Pablo Rodriguez won't 'presume' Quebec will maintain its immigration threshold

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The federal government's political lieutenant for Quebec, Pablo Rodriguez, does not want to 'presume' that François Legault's government will maintain the province's immigration threshold at 50,000 newcomers per year.

Quebec's newly re-elected premier campaigned on a commitment to that threshold, arguing that the survival and vitality of French was at stake.

"I can't presume to know what Quebec will do. It can obviously make the choice it wants at that level,'' Rodriguez said Tuesday after a cabinet meeting.

Earlier, his colleague Sean Fraser at immigration announced new immigration targets across Canada. The goal is to welcome 500,000 newcomers per year by 2025.

Asked whether he believes that raising the Canada-wide threshold in this way puts pressure on Quebec to accept more immigrants if it does not want to see its demographic weight decline, Rodriguez did not answer directly.

"I think it's an opportunity for Quebec," he argued, before adding that immigrants help employers facing a labour shortage.

As he has done in the past, Rodriguez alluded to the Canada-Quebec Accord on immigration, which allows the province to take in up to 28 per cent of landed immigrants each year. Currently, it receives about 12 per cent.

"It is obviously Quebec that decides the number of immigrants it will receive, for the most part, so if it wants to increase it, it has this opportunity to do so and to have 100 per cent of the immigrants it receives be francophones," said the federal Liberals' Quebec lieutenant.

A few weeks ago, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had said outright that he wanted to see more immigrants received by Quebec.

We know that immigration is a source of wealth and growth for Quebec. We will continue to be there to ensure that there is more immigration to Quebec and we are very happy to work with the Prime Minister," he said. He had also mentioned the labour shortage.

- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Nov. 1, 2022