Quebec should aim to welcome 100,000 immigrants annually, according to the "Conseil du patronat (CPQ)".

This number is nearly double the threshold set by the Quebec government. The CPQ submitted the request in a white paper on immigration published on Monday.

Just over a week ago, the responsible council, along with employer organizations, proposed increasing the labor demand to reach a threshold of 80,000 new immigrants annually to alleviate labor shortages.

But in its white paper, the CPQ now believes that Quebec should ideally target 100,000 immigrants. According to recent data, there are at least 240,000 jobs to be filled across Quebec.

The economic community is pressuring the Legault government to accept more immigrants. Despite the current government's efforts to fill jobs, nearly a quarter of the current vacancies cannot be filled, representing 300,000 jobs over the next five years, according to CPQ estimates.

The employer organization says immigration is "both inevitable and necessary" as the crisis may deepen if we do not act now to reduce pressure and fill the labor shortage.