Canada: Expats worried as Quebec freezes immigration programmes

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00:00It's almost seven years since Loic Bizeul moved to Montreal to start a career as a researcher

00:17specializing in homosexuality in the Catholic Church.

00:23I've been interested in the religious history of Quebec and I'm in the process of finishing

00:27my thesis. I've submitted it. It's a really great achievement.

00:35But the 30-year-old's life in Canada now hangs in the balance. At the end of October, Quebec

00:41unceremoniously suspended the immigration program which underpins his permanent residency

00:46in the country.

00:52So here is my study visa. It's always a long and costly process.

00:58With a student loan to repay and research to keep up with, he can at least rest easy

01:03knowing he can stay in the province with a temporary visa once his degree is validated.

01:09But he still feels that, despite his best efforts, he's being kept in a precarious

01:13position by provincial authorities.

01:18My professional future is at stake, even though I've worked and done everything for

01:22it. We've constantly been told that we'd be able to stay in Quebec because they need

01:28qualified French-speaking immigrants. And now they tell us that's no longer possible.

01:36There's just a lack of understanding.

01:41The government's decision not only suspends the graduate component of the Quebec exchange

01:45program, but also the regular skilled worker program.

01:51The aim, according to the minister responsible, is to control and better anticipate the province's

01:56immigration needs.

01:58There are two objectives. To ensure that 2025 is a controlled year and that we have around

02:0664,000 people. If we hadn't taken this courageous decision, we could have come close to 70,000

02:14permanent immigrants. And that's far too many for our capacity. And secondly, this

02:20gives us the room to have a frank but also honest discussion about the 2026 plan. We

02:25need to do that.

02:29The government says the freeze on the programs in question will be in force until the end

02:32of June 2025 at the latest. But a number of student and work visas approved under these

02:39immigration schemes are set to expire in the coming weeks.

02:45When we came to Quebec, when we came to Canada, we had no idea that one day we would have

02:49to go out into the streets and ask the government to keep its promises.

02:59The association Le Quebec c'est nous aussi has launched a social media campaign accusing

03:03the authorities of having stepped up immigration efforts, particularly in French-speaking countries,

03:09only to backtrack.

03:10It's a freeze on the two biggest economic immigration programs in Quebec. At the moment,

03:18we're trying to document and show the government the impact these policies have on people already

03:23living here. Then we'll work with both the government and the opposition in preparation

03:27for the spring 2025 discussions on immigration to try and not only bring back these programs,

03:34but also ensure that people already living in Quebec can have access to permanent residency.

03:41The association's activists are hoping to attain a suspension or even a reversal of

03:46the government's decision, with the support of the parliamentary opposition, the Quebec

03:50Liberal Party.

03:54It's the perfect recipe for immigration failure in Quebec. No planning. It's a blatant lack

04:00of respect for Quebec businesses.

04:05According to immigration associations and lawyers, some who've already been impacted

04:10by the suspension of the programs have already begun moving to other Canadian provinces,

04:15where they hope to gain permanent residence by finding work.

04:20This former UN special rapporteur on the human rights of migrants says that now, students

04:25and workers who've been displaced are a useful bargaining chip during election time, when

04:30the Premier of Quebec is struggling in the polls.

04:35When it comes to human rights, immigrants should be treated equally on all rights except

04:39two. The right to enter the country and the right to vote and be elected, which are reserved

04:44for citizens. But all the others should be upheld equally. But that's not the case because

04:49they don't vote, and so politicians can completely ignore what they experience. There is no reality

04:54check. We never ask immigrants if it's working for them. We always ask the electorate if

05:00they are happy with immigrants. If they're happy, we carry on. And if they're not happy,

05:04we cut the number of immigrants. And that's a tragic lack of planning and governance.

05:12Quebec is promising a multi-year immigration plan in the coming months.

05:16Immigration, let's talk about it.

05:20On the 24th of October, Justin Trudeau's federal government also announced that it

05:25would reduce its permanent immigration intake targets by around 20 percent from next year.

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