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The annual immigration plan of Quebec that was tabled in the National Assembly recently has revealed that the French province will be welcoming between 49500 and 52500 immigrants in the year 2022. Another 18000, who have applied for immigration in 2020 but were not admitted owing to the restrictions imposed in the wake of the pandemic have also been added to the plan. So in total, the province will be admitting up to 70500 candidates in 2022.
With the immigration rates falling to dismal levels, Quebec is facing severe labour shortages. That is the reason why Quebec has set this ambitious target for the year 2022.
Prominence to economic immigrants
Among the total number of candidates to be invited in 2022, around 60 per cent would receive their invitation through economic immigration programs, which means they would either be skilled workers, entrepreneurs or investors. The maximum target for economic immigrants is 33900. For skilled workers, the target is 28800 and for business immigrants, it is 4300. The remaining immigrants will be welcomed through family reunification, refugees and other immigration programs.
In a statement issued recently, Quebec’s immigration minster Nadine Girault expressed hope that increased immigration would help the province mitigate certain socio-economic repercussions caused by the pandemic. It would also help the provincial government to effectively respond to the manpower needs in several key economic sectors.
A U-turn in Quebec immigration policy
The record immigration target set for 2022 is in fact a U-turn for the Quebec government, which had slashed the immigration levels significantly in 2018. In the year that followed the new government coming to power in Canada in 2018, the number of immigrants welcomed by the province was just 40000. The government’s argument was that a high number of immigrants would prevent the government from ensuring that the newcomers properly integrated to the Quebec society and learned French. However, this approach was never popular with the business community of Quebec since they found it difficult to hire skilled workers. But the increased immigration levels set for 2022 are expected to boost the recovery of the province’s economy from the impact of the pandemic.
Do you wish to know more about moving to Quebec permanently? If yes, connect with the Canada immigration experts of CanApprove.
