Quebec hopes to woo immigrants to regions with French classes, other supports

Quebec Finance Minister Eric Girard says he wants to help solve the labour shortage by encouraging immigration to the province's regions.

As part of Tuesday's 2023-2024 budget announcement, the CAQ government committed a total of $615.2 million over six years to address the scarcity of workers.

Over 80 per cent of that money, just under $510 million, will support immigrants as they integrate into the regions over the next five years.

Girard wants to speed up the recognition of immigrants' credentials, increase support and access to French courses and encourage immigrants to choose a life outside of Montreal.

Quebec's regions have been dealing with the consequences of a provincewide labour shortage. Workers, particularly in health care, have been forced to work overtime, and health clinics and paramedic services have had to close facilities or reduce services.

"We are aware that the current shortage, combined with an aging population, will present challenges for years to come," said Girard in his speech to the National Assembly.

"Integrating immigrants into Quebec society and the labour market helps mitigate the impact of the labour shortage and the effects of demographic changes in all our regions."

Véronique Proulx, head of the Quebec Association of Manufacturers and Exporters, said the budget is a "timid" attempt to solve the economy's problems by "scattering" a few measures. She points out there is very little money being invested in programs to improve productivity.

The head of the province's largest employers group, the Conseil du patronat, says the plan is "good news" for the province and could lead to more investment in businesses outside of the large urban areas.

But Karl Blackburn also said the government could have found a much quicker way of finding workers by investing more in measures to encourage retirees to return to the workforce.

To attract immigrants and "high-quality workers" to areas outside of Montreal, Girard said he is planning to create a pilot project to help refugee claimants settle there and foster their integration into targeted sectors like tourism, health and the battery industry.

Girard noted that immigrants have an easier time integrating when they can speak French, so the government will commit $213.5 million over five years for initiatives aimed at increasing the number of remote-learning courses and expanding the offer of francization services to new clientele.

It is unclear whether the government sees Quebec admitting more immigrants — it has capped its immigration levels at 50,000 —  but it clearly wants more people settling in the regions and plans to spend $73 million over five years to encourage that.

Girard said the government will have a consultation on the appropriate level of permanent immigrants for the period of 2024-2027.