Abolition du PEQ: Recruté par le Québec, courtisé ailleurs au Canada

2026/02/09 Leave a comment

Articles on the impact of ending the PEQ keep on coming:

…Le ministre Roberge promet désormais l’admission à la résidence permanente des quelque 6300 employés du réseau de la santé touchés. Pour le Dr Benard et son épouse, cette promesse reste théorique.

Dans le PSTQ, la reconnaissance de ses diplômes n’est pas prise en compte, dit le médecin.

« Au ministère de l’Immigration, on m’a dit que l’évaluation comparative demandée dans le portail Arrima est celle qui est faite par le ministère, Ce n’est pas mon cas, parce que mes diplômes médicaux ont été évalués par le Conseil médical du Canada. Mais on m’a dit que, de toute façon, ça change rien : ça n’apporte pas de points », précise le médecin.

« On m’a dit : “Le problème pour vous, c’est que le système est mal fait puisque vous êtes médecin à Montréal, que vous avez plus de 40 ans et que vous n’avez pas fait vos études au Québec, que vous n’avez pas de diplôme québécois. Donc, vous n’êtes pas reconnu à votre juste valeur par ce système-là”. »

Résultat : aucune invitation à déposer une demande à ce jour.

Pour atteindre le seuil de points plus élevé, il lui manque notamment :

  • Des points pour l’âge – un nombre très faible de points après 40 ans ;
  • Des points liés à la région, Montréal étant moins favorisée ;
  • Des points liés à ses diplômes.

On lui a même recommandé de passer des tests de français pour améliorer son pointage.

« Le français est ma langue. Et le test, c’est 500 $ par tête », note-t-il.

Son score se situe entre 540 et 600 points.

« On nous a dit : “Ne vous inquiétez pas, avec le PSTQ, ça va fonctionner.” Mais la plateforme n’est pas adaptée à notre situation. On est dans le flou », résume-t-il.

Courtisés ailleurs

Pendant ce temps, les offres se multiplient ailleurs au Canada : Ontario, Manitoba, Nouveau-Brunswick, Alberta.

« Le problème, c’est au Québec, insiste-t-il. Quand on se renseigne dans les autres provinces, ils nous font un pont d’or. Ils nous disent clairement : “Si vous venez dans n’importe quelle province, francophone ou anglophone, peu importe, obtenir la résidence ne sera pas un souci.” »

Le couple n’a pourtant aucune envie de quitter Montréal.

« Bien sûr qu’on voudrait rester, dit le médecin. Tout se passe bien. Mais avec le PSTQ, il n’y a rien de certain. Et c’est ça qui est difficile. »

Source: Abolition du PEQ: Recruté par le Québec, courtisé ailleurs au Canada

… Minister Roberge now promises the admission to permanent residence of the approximately 6,300 employees of the health network affected. For Dr. Benard and his wife, this promise remains theoretical.

In the PSTQ, the recognition of his diplomas is not taken into account, says the doctor.

“At the Ministry of Immigration, I was told that the comparative evaluation requested in the Arrima portal is the one made by the ministry. This is not the case for me, because my medical degrees were evaluated by the Medical Council of Canada. But I was told that, anyway, it doesn’t change anything: it doesn’t bring points, “says the doctor.

“I was told: “The problem for you is that the system is poorly done since you are a doctor in Montreal, that you are over 40 years old and that you did not study in Quebec, that you do not have a Quebec diploma. So, you are not recognized at your true value by this system.” ”

Result: no invitation to file an application to date.

To reach the higher point threshold, it lacks in particular:

Points for age – a very low number of points after 40 years;

Points related to the region, Montreal being less favored;

Points related to his diplomas.

He was even advised to take French tests to improve his score.

“French is my language. And the test is $500 per head, “he notes.

Its score is between 540 and 600 points.

“We were told: ‘Don’t worry, with the PSTQ, it will work.” But the platform is not adapted to our situation. We are in the dark, “he summarizes.

Courted elsewhere

Meanwhile, offers are multiplying elsewhere in Canada: Ontario, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Alberta.

“The problem is in Quebec,” he insists. When we inquire in the other provinces, they make us a golden bridge. They tell us clearly: “If you come to any province, French-speaking or English-speaking, it doesn’t matter, getting the residency won’t be a problem.” ”

However, the couple has no desire to leave Montreal.

“Of course we would like to stay,” said the doctor. Everything is going well. But with the PSTQ, there is nothing certain. And that’s what’s difficult. ”

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Saunders – Carney’s choice: Ice out illegal migrants, or treat them like the assets they are

2026/02/07 Leave a comment

Useful portrayal of the options but of course, the more realistic option from a political and economic perspective is one that is more selective in its application such as those in priority areas. A government that had not frittered away confidence in immigration would have been able to adopt a more expansive approach:

…One approach is to regard the undocumented as a liability. That’s what the United States is doing, to an extreme degree – last year, the Trump administration deported more than 600,000 people.

A Canadian version would be hugely expensive. The estimated cost of deporting one individual from Canada is as high as $14,000 – and that ignores the opportunity cost of depriving the economy of labour, skills, entrepreneurship and investment. Of course, some should be removed: failed refugee claimants, people with criminal or extremist backgrounds, and perhaps undocumented people who are perpetually without employment. Effective deportation is part of a functioning selective-immigration system.

But it would be economically wasteful. The construction industry says it’ll need 300,000 more tradespeople than Canada can provide by the end of the decade – and Mr. Carney’s nation-building megaprojects will raise that number. Healthcare and eldercare have even larger shortfalls. It would be absurd, in this environment, to ship away of hundreds of thousands of processed, screened, settled, integrated and jobsite-trained workers.

That brings us to the other approach: to regard the undocumented as an asset. Under this thinking, the most effective solution to the problem of illegal immigrants is simply to make them legal immigrants.

That’s what Spain did this month, giving permanent residence and eventual citizenship to half a million undocumented immigrant workers all at once, as it has done on a similar scale several times this century with stellar economic results. It’s what many European countries did last year on smaller scales. It’s what Colombia has done for about 3 million Venezuelans who illegally crossed its border. It’s what the United States has done several times in the last half-century, regularizing millions of “illegals.” And it’s been a Canadian policy move, too – a sizable share of Portuguese-Canadians, for example, were undocumented until legislation in the 1970s and 1980s naturalized them….

Source: Carney’s choice: Ice out illegal migrants, or treat them like the assets they are

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Face à la dévitalisation, les régions plaident pour l’immigration

2026/02/07 Leave a comment

Of note. Seeing some similarities in English Canada:

« Abolir le Programme de l’expérience québécoise, c’est fermer nos régions. C’est triste, la façon de voir du ministre de l’Immigration Jean-François Roberge », laisse tomber Vincent Bérubé, maire de La Pocatière.

Comme bien d’autres élus municipaux, il est aux premières loges pour voir les dégâts causés par l’abolition du Programme de l’expérience québécoise (PEQ) et le resserrement des permis de travail au fédéral : des entreprises sont en difficulté, des commerces risquent de fermer et des services à la population sont menacés.

M. Bérubé est personnellement touché. Comme propriétaire d’un restaurant, il risque de perdre un chef cuisinier venu s’établir au Québec avec sa famille. « Son contrat de travail finit en décembre 2026. Avec tout le brouhaha… Ça génère chez lui tellement d’anxiété, et chez nous aussi », laisse-t-il tomber.

À quoi bon convaincre un immigrant de s’établir en région avec sa famille, lui trouver un logement et l’aider à s’intégrer, si on ne peut pas lui garantir qu’il pourra rester pour de bon ? se demande le maire de La Pocatière.

Vincent Bérubé, comme les 46 autres membres du conseil d’administration de la Fédération québécoise des municipalités (FQM), a signé une lettre ouverte à François Legault, à Jean-François Roberge, et qui s’adresse aussi aux politiciens qui convoiteront un poste de premier ministre aux élections d’octobre1….

Source: Face à la dévitalisation, les régions plaident pour l’immigration

Abolishing the Quebec Experience Program is closing our regions. It’s sad, the way of seeing the Minister of Immigration Jean-François Roberge, “says Vincent Bérubé, mayor of La Pocatière.

Like many other municipal elected officials, he is in the front row to see the damage caused by the abolition of the Quebec Experience Program (PEQ) and the tightening of federal work permits: companies are in difficulty, shops risk closing and services to the population are threatened.

Mr. Bérubé is personally affected. As a restaurant owner, he risks losing a chef who came to settle in Quebec with his family. “His employment contract ends in December 2026. With all the noise… It generates so much anxiety in him, and in us too,” he says.

What is the point of convincing an immigrant to settle in the region with his family, find him housing and help him integrate, if we cannot guarantee that he will be able to stay for good? Wonders the mayor of La Pocatière.

Vincent Bérubé, like the other 46 members of the board of directors of the Fédération québécoise des municipalités (FQM), signed an open letter to François Legault, to Jean-François Roberge, and which is also addressed to politicians who will covet a position of Prime Minister in the October elections1…

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Asylum rulings made without a hearing raise security and fraud concerns, C.D. Howe Institute report says

2026/02/06 Leave a comment

Of note:

The federal refugee tribunal’s practice of assessing some asylum claims without first questioning applicants could heighten the risk of fraud and weaken security screening, a report by a former director of policy at the ImmigrationDepartment says. 

The report, to be published on Thursday by the C.D. Howe Institute, expresses concern that the Immigration and Refugee Board’s assessment of asylum claims from certain countries without hearings removes an important layer of scrutiny. 

An access to information request by the report’s author, James Yousif, found that between Jan. 1, 2019 and Feb. 28, 2023, the IRB accepted 24,599 asylum claims into Canada without personally questioning the applicants in hearings. 

Mr. Yousif, a former IRB adjudicator, says that practice accelerates decision making, but has not reduced the huge backlog of claims. 

By September, 2025, there was a backlog of almost 296,000 pending cases. 

Under a file-review policy established in 2019, the IRB drew up a list of countries, which was removed from public view in 2020, from where claims could be assessed without an interview, the report says. 

Mr. Yousif argues in the report that all asylum claims should be adjudicated through in-person hearings “without shortcuts.” 

He writes that approving asylum claims without a hearing “may facilitate fraud and encourage more fraudulent claims.”

“Asking questions is also a part of Canada’s security screening architecture and cannot be skipped without increasing national security risks.” …

Source: Asylum rulings made without a hearing raise security and fraud concerns, C.D. Howe Institute report says

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Douglas Todd: While migration battles flare in the U.S. and Europe, Canada reduces its numbers in an understated way

2026/02/03 Leave a comment

Of note:

“U.S. politics is growing ever more fiery after the shooting deaths of two U.S. citizens by federal agents during protests against ICE’s mass arrests of migrants in Minneapolis.

In Europe, many countries are using large-scale detention to deter asylum seekers.

In Canada, Prime Minister Mark Carney is adopting methodical, understated ways to reduce migration.

Bill C12, the Strengthening Canada’s Immigration System and Borders Act, passed the House of Commons last month. It’s the latest effort by the federal Liberals to slowly cut back on former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s campaign to bring in record numbers of permanent and temporary residents.

Most impacted by Ottawa’s stricter rules and lowered targets are international students, asylum seekers and the parents and grandparents of immigrant families.

After opinion polls showing Canadians are increasingly skeptical of elevated migration levels, federal websites now highlight the need to tighten borders and deal with how the immigration system “has been strained.”

Under Trudeau, the social-media feeds of Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada were filled with many ways the country was welcoming newcomers. But this week, the department was following its new, stricter, rapid-decision approach. It was providing data snapshots on how the volume of new”…

Source: Douglas Todd: While migration battles flare in the U.S. and Europe, Canada reduces its numbers in an understated way

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“Le chef du PQ se dit prêt à offrir une clause «grand-père» à certains immigrants”

2026/02/03 Leave a comment

A noter “l’ambiguïté:”:

“Paul St-Pierre Plamondon se dit ouvert à appliquer une clause de droits acquis à une partie des immigrants laissés en plan par l’abandon du Programme de l’expérience québécoise (PEQ), mais il ne précise pas en quoi sa proposition se distingue de celle du gouvernement Legault.

« On est très ouverts à octroyer des clauses “grand-père” », a laissé tomber le chef du Parti québécois (PQ) au premier jour de sa réunion de caucus de la rentrée, à Saint-Georges, en Beauce. La veille, il avait tenu une poignée de rencontres avec des acteurs du milieu économique beauceron, abordant en priorité le sujet de l’abolition du PEQ.

En novembre dernier, le gouvernement de François Legault a mis fin à ce programme qui offrait depuis plusieurs années une voie rapide vers la résidence permanente aux travailleurs temporaires et aux étudiants étrangers du Québec. Il leur demande désormais de postuler au Programme de sélection des travailleurs qualifiés (PSTQ) — et donc de répondre à certains critères — s’ils désirent s’installer de manière permanente en territoire québécois.

“Depuis, nombre d’organismes des milieux économique, de l’immigration et du travail ont émis le souhait que le gouvernement accorde une clause de droits acquis aux personnes déjà établies au Québec. Lundi, le conseil municipal de Montréal a lui aussi fait cette demande, comme plusieurs villes et municipalités.”…

Source: “Le chef du PQ se dit prêt à offrir une clause «grand-père» à certains immigrants”

“Paul St-Pierre Plamondon says he is open to applying a clause of acquired rights to some of the immigrants left in the way by the abandonment of the Quebec Experience Program (PEQ), but he does not specify how his proposal differs from that of the Legault government.

“We are very open to granting “grandfather” clauses,” said the leader of the Parti Québécois (PQ) on the first day of his back-to-school caucus meeting in Saint-Georges, Beauce. The day before, he had held a handful of meetings with actors from the Beauceron economic community, primarily addressing the subject of the abolition of the PEQ.

Last November, the government of François Legault ended this program, which for several years had offered a fast path to permanent residence for temporary workers and international students in Quebec. It now asks them to apply for the Skilled Worker Selection Program (PSTQ) — and therefore to meet certain criteria — if they wish to settle permanently in Quebec territory.

“Since then, many economic, immigration and labor organizations have expressed the wish that the government grant a clause of acquired rights to people already established in Quebec. On Monday, the Montreal City Council also made this request, as did several cities and municipalities.”…

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Globe editorial: Canada has gutted its economic migration program

2026/02/02 Leave a comment

More legitimate criticism:

…Francophones are an important part of Canada’s culture and heritage – both inside and outside of Quebec. However, the idea of freezing their demographic weight based on an arbitrary date in the past is misguided. The Liberals may believe that boosting French will get votes, but the measures are unlikely to do much to increase the vitality of historic francophone communities in northern Ontario or New Brunswick. Permanent residents can choose where they live, and francophones may move to Toronto or Vancouver, where they won’t necessarily use French in daily life, or to Montreal, for increased job opportunities. 

The immigration system needs to be reset back to where it was in 2019, before the Liberal government started moving away from selecting economic immigrants through general rounds.

The Liberal government has taken some big steps to reverse poor decisions it made on immigration. It should scrap category draws for specific groups, and return to a system that selects people based on skills and the ability to succeed. Our economic future depends on it.

Source: Canada has gutted its economic migration program

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Canada’s immigration backlogs and processing times grow a year after job cuts. Now, 300 more positions face the axe

2026/02/02 Leave a comment

Not encouraging….:

…A year after the start of the job cuts, the department has seen the number of permanent and temporary immigration applications in the queue rise by 2.6 per cent, to 2,130,700 from 2,076,600. The number of backlogged applications that exceeded its own service standards soared by 12.7 per cent, to 1,005,800 from 892,100. Processing times for some programs have surged.

The latest figures show that 23 per cent of citizenship applications are backlogged, up from 17 per cent last January. The number of refugee claims in the queue pending a decision also rose to 300,163 from 278,240 in one year.

And King worries things will get worse as the 3,300 job cuts are not complete.

In December, staff received a memo from management that 300 more positions will be eliminated over three years as part of federal budget cuts involving reduction of the number of public servants. This will be on top of a roughly 10 per cent to 15 per cent reduction of executive positions at the department.

This appeared to be contrary to Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab’s recent statements in a media interview that the department funding is based on the annual immigration levels and the processing officers “will still be there” and won’t be affected. In 2025, Ottawa significantly reduced its permanent and temporary resident intakes in response to public outcry over the pace of Canada’s population growth. …

Source: Canada’s immigration backlogs and processing times grow a year after job cuts. Now, 300 more positions face the axe, Government Stats: Understanding IRCC’s application inventories




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Gee: Trump’s war on migrants has echoes of Australia’s past

2026/02/02 Leave a comment

Interesting comparison:

…In both cases – 18th-century England, 21st-century America – the aim is to demonize, dehumanize and finally to expel these agents of disorder. The Trump administration deports migrants to Honduras, El Salvador and Africa. England’s rulers dispatched prisoners to Australia.

As Mr. Hughes puts it, transportation was an attempt to uproot “an enemy class from the British social fabric.” Sending the convicts away “conveyed evil to another world.” 

But it never worked. England’s crime wave rolled on. The early 19th-century was a time of protest and upheaval. Nor did the exiled convicts prove to be the irredeemable human detritus they were often said to be. 

Many earned their freedom – their “ticket of leave” – for hard work and good behaviour. Together with the free settlers who began arriving in time, they and their children built thriving colonies in this vast and distant continent. Out of those colonies sprang a thriving, stubbornly democratic nation: Australia.

Source: Trump’s war on migrants has echoes of Australia’s past

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Immigration minister wants department to track exits of temporary residents

2026/02/02 Leave a comment

Long overdue:

Immigration Minister Lena Diab says she wants her department to acquire the ability to track the number of people with temporary visas who are exiting the country.

The immigration department confirms almost 1.9 million temporary visas, including work and study permits, are expiring this year. More than 2.1 million expired last year.

Diab said the Canada Border Services Agency and Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada are able to track some information about specific people and groups, but there’s no simple way to track how many temporary residents are leaving Canada.

Diab said she’d like to change that with the help of digital tools.

“There’s a number countries around the world that do track those. And I believe we need to also be doing that,” Diab said in a phone interview with The Canadian Press.

“Did we have the capabilities to do that before? No. Should we? I think yes, and that is something that you will see us working toward.”

Aaron McCrorie, CBSA vice president of intelligence and enforcement, told a House of Commons committee hearing on Oct. 21 that the agency can track who is leaving Canada, their method of transportation, their date of birth and the travel documents they use.

He said CBSA doesn’t currently have the ability to determine if someone is leaving because of an expired visa. McCrorie told the committee it can manually check that on a case-by-case basis, a process he described as “very labour-intensive.”

People with temporary visas contributed to a major increase in asylum claims in 2024.

A response to a written question from Conservative immigration critic Michelle Rempel Garner on asylum claims shows more than 112,000 people on temporary resident visas and nearly 22,000 people with study permits applied for asylum in 2024….

Source: Immigration minister wants department to track exits of temporary residents

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