Jean-François Roberge, Quebec’s immigration minister, unveiled the details of the province’s Immigration Plan for 2025.
The plan maintains the province’s annual target for permanent immigration at 50,000, with 2025 aiming for an admission range of 48,500 to 51,500 immigrants. The economic category will represent the largest share of newcomers, estimating about 31,000 to 32,900 individuals.
In addition to these regular admissions, the Quebec Experience Program (PEQ) will continue to facilitate ongoing admissions for Quebec Graduates. This means that economic immigration will account for approximately 72% of all planned admissions.
The remaining permanent residents are projected to come through other channels, including family reunification (estimated between 10,200 and 10,600 individuals) and refugee programs (estimated between 6,600 and 7,200 individuals).
Strengthening French Language Status
The plan emphasizes the province’s commitment to enhancing the prominence of the French language while simultaneously ensuring its ability to compete for talent in critical economic sectors. By 2025, it is proposed that 79% to 80% of immigrants will possess French language skills at the time of their admission. For principal applicants within the economic immigration stream, this percentage is set to increase significantly, reaching 95%.
Pause on two widely-used permanent residency pathways
In conjunction with the Immigration Levels plan, the province has revealed the suspension of two key programs that have served as pathways to permanent residency. The first program, the Regular Skilled Workers Program (RSWP), will cease to issue invitations for permanent selection applications as of November 29, with this pause lasting until June 30, 2025, at the earliest. This program will be replaced by the Skilled Worker Selection Program.
Furthermore, the “Quebec graduate” stream of the Quebec Experience Program will also suspend its application intake. This pathway is commonly used by international students seeking citizenship.
The Quebec government forecasts that this suspension will lead to a decline in the number of Quebec Selection Certificates (CSQs) awarded to PEQ Graduates, decreasing from the anticipated 14,500 in 2024 to an estimated 4,500 to 5,700 in 2025.
Additionally, this measure is expected to limit permanent residency admissions through this program in 2025. In the absence of the suspension, admissions were projected to be between 15,000 and 19,000; however, with the suspension in place, this number is now estimated to fall between 13,500 and 15,000.
These measures are expected to be maintained until at least June 30, 2025.
Temporary foreign workers
Unlike the federal Immigration Levels Plan for 2025-2027, the province has chosen not to impose limits on temporary residents. However, it has announced that a multi-year immigration planning initiative, along with public consultations, will occur in 2025, focusing particularly on temporary immigration. This effort will help shape the multi-year immigration guidelines for 2026.
National limit for the Regular Skilled Worker Program
Today’s announcement comes in the wake of several modifications to Quebec’s immigration system that have occurred this year.
Earlier this month, the province stated it would limit the number of foreign nationals invited under the Regular Skilled Worker Program to a maximum of 25% from any single country.
This policy, set to take effect for one year beginning October 9, 2024, will cap the share of invitations issued to foreign nationals from any particular country at 25% during each draw.
Quebec’s Unique Immigration Control
Quebec is unique among Canadian provinces due to its authority over the annual intake of skilled workers and immigrants, with a strong emphasis on francophone immigration—a pathway that has continued to expand each year.
The immigration procedure in Quebec is a two-step process. Individuals and families aiming to immigrate to the province through an economic program must first obtain a Certificat de sélection du Québec (CSQ). With this CSQ in hand, they can then submit their application for permanent residency to the federal immigration authorities.
Last year, Quebec revealed plans to accept 50,000 newcomers each year in 2024 and 2025, not including admissions of graduates under the Quebec Experience Program and temporary foreign workers.
This announcement came shortly after Canada published its Immigration Levels Plan for 2025-2027, which outlined a 21% reduction in targets for 2025.
The federal targets for permanent resident admissions for the next three years are set at 395,000 in 2025, 380,000 in 2026, and 365,000 in 2027.