Canada’s reduced immigration targets are election ploy, says advocates
Quebec’s Immigration Minister Jean-François Roberge introduced the province’s 2025 immigration plan, which includes a moratorium on two permanent immigration programs.
According to Montreal’s Immigrant Workers Centre, newcomers have shifted from being seen as “guardian angels” during the COVID-19 pandemic to being blamed for various national and provincial social issues.
In October, both the federal and provincial governments announced new immigration restrictions. Quebec’s Immigration Minister Jean-François Roberge introduced the province’s 2025 immigration plan, which includes a moratorium on two permanent immigration programs.
The two programs affected are the Regular Skilled Worker Program and the Quebec Experience Program (PEQ), which allows international students to fast-track their path to citizenship. The freeze on these programs will last eight months and aims to limit the number of permanent immigrants entering Quebec in the coming year.
Around the same time, Ottawa revealed plans to reduce immigration by 20 percent over the next two years, with an even lower target set for 2027. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, speaking at a retreat in Halifax in August, emphasized that Canada has a responsibility to ensure proper integration and provide pathways for success for all newcomers.
However, the Immigrant Workers Centre argues that these measures are politically motivated, aimed at boosting the government’s popularity ahead of elections. The Centre contends that, ultimately, these policies will create more problems rather than solving them.
