Instead of 50 thousand immigrants, the Canadian province of Quebec will accept only 40 thousand people
During a visit to France in January 2019, François Legault also stated that Quebec would give preference to immigrants from Europe, particularly from France, over immigrants from other parts of the world. As Legault explained, among the immigrants who choose Quebec to live, many lack sufficient qualifications and have poor French language skills. Therefore, Quebec would like to see more immigrants from France and Europe in general.
The reduction in the number of immigrants accepted drew criticism from the opposition, which believes that limiting the number of immigrants accepted will negatively affect the province's economy. According to various estimates, to maintain balance in the labor market, the province of Quebec will need about 1.3 million new workers in the next 10 years. The opposition also considers the preference for Europeans a form of discrimination.
As noted by "Russian Toronto", the province of Quebec is the most active in terms of accepting immigrants, with the largest quota, and the change in sentiment within the province on this issue is a worrying sign. The reason for the change in sentiment, however, is quite simple: it was Quebec that in 2017-2018 bore the brunt of the main wave of illegal immigrants from the United States. It was the dissatisfaction of the province's residents with the uncontrolled influx of refugees that became the irritant that led to increased negative attitudes toward immigrants.
The situation is further aggravated by the fact that the province controls only 70% of immigrant intake, while the remaining 30% is handled by the federal government, and in this case it is precisely about refugees, which also causes dissatisfaction among the province's residents. This situation could change if the liberals are replaced by conservatives in power this fall, who promise to give Quebec much more freedom in resolving immigration issues.