For 4 years, the province of Quebec made a decision to reduce the number of immigrants accepted into the province, with the number reaching about 20% of the original. Now the province is working to set the target at 50,000 immigrants in the year 2022, but this is not going to be enough to address the labour shortages that exist in the province.
Quebec decided that 52500 new applications for Canada PR will be accepted in the coming year. But this target will also fall short of the support the province actually needs to see strong economic growth.
Quebec enjoys the title of the province with the lowest unemployment rate in Canada, the rate averaging around 5.9% with the national rate being at 7.1%. The main reason for the low unemployment rate of the province is it has the oldest population in the country. 20% of the province’s population is above the age of 65, with the national average for the same being 18.5%.
The birth rate of the province is the same as that of the entire country and Quebec also has a low immigration rate. All these reasons together mean that now the province is facing labour shortages that are having a significant impact on the economy. Statistics Canada declared that the province is experiencing the highest increase in the vacancies of jobs in Canada.
Shortages in the labour force can create problems in several ways. It becomes difficult for employers to operate at their full capacity, making it difficult to meet the demands of the customers. This also means that employers find it difficult to make investments which have a negative impact on job creation and growth of the economy.
The media headlines in Quebec constantly mentioned the topic of labour shortages in 2021, and stakeholders were continuously pointing out the need for an immigration system with a greater number of immigrants to be a need to solve the labour shortage problems of the province.
The President of the Quebec Employer Council provided 10 solutions to tackle the problem of labour shortages and 2 of them were related to an increase in the immigration levels of the province as well as reforming the TFWP. A report was also published by the Quebec Manufacturers and Exporters which stated that the shortage in the labour force cost the province around $18 billion in the last 2 years. They stated that there must be an increase in the immigration levels of the province to solve this crisis.
The province has set the target at 50,000 immigrants every year. Then the province saw the election of a new government in 2018, The Coalition Avenir Quebec (CAQ). The party decided to reduce the immigration rate by 20%, thinking that this was the solution to help the integration of the newcomers in the province. The first plan under the CAQ saw the target of immigrants being welcomed at 41,800.
The initial target was already low for the province, and when the CAQ released its new policy, this created increased pressure on the economy of Quebec. The province enjoys a special status, setting its own targets for the number of immigrants, it continued to choose 12% of the total newcomers welcomed into Canada, despite housing 23% of the total population of Canada.
It is important to keep in mind that an increase in the level of immigration and immigration rate will not be enough to solve the labour shortage challenge in Quebec. Analysts say that a variety of solutions are needed, including training to increase skills as well as providing help to the marginalized members of the province to access job opportunities that are available. But immigration continues to be a key part of the solution.
Optimal Level Of Immigration For Quebec
Seeing the significance of the chalk edge that the province is facing, it can be said that the province needs to work on increasing the immigration levels. A good target will be setting the immigration level of the province to match the target set by the IRCC. Seeing that the population is around 8.4 million, it may be a good start to set the target at 84,000 immigrants annually.
This number may seem high but it is in line with the average of the rest of the country and it will make for the immigration rate of Quebec to catch up with that of the rest of the country. It is difficult to increase the immigration rate dramatically in a short period, but the plan could be designed for multiple years to gradually reach the targeted number within 5 years.
The CAQ was elected democratically and given the power by the voters to keep the immigration level in the province low. Now the CAQ has the chance to increase the prosperity of the province, by welcoming newcomers into the province and integrating them with the economy of the province.
The plan for 2022 has been set and cannot make adjustments to the target for this year. But in the next plan, the voters will have the power to decide who leads the province as the next government. The opposition parties of the CAQ will then have the chance to set the future of Quebec by setting the immigration at a level that is appropriate to support the economy of the province.
