Yesterday, the House of Commons adopted by majority vote a motion calling for a review of the targets related to the number of permanent immigrants Canada receives annually and for a meeting between the federal government leader and the premiers of the provinces and territories on this issue.

Members of the Conservative Party, which forms the official opposition, and members of the left-leaning New Democratic Party supported the motion submitted by the Bloc Québécois party (whose members are only from the province of Quebec).

The motion calls on the Liberal minority government to present, within 100 days, "a plan to review the federal immigration targets for the period starting in 2024, based on the reception capacity in Quebec and (the rest of) the provinces and territories."

The text of this motion includes a reminder of another motion that was adopted more than three months ago unanimously, meaning with support also from the ruling Liberal Party members.

The previous motion stated that the Liberal government should consult with Quebec and other provinces before setting its immigration targets for all of Canada and conduct "a review of its immigration targets starting from 2024" based on these consultations.

The mentioned motion was adopted on the first of November, the same day the federal Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Marc Miller, announced that he would maintain the target of Canada accepting 485,000 new permanent residents in 2024.

At that time, Miller also announced that the target of 500,000 new permanent residents in 2025 remains in place and that the freeze on the number will take effect in 2026.

The Minister of Immigration, Francisation and Integration in the Quebec government, Christine Fréchette, said at that time that the federal government had not sufficiently consulted with the Quebec government on this matter.

But Miller, for his part, responded then that he had spoken with Fréchette, adding that talks were also "regularly" taking place at the level of "senior civil servants" in both governments.

Minister Miller's office told the Canadian Press that the Liberals oppose the new motion because it asks the government for a plan within 100 days to review the targets for the three-year period set on the first of November.

However, it added that discussions are still ongoing continuously to reassess immigration needs for the 2026 - 2028 period.