While small towns in the province are in dire need of an influx of labor, three quarters of all those arriving in Quebec settle in Montreal.
Specifics of Quebec's immigration system
For those not in the know, it is worth saying that the province of Quebec within Canada is in a special position. Being one of three colonies (then called Lower or French Canada) that formed the Dominion of Canada, it is currently the only French-speaking province in the country. Historically, separatist sentiments have been strong here, which almost led to the secession of Quebec from Canada as a result of the 1995 referendum.
Given this specificity, the federal government has entered into a number of agreements with Quebec that give this French-speaking province greater autonomy in many matters, including immigration. In fact, Quebec's immigration system operates in parallel to the federal immigration system.
At the same time, in recent years a practice of harmonizing Quebec's immigration programs with existing federal programs has been developed, which seems a logical step. The agreement between Quebec and Canada is such that Quebec can have its own channel for receiving immigrants, but the rules for selecting immigrants in general and overall should coincide with federal rules.
However, after the closure of business programs at the federal level and the introduction of a completely new Express Entry application system for programs aimed at skilled professionals, Quebec found itself in a unique situation – it retained the old business programs and programs for skilled professionals. At least, unlike other provinces whose program applications go through the Express Entry system, Quebec has its own separate application channel that has nothing to do with Express Entry.
As a result, a somewhat absurd situation has arisen that seriously damages the reputation of the federal government, when against the backdrop of tightening selection under federal programs, a wide gap remains in the form of Quebec programs. This looks especially strange when you consider that about 50 thousand new immigrants enter Canada annually through Quebec programs, while the total quota for all programs across Canada is about 250 thousand people.
What necessitates a review of immigration policy
Obviously, the entire situation looks completely abnormal, and it was logical to expect a review of Quebec's immigration programs to harmonize them with federal programs. Which, in fact, happened – the statement by Quebec's immigration minister is indirect evidence that the federal government demands bringing Quebec's immigration policy in line with the federal government's strategy.
Moreover, Quebec's immigration system has a number of serious shortcomings. In particular, there is a large imbalance in where immigration to the province comes from. Currently, the majority are residents of African countries. For example, every fifth immigrant to Quebec comes from Algeria or Morocco. It seems that Quebec would like to have immigrants not only from Africa but also from other regions of the world.
It is also noted that almost every second immigrant (43% of the total number of immigrants) does not speak a word of French, while the reason for the emergence of Quebec's autonomous immigration system was precisely to attract French-speaking residents to preserve Francophone culture.
Also among the shortcomings of the current system is that three quarters of all arrivals settle in Montreal, while small towns in the province are in dire need of an influx of labor but are not receiving it. Apparently, within the framework of the new strategy, a mechanism will be created to encourage new immigrants to go not only to Montreal.
Finally, far from all those who go through immigration under Quebec's immigration system stay to live in the province. Quebec is quite specific, with many problems, primarily economic, so many immigrants do not stay there for long. And this already makes Quebec's immigration system pointless, since its purpose is to ensure an influx of population precisely to this province.
All this undoubtedly requires a review of the province's overall immigration strategy, which has been in place unchanged for 25 years, with the adoption of a new legislative framework that would provide solutions to the problems described above. But the main thing, apparently, is pressure from federal authorities to bring Quebec's programs and rules for receiving immigrants in line with the all-Canada approach.
In particular, a key point of Quebec's new strategy should be the admission of immigrants in occupations for which there is unmet demand in the province, filling vacant positions with immigrants. That is, in fact, it is about copying the new federal strategy.
What to expect in the near future
Quebec's immigration minister emphasized in her statement that consultations with public organizations and business circles will be held in the coming months to develop a new strategy. Based on past practice, this means that the law and the strategy itself have already been prepared, and the announced consultations are mainly needed to follow protocol, with minor amendments.
Therefore, one can say with a high degree of confidence that by the end of the year the new law and new immigration strategy will be adopted, and from 2016 Quebec will begin accepting immigration applications under new programs and new rules.
It can also be said with a high degree of confidence that the new Quebec strategy and immigration programs will be largely identical to the federal ones. It cannot be ruled out that from 2016, Quebec will be connected to the Express Entry application system, like all other provinces.
What is still unclear is the question of what will happen to the current programs. In particular, under the Quebec Skilled Worker Program, applications were closed on August 11, 2014, after the quota of 6,500 applications was reached. Applications were supposed to resume on April 1, 2015. However, in light of the start of a radical review of immigration strategy, it may well happen that there will be no intake this year. At least, such a possibility cannot be ruled out. The same applies to Quebec's business programs.
As noted by «Русский Торонто», this means that a period of great uncertainty has begun for Quebec's immigration programs, which will last until early 2016.