COW – Quebec Key Facts – June 9, 2025

Key Facts and Figures

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

Asylum Claimants in Quebec (As of April 30, 2025)

Initial Work Permits Issued for Asylum Claims made in Quebec

Number of Work Permits (including Extensions) Issued under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and Destined to Work in Quebec^{Table footnote *}

Key Messages

Canada-Quebec Accord: Roles and Responsibilities

• The objectives of the 1991 Canada-Quebec Accord are to preserve Quebec’s demographic weight within Canada and support the integration of immigrants in the province, while respecting its distinct identity.
• Quebec selects economic immigrants and resettled refugees destined to that province and the federal government selects permanent residents in the family class and protected persons.
• Both governments jointly administer the International Student Program and the Temporary Foreign Worker Program.
• The federal government remains responsible for determining the admissibility (i.e., health, security and criminality) of all immigrants to Quebec and for issuing permanent resident visas.
• Under the Accord, Quebec provides settlement and integration services, with financial compensation from the federal government (i.e., an annual grant). For 2024–2025, Quebec received $867.4 million.

Immigration Levels:

• As established in the Accord, Quebec sets its own immigration levels, which the Government of Canada takes into account for the overall federal Immigration Levels plan.
• Quebec’s 2025 immigration Levels plan sets a target of approximately 50,000 regular permanent resident admissions per year plus ongoing (uncapped) admissions of people selected under a “Quebec Graduates” stream, estimated to reach as many as 15,000 admissions.
• Quebec’s plan for 2026 will include temporary resident targets, just like Canada’s national immigration levels plan. We understand Quebec will launch public consultations on its levels plan in the near future.

Asylum Claimants:

• Quebec welcomed a large number of asylum claimants during the height of irregular border crossings at Roxham Road from 2021 to 2023. Since the implementation of the Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) Additional Protocol on March 25, 2023, the number of claimants arriving between ports of entry has significantly decreased.
• The federal government provided $750M to the Government of Quebec in recognition of the temporary housing and asylum-related challenges caused by irregular border crossings.
• IRCC works with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to monitor irregular crossings into Canada, notably those that result in asylum claims. Recent actions under Canada’s Border Plan have increased RCMP presence along the border increasing their capacity to undertake such interceptions.
• Through the investments made under Canada’s Border Plan, our law enforcement officials are now better prepared to address any changes in irregular migration volumes. We will continue to work closely with our U.S. counterparts to investigate, as well as monitor volumes of irregular migration in both directions.
• The Government has been working bilaterally with interested provinces and territories to voluntarily relocate asylum claimants from Ontario and Quebec, in recognition of the large volumes of claimants these jurisdictions receive.

Francophone Immigration to Quebec:

• Quebec seeks to prioritize francophone immigration, with a stated objective of 100% francophone economic immigration.
• To support their objectives, Quebec has asked that French language proficiency requirements be added to select temporary worker applicants where they do not have authority to do so themselves. The Department is pursing regulatory changes to its International Mobility Program in Fall 2025 and to fully implement this requirement by 2028 (aligned with Quebec’s planned implementation timeline).