Canada–Québec Accord relating to Immigration and Temporary Admission of Aliens

The Canada–Quebec Accord relating to Immigration and Temporary Admission of Aliens is a legal agreement concerning immigration issues between the federal Government of Canada and the provincial Government of Quebec.

The arrangement gives Quebec the exclusive responsibility of choosing immigrants and refugees still living in their own countries but wishing to relocate to the province. The agreement was signed by Federal Ministers Barbara McDougall and Benoît Bouchard, and included an immediate transfer of $332 million to Quebec to help integrate newcomers. Quebec has also been given assurances by the Government of Canada to receive a number of immigrants proportional to its demographic weight within the confederation.[1]

The broad accord signed in 1991 preceded similar agreements with other provinces including British Columbia and Manitoba. Under this agreement, selected applicants are issued a "certificat de sélection du Québec". Immigrants who settle also can be required by Québec's provincial government, to send their children to French-language schools. Citizenship and Immigration Canada issues the actual visa after background and health verifications. Other provinces also have agreements with the federal government in that they can nominate individuals for immigration purposes, similar to the way Quebec does.

New immigrants are entitled to settlement assistance such as free language training under provincial government administered programs usually called Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC), for which the federal government has budgeted about $350 million to give to the provinces for the fiscal year 2006-2007.[2] The majority of the $350 million is allocated to Quebec under the Canada–Quebec Accord, at $196 million per year,[3] even though immigration to Quebec represented only 16.5% of all immigration to Canada in 2005.[4] The $350 million is budgeted to increase by an additional $90 million by 2009.[5]

Proposed reform

During the 2022 Quebec general election, the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government of François Legault which increased its majority ran on getting more immigration powers from Canada to the Province of Quebec.[6][7] Legault has raised the idea of even having referendum on immigration powers.[8][9] [10]

After their election win they repeated their pledge for Quebec getting more immigration powers.[11][12]

See also

References
  1. ICI.Radio-Canada.ca, Zone Politique -. "Il y a 50 ans, le Québec se dotait d'un ministère de l'Immigration". Radio-Canada.ca (in Canadian French). Retrieved 2018-11-04.
  2. Canada’s New Government Delivers on $307 Million in Settlement Funding Archived 2006-11-14 at the Wayback Machine, Citizenship and Immigration Canada, 10 November 2006, URL accessed 25 November 2006
  3. Public Accounts of Canada, 2006, Volume I Archived 2007-01-28 at the Wayback Machine, Summary Reports and Financial Statements, Public Works and Government Services Canada, 19 September 2006, URL accessed 12 March 2007
  4. Annual Immigration by Province Archived 2006-10-07 at the Wayback Machine, Citizenship and Immigration Canada, URL accessed 2 July 2006
  5. The Budget Plan 2007, Page 219, Department of Finance (Canada), URL accessed 24 March 2007
  6. "Legault hopes for 'strong mandate' in election to pressure Ottawa on immigration".
  7. Stevenson, Verity (29 May 2022). "Legault pledges to demand more control from Ottawa over immigration to Quebec". CBC News. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  8. "Trudeau maintains position on immigration in face of Legault's demands". 5 October 2022.
  9. "Quebec already has 'the tools in hand' to choose immigrants: Federal minister".
  10. "'Keep going': Legault's victory message suggests he'll seek 'more liberty' and 'more leeway' with Ottawa, say observers". 4 October 2022.
  11. "CAQ renews call for more immigration powers at post-election caucus meeting - Montreal | Globalnews.ca".
  12. "CAQ refuses to take no for an answer after Trudeau shuts door on immigration request". 6 October 2022.
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