Quebec's new government came into office October 15, the Coalition Avenir Québec - QAC. Global News reports their platform "promises to slash the number of immigrants coming into the province and to force them to take tests assessing their knowledge of the French language and of the values outlined in Quebec’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms."
Canada's aging population is a major economic concern for the Canadian government:
In 1971 there were 6.6 people of working age for each senior,
but by 2012 that ratio had gone to 4.2 to 1 and
projections show it will be at 2 to 1 by 2036.
Quebec, and the rest of Canada, are experiencing an aging population and not enough workers to fill available jobs. The Federation of Chambers of Commerce of Quebec says Quebec needs 100,000 workers to meet its labour force needs in the next decade, and nearly 7,000 Quebecers move out of the province each year and fewer than that move in. “Workforce shortages is the number one concern of businesses and entrepreneurs right now. We estimate that Quebec will need to find 100,000 workers over the next 10 years to fill our labour force needs,” said Pierre-Yves Boivin with the Federation of Chambers of Commerce of Quebec.
Quebec is the only Canadian province that can set its own immigration policies. The Quebec Immigrant Investor Program "attracts nine out of 10 of its millionaire applicants from Asia, mostly China... only one in 10 of the well-to-do migrants who take advantage of Quebec’s investor program choose to live in that province," reports the Vancouver Sun.
Canada is actively implementing programs to recruit both highly educated, skilled foreign workers as well as low-skilled workers for farm, blue collar and labour jobs:
- Canada recently celebrated their 100th Express Entry Draw.
- Canada's government started a new immigration initiative to admit 1 million immigrants over the next 3 years - 310,000 new Permanent Residents to Canada in 2018, 330,000 in 2019 and 340,000 in 2020.
- Canada's Global Talent Stream fast-tracks visa for skilled immigrants in as little as 2 weeks.
- The Start-Up Visa Program for Entrepreneurs provides private and public funding programs to support innovation and growth.
- The Atlantic Immigration Pilot recruits foreign workers for truck driving and seamstress jobs in the eastern provinces.
Immigration lawyer Evelyn Ackah says,
We need to attract qualified immigrants to Canada, and provide resources to help them successfully integrate into the Canadian way of life. Immigrants have skills, ability and knowledge that are needed to help grow our aging economy. People from around the globe want to move to Canada and build their lives here and help build a stronger Canada. Our quality of life and values in Canada are very appealing to immigrants and entrepreneurs who want to move to Canada; our cost of living, education system and healthcare are excellent.
