SECU – Quebec Key Facts – September 19, 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 to June 2024)

Initial work permits issued for asylum claims made in Quebec

Interim Housing Assistance Program reimbursement to Quebec

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

Key Facts

• Canada-Quebec Accord: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s (IRCC) 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 visas.
• Compensation under the Accord: Quebec receives an annual compensation to provide settlement and integration services.
• For fiscal year 2023-2024, Quebec received a total of $775.1M as part of its annual grant under the Accord. The incremental increase (grant adjustment) for 2023-2024 was $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 for processing each year.
• Quebec retains its autonomy to determine which applicants will receive the Certificat d’acceptation du Québec (CAQ). As of February 13, 2024, the CAQ now confirms if a student is within Quebec’s cap allocation.
• Since December 1, 2023, post-secondary designated learning institutions are required to confirm every applicant’s letter of acceptance directly with IRCC.
• On August 20, 2024, Premier Legault announced Quebec’s intention to introduce new legislation in the fall that would allow the province to set its own quotas for admissions of international students in certain learning institutions.
• Temporary Foreign Workers Program (TFWP): Employers seeking to hire temporary foreign workers (TFWs) under the TFWP in Quebec must obtain a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) issued jointly by Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) and Quebec before IRCC can issue a work permit.
• Quebec also issues CAQs to TFWs who are seeking to work in Quebec under the TFWP.
• 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 sélection du Québec may be eligible for a work permit under the IMP.
• On January 1, 2024, a new agreement came into force between Canada, represented by the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, and Quebec, represented by the Quebec Ministre de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration (MIFI). Under the agreement, selected investor candidates who receive a Quebec notice of intent to select are eligible for an open work permit.
• Quebec has asked that a French language requirement be added to the IMP stream. In order to implement this language requirement under in-scope IMP streams, regulatory amendments will be required.
• The Department will consult with English language minority communities in Quebec.
• IRCC is committed to implement changes in line with Quebec’s timing.
• IRCC issued over 9,700 work permit renewals to TFWs in Quebec in 2023.
• On August 20, 2024, Quebec announced a six-months moratorium on lower-wage TFW applications in the Montreal area, effective September 3, 2024.
• Immigration Levels: As established in the Accord, Quebec sets the number of immigrants it wishes to admit in the province each year, 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, as well as the Gens d’affaires coming through the backlog reduction initiative requested by the MIFI (i.e., applications received before 2023). It is anticipated that up to an additional 6,000 admissions may be achieved in each of these categories beyond what has been identified as regular admissions.
• As per the Accord, the maximum number of immigrants that Quebec can take is equivalent to its demographic weight (currently 22%) plus 5%, for a total of 27% of all permanent resident admissions to Canada.
• Quebec’s immigration levels plan for 2024 and 2025 is sitting at slightly more than 14% of their demographic weight.
• Asylum claimants: Canada has authority to determine and grant protected persons status to asylum claimants in Canada.
• 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 65,620. Of those, 26% are estimated to have left Quebec for other parts of Canada.
• Taking into account interprovincial movement (determined through last known address), Quebec’s share of claimants was 35% in 2023, when considering secondary migration to and from Quebec.
• Before the implementation of the Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) Additional Protocol on March 25, 2023, IRCC provided temporary hotel accommodation to approximately 40,000 claimants in Quebec.
• Since the implementation of the STCA Additional Protocol on March 25, 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.
• Starting in 2022, IRCC transferred asylum claimants who voluntarily agree to relocate to Ontario. Previously, transfers were also made to the Atlantic provinces and British Columbia.
• In 2023, IRCC approved 60.3K initial work permits to eligible asylum claimants that made asylum claims in Quebec. As of June 30, 2024, 80% of asylum claimants in the last eight weeks waited ten days or less for their work permit once the eligibility decision was made and the medical activity completed.
• Interim Housing Assistance Program (IHAP): Through IHAP, the federal government has reimbursed $440.9M to Quebec for costs incurred between 2017 and 2022.
• At a June 10, 2024 meeting with Premier Legault, Prime Minister (PM) Trudeau confirmed that the Government of Canada will provide $750M for the provision of services to asylum claimants, including temporary housing.
• Federal-Provincial/Territorial (FPT) Working group on Asylum: Further to the commitment made by FPT Ministers Responsible for Immigration (FMRI) at the May 2024 Ministerial Meeting and the PM’s agreement to work with other provinces and territories, the FPT Working Group on Asylum was established in June 2024. This working group provides a forum for ministers and their officials to work on better managing the flow of asylum claimants in Canada, develop a FPT voluntary relocation model for asylum claimants and improve the connections of claimants to the labour market and the necessary resources to support them.