On October 31, 2024, the Quebec government introduced its Immigration Plan for 2025, aiming to admit up to 51,500 people for regular admissions and 15,000 holders of a Quebec Selection Certificate (CSQ) under the Quebec Experience Program (PEQ), “Diplômés du Québec” stream (volet Diplômés).
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CILA welcomes the government’s efforts to respect the multi-year orientations established in September 2023, particularly by maintaining the immigration targets of 50,000 annual admissions for 2025 and allowing the continuous admission of permanent residence candidates who have obtained a CSQ under the PEQ volet Diplômés.
However, CILA has significant reservations about the temporary measures announced to control the growth of permanent immigration in Quebec, including the suspension of the PEQ volet Diplômés and the Regular Skilled Worker Program (PRTQ) as well as its successor program, the Skilled Worker Selection Program (PSTQ).
PEQ volet Diplômés
Given the Significant increase in the number of admissions of skilled workers under the PEQ volet Diplômés, the Quebec government has chosen to temporarily restrict the reception of new applications in this program.
CILA expresses its reservations about the effects of this suspension planned until June 30, 2025, at the latest, which creates uncertainty for international students wishing to plan their path to permanent residence in Quebec at the end of their studies.
Reason for the significant increase in the number of CSQs issued under the PEQ volet Diplômés
According to its forecasts, the Quebec Ministry of Immigration, Francisation, and Integration (MIFI) plans to issue approximately 14,500 CSQs under the PEQ volet Diplômés in 2024.
This increase is significant compared to the last two years, with 1,958 CSQs issued in 2022 and 3,643 in 2023.
The rapid increase in the number of CSQs issued under this program in 2024 is mainly due to regulatory changes adopted by the Quebec government.
Indeed, in July 2020, new requirements were introduced under the PEQ volet Diplômés, adding a 12 or 18-month work experience requirement after studies and a French language requirement for accompanying spouses. These changes allowed students who completed their studies before December 31, 2020, to obtain a CSQ without meeting the work experience requirement. Therefore, from January 1, 2021, foreign graduates had to accumulate at least one year of professional experience to be eligible for a CSQ via this stream of the PEQ.
This requirement was lifted in November 2023, allowing eligible graduates to submit their CSQ application without work experience, provided they meet all other program requirements.
As a result of this policy change, graduates between January 2021 and November 2023 suddenly became eligible for the PEQ volet Diplômés, leading to a surge in applications in 2024, bringing the number of CSQs issued to approximately 14,500 for the year.
Suspension of the program
With 14,500 CSQs expected for 2024, it is reasonable to expect that nearly 15,000 people will be admitted as permanent residents under the PEQ volet Diplômés in 2025.
To control the number of people admitted in 2025, the Quebec government has decided to temporarily suspend the program from October 31, 2024, until June 30, 2025, at the latest.
Firstly, CILA deplores the lack of delay to allow eligible international students to submit their application under the PEQ volet Diplômés or of other transitional measures. Moreover, CILA expresses doubts about the effectiveness of this temporary suspension.
The 2025 Immigration Plan provides for the selection of a maximum of 5,700 people through the PEQ volet Diplômés. However, the temporary suspension of the program only postpones the admissions of graduate students.
By reopening the program in July 2025, if the selection conditions remain unchanged, we should expect a sharp increase in the number of applications that will be submitted in the days following the program’s reopening, which will push the number of candidates beyond the immigration targets set by the Quebec government.
Consequently, CILA questions the plausibility of the 5,700 selection target for 2025 considering the means chosen by the government to achieve it.
The imposition of this suspension without notice also creates uncertainty among international students. They may legitimately be concerned about the instability of Quebec’s immigration programs and find themselves unable to plan their study and immigration path in Quebec.
At a minimum, CILA recommends that the Quebec government clarifies, as soon as possible, whether the permanent selection criteria for the PEQ volet Diplômés will remain unchanged or if they will be modified upon the program’s reopening.
Impact of the suspension of the PEQ volet Diplômés on Quebec’s attractiveness for international students
CILA expresses its concerns about the impact of the uncertainty caused by this suspension on the student population and, more broadly, on Quebec’s attractiveness as a destination of choice for Francophone international students.
For several years, the Quebec government has recognized the importance of foreign students and has launched several initiatives to strengthen its attractiveness. For example, grants have been awarded to Montreal International and Quebec International to attract and retain Francophone international students, as well as the exemption of additional tuition fees for foreign students who choose to pursue their studies in French and in the region.
CILA believes that the instability in immigration programs related to students, including the recent suspension of the PEQ volet Diplômés, harms Quebec’s attractiveness on the international stage by creating an atmosphere of uncertainty among foreign students.
To ensure that Quebec remains an attractive choice for the most talented Francophone students, CILA recommends that the government be more transparent. Specifically, the Quebec government should ensure that foreign students affected by a change in permanent immigration policy can benefit from notice or transitional measures for students already in Quebec when the changes come into effect.
Graduates of a study program dispensed in English
Finally, lets note that the reform of the PEQ volet Diplômés, introduced in November 2023, now requires that the eligible study program be followed in French in Quebec or that the applicant has completed at least three years of secondary or post-secondary studies in French full-time.
This requirement was to come into effect on November 23, 2024, and many graduates of an eligible program conducted in English had until November 22, 2024, to submit a CSQ application under the PEQ volet Diplômés, provided they met the previous French language requirement.
The suspension of the program from October 31, 2024, deprives many graduates of the opportunity to submit their CSQ application, despite their efforts over the past year to learn French and comply with the requirements.
Moreover, these graduates will be unable to submit their CSQ application under the PEQ volet Diplômés when the program resumes in 2025, as the new requirements will have taken effect in the meantime.
Once again, CILA denounces the lack of transparency and the absence of transitional measures. CILA therefore proposes that the Quebec government implement transitional measures for these graduates, allowing them to submit their CSQ application according to the criteria applicable before the program’s suspension.
Suspension of invitations for the PRTQ/PSTQ
The 2025 Immigration Plan provides for the selection of approximately 29,000 skilled workers in 2024 and approximately 25,800 in 2025, a reduction of 3,200 selected individuals. These selections will mainly be divided between the PEQ volet Travailleurs étrangers temporaires (TET stream) and the PRTQ/PSTQ.
Regarding the PRTQ/PSTQ, let’s remember that the MIFI controls invitations for the program, imposing criteria such as French proficiency, a condition introduced in May 2023.
Since the increase in skilled worker selections mainly results from the increase in CSQ applications under the PEQ volet Diplômés, CILA questions the relevance of simultaneously suspending the PRTQ/PSTQ and the PEQ volet Diplômés.
The suspension of the PRTQ/PSTQ risks placing several high-quality Francophone candidates, already established in Quebec and benefiting from temporary status, in a precarious situation. This includes temporary foreign workers, for whom Quebec has facilitated obtaining a work permit, as well as graduates not eligible for the PEQ volet Diplômés.
Temporary foreign workers
In August 2021, the Quebec government requested from the Canadian government to relax the eligibility criteria for the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP), including exemptions from demonstrating recruitment efforts for certain low or unskilled occupations, as well as the addition of low-skilled occupations to Quebec’s simplified processing list.
These changes have facilitated the arrival of foreign workers to meet Quebec’s pressing labor market needs. Often employed in low-paid positions, these workers are particularly vulnerable due to their precarious status and work permits that limit them to a single employer and a specific occupation.
With work permits valid for a maximum of 2 to 3 years, many of these workers will see their status expire this year or next year, without the possibility of extension due to recent restrictions on the TFWP announced by the Canadian government.
These workers, whose positions are classified in NOC categories 4 or 5, do not have access to the PEQ volet TET, and thus the PRTQ/PSTQ represented their only path to permanent residence in Quebec.
CILA therefore expresses serious concerns about the consequences of the suspension of the PRTQ/PSTQ for these vulnerable workers. Without access to the PRTQ/PSTQ, they find themselves in an increasingly precarious situation, even though they occupy jobs where Quebec recognizes that the workforce is in shortage.
Instead of suspending the PRTQ/PSTQ, CILA suggests that the government allow people already employed in Quebec and holding a permanent job offer to continue their immigration process through the PRTQ/PSTQ.
CILA wishes to remind that the PSTQ, which will come into effect on November 29, 2024, provides a specific stream for candidates occupying an intermediate and manual skills occupation with at least one year of experience in Quebec.
These individuals are already integrated into Quebec, occupy jobs in labor shortage areas, and contribute tangibly to Quebec’s economy and the vitality of its regions.
Quebec Graduates
In addition to temporary foreign workers, the suspension of invitations to the PRTQ/PSTQ also affects many graduates of study programs that are not eligible to the PEQ volet Diplômés.
For example, holders of an Attestation of Collegial Studies (AEC), a Diploma of Vocational Studies (DEP) of less than 1,800 hours, or a Specialized Graduate Diploma (DESS) can obtain a post-graduation work permit (PGWP), but are not eligible for the PEQ volet Diplômés.
Most of these graduates receive a PGWP of less than two years, preventing them from accumulating the two years of full-time work required to qualify for the PEQ volet TET.
The suspension of the PRTQ/PSTQ places these graduates in a precarious situation, as they often have no other option to access permanent residence in Quebec.
Take the example of an early childhood educator who obtained an AEC in Early Childhood Education Techniques and works in a daycare. With a PGWP of less than two years, she will not have time to qualify for the PEQ volet TET without renewing her work permit.
The PRTQ/PSTQ could have offered her a path to permanent residence, subject to meeting the invitation and selection criteria. The suspension of the PRTQ/PSTQ until next June will leave this person and many others in similar situations in a precarious situation, especially if their work permits expire soon.
For these reasons, CILA proposes that the government allow people already employed in Quebec and holding a permanent job offer to continue their immigration process through the PRTQ/PSTQ.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the announcement by the Quebec government to temporarily suspend applications under the PEQ volet Diplômés and the PRTQ/PSTQ raises serious concerns within CILA.
While the government’s intention to control permanent immigration levels in Quebec is legitimate, CILA believes that the Quebec government has chosen an ineffective approach that does not consider the ultimate impact of the measures on the total number of foreign nationals in Quebec. Moreover, the chosen approach does not consider the impacts on the individuals and businesses directly affected by the announced suspensions.
Temporary residents are already integrated into Quebec society, actively contribute to the economy, and are ideal candidates for permanent residence.
The suspension of the programs will only reduce admissions in 2026. In the meantime, many temporary residents risk losing their status, compromising their integration and creating difficulties for Quebec employers who depend on their presence.
