The Quebec government faces significant pushback after discontinuing its Programme de l’expérience québécoise (PEQ) immigration pathway and introducing the more selective Programme de sélection des travailleurs qualifiés (PSTQ). Immigration Minister Jean-François Roberge defends the shift, stating it enables the province to focus on workers in high-demand sectors.
What Was the PEQ?
The PEQ provided a route for immigrants to secure a Quebec selection certificate, essential for permanent residency applications. Eligibility required advanced French proficiency, at least two years of work in specific Quebec sectors for international students or foreign workers, and similar language proof from spouses.
Immigration lawyer Laurence Trempe notes, “It wasn’t all jobs that were eligible under the PEQ. It’s a program that was very selective.”
To curb immigration numbers, the government progressively narrowed eligible jobs before fully abolishing the PEQ last November. Applications submitted prior to abolition continue processing, but no exemptions apply for current residents. Minister Roberge urges “PEQ orphans” to apply via the PSTQ instead.
Priorities Under the PSTQ
Applicants express interest through the Arrima online platform. The government issues monthly invitations based on a points system aligned with shifting priorities. This year, focus falls on workers outside Montreal and Laval, particularly in health care, education, construction, and Quebec-educated individuals.
Quebec targets 29,000 economic immigrants annually, primarily via PSTQ. The initial invitation round last month sent over 2,500 notices, with more than 64 percent directed outside Montreal and Laval. Minister Roberge emphasizes labor shortages and the need to ease pressure on housing and public services in regions.
Municipalities and business groups argue a PEQ exemption for settled applicants would not strain resources.
Concerns for Health-Care Workers
Santé Québec reports over 6,300 temporary foreign workers, including nurses and orderlies, face expiring permits by end-2026, half in Montreal. Unions and opposition parties warn of potential service disruptions without pathways to permanency.
Responding to Quebec Liberal Party questions, Minister Roberge pledges, “I pledge that the government select these people, these essential workers who work in the health-care system by the end of 2026.” He adds, “Thanks to our [PSTQ], we are able to guarantee we will select these people by the end of the year,” and is negotiating permit extensions with Ottawa.
Federal Involvement
Minister Roberge calls on Ottawa to renew permits amid worker anxiety. Immigration lawyer Yves Martineau, vice-president of the Association québécoise des avocats et avocates en droit de l’immigration, counters that provincial restrictions, like the moratorium on renewals in Montreal and Laval for those earning $72,000 or less (except health care and childcare), contribute to delays.
The office of federal Immigration Minister Lena Metlege Diab states Quebec controls economic immigrant selection. It notes holders of Quebec Selection Certificates from PEQ or PSTQ can extend work permits and highlights recent collaboration discussions with Roberge.
Province data shows 5,900 to 25,000 PEQ certificates issued yearly from 2020 to 2023. Roberge warns exemptions could trigger “hundreds of thousands” of applications, a claim Martineau deems “extremely misleading.”
