the CanadaVisa Team - 14 April, 2016
In what opposition parties have labeled a government backtrack, Quebec's Immigration Minister, Kathleen Weil, has said that the the province will maintain its current immigration levels of 50,000 for the next couple of years. Last month, the government of Quebec announced a proposal for a new immigration framework called 'Ensemble, nous sommes le Québec' (Together, We Are Quebec), with the government proposing that overall immigration levels could reach 60,000.
The proposal (Law 77) came into effect April 6, 2016. The new system aims to respond better to Quebec's ongoing labour market needs by adopting an Expression of Interest (EOI) model, whereby people interested in immigrating to Quebec must fill out an EOI so that the government can assemble a bank of candidates best suited to Quebec’s needs. Candidates are then be invited to apply for immigration on a priority basis.
“We just adopted Bill 77 and I tabled a policy,” Weil said. “In my policy, what’s in there is a major, major reform of our immigration system, how we select, how we’re going to better integrate these immigrants and how we’re all going to live together in social cohesion. To be able to put these measures in place, there’s always a transition period.”
This 'transition period' forms the basis of the government's decision to keep immigration levels closer to 50,000 for the time being, rather than the 60,000 that was proposed last month. The document published last month stated that “at 60,000, Quebec would prevent its working-age population from dipping below 2011 levels.”
It should be noted that the government of Quebec has not dismissed its original plan to raise immigration levels by around 20 percent. Rather, it is taking a more gradual approach than originally planned. Through the Canada-Quebec Accord, Quebec has greater jurisdiction over immigration policy than other Canadian provinces.
In announcement of 'Ensemble, nous sommes le Québec' last month, the government stated the following objectives:
The government states that the online application process for those wishing to immigrate to Québec will be simple, fast, and efficient. This will allow Québec to be competitive internationally,
In its official guide to the new plan, the government of Québec says that 'Like many other societies, Québec is facing significant demographic change, including a slowdown in population growth, a decline in the working-age population, and an aging population. Without productivity gains, these changes will have serious repercussions on Québec's prosperity. Action must be taken now in order to mitigate their impact.'
It is not yet known when the new system will be operational.
The Quebec Skilled Worker Program (QSWP), Québec's flagship immigration program, is scheduled to have two more application intake periods based on the existing first-come, first-served model (i.e. not based on the Expression of Interest method outlined above).
The announcement that up to 5,000 applications will be accepted in June, and another 5,000 at a later date, is likely to be well received by candidates who have created an account in Mon projet Québec, as the previous scheduled quota was set at 2,800 applications to be accepted.
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