The Federal Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Marc Miller, believes that the freeze announced yesterday by the Minister of Immigration, French Language and Integration in the Government of Quebec, Jean-François Robillard, in two programs allowing for permanent residency constitutes an "incomplete" plan.

Miller considers that Quebec is not shouldering its share of the responsibility for targeting temporary residents.

He stated yesterday that "there is a kind of refusal" in Quebec to accept that the provincial authorities have these powers. He added that "there is a certain paradox" in demanding full powers in the field of immigration while simultaneously "denying that they actually have 50% of them."

The federal Minister of Immigration added that the freeze decision issued by his Quebec counterpart regarding permanent immigration "does not help (the province of Quebec) in the potential reduction of the number of temporary residents."

Miller pointed out that Quebec may have possibly issued a very large number of Quebec Selection Certificates (CSQ) in the targeted programs in the 2025 immigration plan and that they now want to address the backlog of applications. In the meantime, the individuals concerned remain in the "temporary residents" category, Miller said.

The total expected number of new permanent residents that the province of Quebec will receive in 2024 will range between 52,000 and 56,500 people, and this number will rise to 66,500 people in 2025 under the plan presented by Minister Robillard yesterday.

The ceiling for the number in the skilled workers category, who are selected from the "Graduates of Quebec" section in the Quebec Experience Program (PEQ), will increase significantly from 3,800 people in 2024 to between 13,500 and 15,000 people in 2025.

To limit this increase, the Quebec Minister of Immigration announced yesterday that he will freeze both the "Graduates of Quebec" section in the Quebec Experience Program and the regular skilled workers program (PRTQ) until June 30 of next year. These two programs allow for permanent residency.

Minister Robillard also indicated that the Government of Quebec will take into account temporary immigration, in addition to permanent immigration, in its upcoming multi-year plan.

According to the Federal Minister of Immigration, the candidates for permanent residency who will face the freeze decision in Quebec will be Francophone immigrants suitable for other Canadian provinces.

"There is a place for them," said Miller, "and we have an important duty in Canada to ensure the prosperity of French-speaking communities outside the province of Quebec."

Quebec is the only province with a majority French-speaking population among Canada's ten provinces.