quebec proposes two immigration scenarios to reverse the decline in French over the next few years: maintain current entry thresholds or increase to 60,000 new arrivals per year.
This was announced by Prime Minister François Legault on Thursday during a major press conference with his Immigration Minister, Christine Fréchette, and his French Language Minister, Jean-François Roberge.
Currently, Quebec is sticking to its intake goal of 50,000 immigrants per year. Last year, chief captain François Legault confirmed that exceeding the limit was “out of the question”. In the election campaign he went even further, stressing that raising it would be “a bit suicidal” for the health of the French.
The government of the Avenir Québec (CAQ) coalition is now proposing two options. These will be examined as part of the public consultations on immigration planned for this autumn. If it continues its positive scenario, it will increase the thresholds to around 10,000 newcomers by 2027. It will also require all economic immigrants admitted to Quebec through a proposed rulebook to speak French.
“Of course I expect the question, ‘Mr. Legault, you said more than 50,000 would be suicidal,” the prime minister said at a news conference on Thursday. “Well, that would be suicide for the future of French. But from the moment we are able to […] To say that the increase only applies to francophones completely changes the situation. »
If Quebec adopts this increase scenario, it will not cap the admission of graduates who have completed the Quebec Experience Program (PEQ), which is also undergoing new reform. The actual number of immigrants received each year could therefore continue to rise. In 2022 it was 2000, but in 2021 it will be 8000.
The 60,000 option is not without risk, according to the Department of Immigration, Franciscanization and Integration (MIFI). In its consultation book released this morning, Quebec agrees it would walk a tightrope if it chose to deviate from the status quo.
“Despite the labor shortages observed in several areas, an annual increase in immigration rates must not conflict with the reception capacity and French-language integration in Quebec,” reads the document presented by the minister on Thursday in the Blue Room Immigration , Christine Frechette.
Negative pressure
Last year, the Quebec Employers Council recommended that the Quebec government raise thresholds to 100,000 immigrants per year to address staff shortages. During the election campaign, the Liberal Party of Quebec had set its target at 70,000 people; Quebec Solidaire, between 60,000 and 80,000.
When asked if he had given in to their pressure, François Legault confirmed that there was only one reason that allowed him to break with his earlier statements: “The federal government is only open to an increase in economic immigration, which we control. “
However, the Canada-Quebec immigration treaty already gives him that right. “I am very surprised to hear the prime minister,” Quebec Solidaire immigration spokesman Guillaume Cliche-Rivard said during a press conference in Quebec on Thursday. “We have known for a very long time that we can completely increase our economic threshold without having permission from the federal government. »
What about temporary immigrants?
Quebec Liberal Party immigration critic Monsef Derraji criticized the Legault government for excluding from its analysis a whole segment of immigrants: temporary workers. At the end of 2022 it was 300,000. “These people use the same services as permanent employees: housing, public services, childcare, [services de] health,” he said.
MP Pascal Bérubé is concerned about the impact of these non-permanent residents in French. “What was the original slogan? “Take less, but take care of it.” Now: “Take a lot more and we won’t talk about it anymore,” he illustrated.
François Legault justified himself on Thursday by saying that this was a first step. Earlier this month, Prime Minister François Legault expressed his desire to increase Molière’s language skills requirements for both permanent and temporary immigrants. “The Quebec government does not currently require any knowledge of French [des immigrants temporaires]. So there is still room for manoeuvre. It will be in a second stage,” the prime minister said on Thursday.
The Caquiste government is calling for a “national awakening” to protect the French. So much so that this winter he launched an Action Group for the Future of the French Language (GAALF), which includes Minister Fréchette. An action plan will follow.