Municipalities and several organizations call for urgent immigration measures

Guillaume Tremblay, right, president of the Quebec Municipalities Union (UMQ) and mayor of Mascouche, speaks at a news conference in Quebec City, Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2025. Thetford Mines mayor Marc-Alexandre Brousseau, left, looks on. (Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press)

A coalition formed by the Quebec Union of Municipalities (UMQ), unions, and business leaders is calling for urgent immigration measures, particularly in light of the controversial end of the Quebec Experience Program (PEQ).

At a news conference on Friday morning, some 30 organizations made demands to Quebec City and Ottawa, arguing that “Quebec cannot deprive itself of immigrants who are already well established in its territory.”

They reiterated their request to the Legault government for a grandfather clause on the PEQ, to be implemented “immediately.”

• READ MORE: Organizations pushing Quebec to adjust immigration targets to ease labour shortage

They are also demanding that Ottawa renew the temporary permits of people already in Quebec.

Pressure has been mounting on the CAQ government since the abolition in November of the PEQ, which was designed as a fast track to obtaining the Quebec Selection Certificate (CSQ) and permanent residence for temporary foreign workers and foreign students who have graduated in Quebec.

• READ MORE: What happened to Quebec’s fast-track immigration program — and who is affected?

The Skilled Worker Selection Program (PSTQ), which replaces it, has been criticized from all sides.

There are fears that Quebec will lose thousands of foreign workers whose federal work permits will expire before they even receive their invitation to apply under the PSTQ.

CAQ leadership candidate Christine Fréchette has pledged to grant grandfathering rights to foreign workers and students who were already in the province when the PEQ was shut down. They would therefore be able to apply under the old rules.

Immigration Minister Jean-François Roberge even mentioned “transition scenarios” for a future premier and to “calm the climate.”

The Parti Québécois (PQ) is also proposing a grandfather clause for temporary immigrant workers selected by the Quebec government, representing approximately 40,000 temporary workers.

But PQ leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon engaged in a debate with municipal officials earlier this week, asking them to clarify their demands, namely, who should be eligible for the grandfather clause.

For his part, Premier François Legault suggested that if the PEQ were reinstated, 350,000 temporary foreign workers currently in Quebec could be eligible for a grandfather clause.

St-Pierre Plamondon even suggested that if an expanded grandfather clause were offered, no fewer than 600,000 people could apply to the PEQ and obtain permanent residence.

Quebec Solidaire (QS) denounced these estimates as exaggerated.

In a motion tabled on Thursday, QS MNA Guillaume Cliche-Rivard indicated that the PEQ selected 5,915 people in 2022, 9,313 in 2023, 20,201 in 2024, and 18,532 as of Oct. 31, 2025.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Feb. 13, 2026.