Quebec has announced its Immigration Levels Plan for 2024 and 2025.
Under the new Immigration Levels Plan, Quebec will look to welcome 50,000 new immigrants per year in 2024 and 2025.
In addition to the 50,000 new immigrant admissions per year, Quebec will also welcome new permanent residents through continuous admissions as part of the Quebec Experience Program (PEQ).
Continuous admissions means that Quebec admits new applicants as part of the PEQ while their applications for permanent residence (PR) are submitted.
PR applications are then reviewed by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) without considering the annual provincial immigration targets, while applicants are allowed to stay in Quebec.
As per the new immigration guidelines, the economic class will be the biggest source of admissions in Quebec, with 31,950 new immigrants to be admitted in 2024 and 2025 each under this class.
Skilled workers will make up the bulk of the economic class arrivals – 30,650 in 2024 and 31,500 in 2025.
Other economic class arrivals will belong to the business category, with 1,250 admissions planned for 2024, rising to 1,450 admissions in 2025.
Immigration levels for new immigrants arriving under the family class will remain capped at 10,400 for both 2024 and 2025.
In addition to announcing the new Immigration Levels Plan, the Quebec provincial government also confirmed the requirement of having knowledge in the French language for economic programs.
As a result, skilled workers participating in the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) to Quebec will require an oral knowledge of level 4 French.
The new Immigration Plan reflects Quebec’s goal of using immigration to respond to an aging population and critical shortages in the labour market, and support economic development throughout the province.
Owing to its special status in Canada, Quebec is the only province that has the authority to shape its immigration targets separately from the Canadian federal government.
Having the ability to define its own immigration targets helps Quebec to preserve its distinct Francophone character, and the provincial government plans to increase the number of French-speaking immigrants to strengthen the implementation of “Francisation Quebec”.