Why Quebec needs more immigrants: Yakabuski

Konrad Yakabuski on the demographic and immigration challenges of Quebec. Not sure whether the data shows longer term economic outcomes in Quebec are as rosy as he indicates in comparison to outcomes elsewhere:

But while it’s true that immigrants to Quebec have initially tended to face more difficulty integrating into the work force – employer discrimination and lack of English-language skills being among the main reasons – they also tend to catch up by the five- or 10-year mark. And Quebec’s new policy of choosing immigrants in line with qualifications and labour market requirements will only hasten the integration of newcomers.

Besides, immigration is the opposite of a short-term policy. It is a long-term investment in a society’s future dynamism and prosperity. A community that invests in its immigrants will see its immigrants, and their descendants, invest in it. If Canada is an example of anything, it is this.

Slow or zero population growth is a recipe for decline – economic, social, cultural. Choosing this path out of the fear that more immigration might not only change the face, but the fibre, of Quebec society would be to condemn the province to increasing marginalization within Canada and the world.

As much as Quebec sometimes feels closer to Europe than to the rest of Canada, Europe would be the wrong model for Quebec on immigration policy. A quarter of all immigrants who arrived in Quebec in the decade up to 2013 subsequently left the province, some because they sensed an unwelcoming environment. Quebec needs to devote more resources not only to attracting immigrants, but to retaining them after they arrive.

So what if it means some will need to learn English (in addition to French) to successfully integrate into the workplace? That is a reality faced by most Quebeckers, whether native-born or not. Most professions these days, especially if they involve technology, require some functionality in English.

No francophone Quebecker I know considers unilingualism an asset, yet the suggestion that immigrants should learn both of Canada’s official languages sparks howls of protest from the PQ and CAQ, which seek to make political hay out of Quebeckers’ insecurities. It’s an insult to the resourcefulness of Quebeckers who, over four centuries, have maintained their linguistic identity in the face of far bigger cultural threats than the presence of bilingual immigrants.

If anything, Quebec needs more of them.

Source: Why Quebec needs more immigrants – The Globe and Mail