CIMM – Quebec Key Facts – February 28, 2024

Key Figures

Quebec’s Annual Compensation for Settlement/Integration Services (Accord payment)

(Incremental increase for 2023-2024 of $48.3M)

Asylum Claimants in Quebec (2022-present)

Work Permits Issued to Temporary Foreign Workers in Quebec

Initial Work permits Approved for asylum claims made in Quebec

IHAP reimbursement to Quebec

Key Facts

• Canada-Quebec Accord: IRCC’s bilateral relationship with Quebec is defined by the 1991 Canada-Quebec Accord (the Accord), and is guided by the principle that immigration should support the preservation of Quebec’s demographic weight in Canada and its distinct identity.
• The federal government remains responsible for determining the admissibility of all immigrants to Quebec and for issuing permanent resident visas.
• Compensation under the Accord: Quebec receives an annual compensation to provide settlement and integration services.
• The base amount for the Canada-Quebec funding included in the 2023-2024 Main Estimates is $726.7M, which is also the total amount of the grant from the previous year 2022-2023. For fiscal year 2023–2024, Quebec can expect to receive a total of $775.1 million as part of its annual grant under the Canada–Quebec Accord. The incremental increase (grant adjustment) for 2023-2024 is $48.3M.
• International Students: On January 22, 2024, the federal government introduced a two-year cap on the number of study permit applications that IRCC will accept each year.
• Quebec will retain its autonomy to determine which applicants will receive the Certificat d’acceptation du Québec (CAQ). As of February 13, 2024, the CAQ will now confirm if a student is within Quebec’s cap allocation.
• Since December 1, 2023, post-secondary designated learning institutions (DLI) are required to confirm every applicant’s letter of acceptance directly with IRCC.
• Temporary Foreign Workers Program (TFWP): TFWP is jointly managed by ESDC and Quebec. Quebec issues Certificat d’acceptation du Québec (CAQ) to temporary foreign workers (TFWs) who work in Quebec.
• Employers seeking to hire TFWs in Quebec must obtain approval from both ESDC and Quebec before IRCC can issue a work permit.
• TFWs working in the province of Quebec through any of the International Mobility Program (IMP) streams do not require a CAQ; however, TFWs who are selected for permanent residence in Quebec and who have received a Certificat de selection du Québec (CSQ) can obtain an open work permit through the IMP+.
• IRCC issued over 9,700 work permit renewals to temporary foreign workers in Quebec in 2023.
• Immigration Levels: As established in the Accord, Quebec sets its own immigration levels plan, which the Government of Canada takes into account for the overall Immigration Levels plan.
• For 2024 and 2025, Quebec’s immigration levels will be at approximately 50,000 (range of 48.5k to 51.5k) regular admissions per year, plus ongoing (uncapped) admissions of people selected under the "Quebec Graduates" stream of the Programme de l'expérience québécoise (PEQ) as well as the Gens d’affaires redacted.
• As per the Accord, the maximum number of immigrants that Quebec can take is equivalent to its demographic weight (currently 23%) plus 5%, for a total of 28%.
• Quebec’s immigration levels plan for 2024 and 2025 is sitting at slightly more than 14% of their demographic weight.
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• Canada has authority over the entry of asylum claimants, and of determining and granting refugee and protected persons status to asylum claimants.
• In 2022, Quebec received 64% of all claimants in Canada, an outlier because of volumes at Roxham Road.
• In 2023, Quebec received 46% of all claimants, or 65,575. Of those,18,265 (28%) left Quebec for other parts of Canada.
• Taking into account interprovincial movement (determined through last known address), Quebec’s share of claimants in 2022 was 48% and 35% in 2023, when considering secondary migration to and from Quebec.
• Since the implementation of the STCA Additional Protocol on March 25th, 2023, the number of claims made between ports of entry and at Lacolle Port of Entry has significantly decreased.
• Quebec continues to maintain the 1,150 bed capacity that it has had in place since 2019, while other jurisdictions are increasing their shelter space.
• In response to an increase of asylum claimants at Pierre Elliott Trudeau Airport, IRCC has provided temporary hotel accommodation for these asylum claimants when Quebec has hit its maximum capacity. When IRCC reaches full capacity in Quebec, IRCC transfers asylum claimants who voluntarily agree to Ontario. Previously, transfers were also made to the Atlantic provinces and British Columbia.
• In 2023, IRCC approved 60.6K initial work permits to asylum claimants that made asylum claims in Quebec. As of January 27, 80% of asylum claimants in the last 8 weeks waited 9 days or less for their work permit once the eligibility decision was made and the medical activity completed.
• IHAP: Through the Interim Housing Assistance Program (IHAP), the Federal Government has reimbursed $440.9M to Quebec for costs incurred between 2017 and 2022. On January 31, 2024, IRCC announced an additional $362.4 million in funding for IHAP as part of the 2023–2024 fiscal year.