Francois Legault’s Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) has won two consecutive elections.
After the polls closed, the CAQ was declared the victorious party in under eleven minutes. With significant electoral gains, the party’s representation in Quebec’s National Assembly increased from 76 to 90 seats. Since the Liberals won the election in 1989, Quebec has enjoyed the strongest majority government. In Quebec, parties only need 63 seats to obtain a majority.
Since its establishment in 2011, the CAQ has positioned itself as the best party to develop the province’s economy. As well as enhance the healthcare system, and defend the status of the French language in Quebec.
The topic of immigration is widely seen as a way to reduce Quebec’s labor shortage. It has also been widely discussed this election. A low birth rate and an aging population are causing Quebec’s workforce to have large gaps, like the rest of Canada.
Immigration Changes during the previous term
Immigration is a matter that falls under the jurisdiction of both the federal and provincial governments. The province of Quebec, however, has complete control over the choice of economic immigrants. Quebec’s CAQ has given priority to immigrants from French-speaking nations over the past four years in order to preserve the province’s unique cultural identity. The region of Quebec publishes a plan to determine the number of immigrants. It will accept each year in its Immigration Levels Plan. According to the strategy for 2022, 49,500 to 52,200 immigrants are needed in total.
It is the economic group that has the highest percentage of newcomers, with a maximum target of 33,900. It is anticipated that up to 28,800 qualified employees. 4,300 business immigrants will be accepted by the province, among them investors, business owners, and independent contractors.
Targets for immigration may change
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the province has agreed to admit 18,000 additional immigrants this year as a temporary fix. A population of more than 70,000 immigrants could arrive in Quebec by the end of 2022, based on these statistics. To increase immigrant selection and francization in Quebec, the CAQ’s 2019 immigration levels plan cut targets by 20%.
In the wake of the CAQ cutting admission targets, the Quebec government has made significant investments to ensure that all new permanent residents are integrated and franchised. For instance, the budget for 2022–2023 lists initiatives totaling $290 million for boosting French language assistance for immigrants, luring immigrants to areas outside of Montreal, and speeding up the processing of immigration applications.
Future Changes to immigration law
Only 50,000 newcomers will be admitted into Quebec annually during Legault’s term. He claims that given the difficulty of integrating newcomers into Quebec society. This is the maximum number of immigrants that Quebec can accept, particularly for those who must acquire French. The CAQ party’s commitment to preserving the French in Quebec is one of its key tenets.
As 11,000 of the immigrants, Quebec expects to accept are family class immigrants. The CAQ is likewise in favor of having influence over their selection. Now, Quebec has been denied the authority to determine who may enter as a family class immigrant by the federal government, which also makes this decision.
Bill 96, a bill that restricts the use of English in Quebec courts and government services, was tabled earlier this year by the CAQ. The measure has drawn criticism for a provision that limits access to public facilities, such as hospitals, in English for newcomers to Quebec for the first six months after their arrival.
Legal proceedings are currently underway regarding the bill.
