In the face of the rapid increase in Quebec's population, which exceeded 9 million on Thursday, François Legault is considering tightening the criteria for welcoming temporary foreign workers.

At a press conference during the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) conference, Premier François Legault was questioned about the recent jump in Quebec's population, which is mainly due to immigration.

The number of temporary foreign workers in Canada has increased by nearly 150% over 10 years, according to Statistics Canada. In 2022, Ottawa issued more than 136,000 permits for this immigration category, which is jointly managed by Ottawa and Quebec.

In Quebec, the number of temporary immigrants reached a record level last year. It increased by almost half in one year, reaching nearly 530,000 people, many of whom are workers.

François Legault also repeated his call to slow the reception of asylum seekers.

At 9:20 a.m. Eastern Time, the population clock at Statistics Canada witnessed a change in the millions column in Quebec. It had been 8 since December 2011. The record of 7 million inhabitants was surpassed in 1990.

Currently, 800 people are added to the province's population every day, according to Statistics Canada.

"Quebec is among the seven provinces (along with Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan) that have experienced unprecedented population growth since comparable data have been available," according to Statistics Canada.

"The latest statistical projections forecast surpassing the 9 million mark in 2026, or even 2027," said the French-speaking expert, in an interview on the program Tout un matin.

Quebec has experienced strong population growth over the past two years. As of July 1 last year, it was 2.3% over one year.

By comparison, during the entire period from 2011-2016, the demographic jump was 3.3%.