Prime Minister François Legault, the Minister of Immigration, Francisation and Integration, Christine Fréchette and the Minister of the French Language, Jean-Francois Roberge, announced the details of the Quebec Immigration Plan for 2024 and the final guidelines for the Immigration Plan in Quebec for 2024 and 2025.
In 2024 and 2025, the Quebec government plans to increase the number of French-speaking immigrants and also increase the knowledge of French among immigrants through the implementation of “Francisation Quebec”.
These measures include selecting candidates that are proficient in French, encouraging younger immigrants to come to Quebec to limit the effects of the aging population of the province, and promote the reception, integration, and retention of immigrants in all regions of the province.
Yearly immigration to Quebec
The Quebec government has also decided to keep the immigration number at 50,000 admissions to Quebec per year, which will be added to the on-going, “continuous” admissions of individuals selected as part of the Quebec Experience Program (PEQ).
Continuous admissions means that people selected as part of the PEQ will be admitted while their applications for permanent residence (PR) are submitted. The PR applications will be examined by the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) without considering the annual provincial targets.
In accordance with the guidelines, the majority of immigration to the province will come from the economic immigration category. Admissions in this category will remain at 31,950 in 2024 and 2025.
Skilled workers will make up the bulk of economic immigration. The target for skilled workers will increase slightly from 30,650 in 2024 to 31,500 in 2025. Immigration admissions in the business category will increase from 1,250 admissions in 2024 to 1,450 admissions in 2025.
Immigration levels in the family class will remain at 10,400 admissions for each year.
Requiring French language knowledge
The government also confirmed the enactment of the regulatory modifications that make knowledge of French compulsory for economic programs. The government of Quebec intends to require an oral knowledge of level 4 French for workers participating in the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP).
However, there will be an exception to the French language requirements for agricultural workers. Those eligible for the exception are workers who are applying to renew their Quebec Acceptance Certificate (CAQ) after living and working in Quebec for more than three years.
The government has also opted to release the Immigration Plan for the next two years rather than four in order to monitor the situation and determine the impact of the new measures, while ensuring the vitality of the French language.
The Immigration Plan also reflects the Quebec Government’s goal of using immigration to the province to respond to labour market needs and support economic development, while recognizing Quebec’s capacity to welcome and integrate newcomers in French.