Question Period Note: QUEBEC IMMIGRATION

Canada-Quebec relationship on immigration matters

• The federal and Quebec governments recognize the important role that immigration plays in building prosperous communities.
• Quebec already has significant flexibility and power in the area of immigration, and we have been working very closely with them over the last 4 years.
• It is a very important partnership and I look forward to continue building a working relationship with Minister Jolin-Barrette and ensuring Quebec continues to benefit from the contributions newcomers make to the economy and society at large.
• We work closely with Quebec on processing applications. Quebec’s lower immigration levels means applicants destined to the province could see longer wait times.

Canada-Quebec Accord: roles and responsibilities

• The Canada-Quebec Accord came into force in April 1991. The objectives of the Accord are to preserve Quebec’s demographic weight within Canada and support the integration of immigrants, while respecting its distinct identity. To this end, Quebec can receive a percentage of all immigrants coming to Canada equal to the percentage of its demographic weight in Canada (currently 23%), and can select certain classes of immigrants destined to the province.

• Quebec selects all immigrants destined to that province, except for those in the family class and protected persons. However, the federal government remains responsible for determining the admissibility of all immigrants to Quebec and for issuing permanent resident visas.

• While the federal government is responsible for establishing annually the total number of immigrants for the country as a whole, it takes Quebec’s advice into consideration on the number of immigrants that it wishes to receive in all classes, not just those for which they have selection authority.

• The Accord can only be modified with the agreement of the Government of Quebec.

Asylum seekers

• Quebec has been a key partner in managing the flux of irregular migrants and providing temporary housing, social services and education to asylum seekers.

• Since 2017, Quebec is hosting a significant number of asylum seekers waiting for their claims to be assessed. From January 2017 to October 2019, almost 50,000 asylum seekers have been intercepted in Quebec. It is estimated that 60% of these asylum seekers remain in the province.

• In 2019, the federal government provided $250M in compensation to Quebec for costs incurred by the province to provide services to asylum claimants in 2017 and 2018.

Funding under the Canada-Quebec Accord

As part of the Accord, the federal government provides an annual grant to Quebec, which notionally supports the delivery of settlement and integration services in the province.

• Quebec received approximately $560 million under the Accord in 2018-2019, a $70 million increase compared to 2017-2018, as a result of the funding formula in the Accord.

• The funding formula in the Accord is based on two factors: the variation in federal expenditures (i.e., federal spending) and the variation in the number of non-French speaking immigrants admitted to Quebec.

• The grant can never decrease, since the amount established in the previous year becomes the baseline for the next year. The amount of the grant is not directly linked to provincial immigrant intake.

• While Quebec is not accountable to the federal government for how it spends the grant it receives under the Accord, Quebec must provide settlement and integration services that are comparable to the rest of the country.

• From 2013-2014 to 2016-2017, four comparative studies of settlement and integration services were conducted and consistently concluded that there was an overall high level of alignment of services between Canada and Quebec.

• In 2019, Quebec committed $730M over five years to provide settlement services.

Introduction of Bill 9

• In June 2019, the government of Quebec adopted Bill 9, which lays the legislative groundwork for revamping its immigration system, including by imposing conditions on foreign nationals in order to be selected for immigration to Quebec (including French language and Quebec values).

• They have also put in place a number of measures to ensure a better alignment between immigration selection and labour market needs, and to improve integration outcomes. To support these objectives, Quebec has temporarily reduced its immigration levels and is expanding settlement services, including French language training, to temporary foreign workers to eventually qualify them for permanent residence.

• Implications of these proposed changes for the federal government are currently being assessed.
Quebec’s 2019 Immigration Levels Plan

• Quebec reduced its immigration levels to 40,000 admissions in 2019, down from 51,000 in 2018.

On October 30, 2019, Quebec tabled its 2020 immigration levels plan. This plan confirms that Quebec will seek to progressively increase its admissions to an overall range of 43,000 – 44,500 admissions in 2020 (from a range of 38,000 – 42,000 admissions in 2019). Increases are largely in the economic category, with modest growth in the family class and no growth in the refugee class. [REDACTED]

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