The latest battle between Quebec and Ottawa over immigration is based on politics rather than labor market realities, the head of a major employer association said.
“In some ways, this is deplorable,” said Karl Blackburn, president and CEO of the Quebec Patron Saints Conference.
His comments come as Quebec Premier François Legault calls a “referendum” on immigration unless the federal government takes swift action to stem the rise in temporary migrants, including foreign workers, international students and asylum seekers. It was issued amid threats to implement the
“The majority of Quebecers believe that 560,000 temporary immigrants is too many,” Legault said last week. “That’s hurting our health care system. We don’t have enough teachers, we don’t have enough housing.”
Immigration Minister Christine Frechette said the province’s demands include tightening French language requirements in federally administered immigration programs and reducing the number of asylum seekers and temporary workers.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau rejected the province’s bid for full control over immigration, which is now a collective responsibility, but Legault said in March that the federal government would be open to some of the province’s demands. He said he agreed with the Prime Minister on the need to reduce temporary immigration.
Companies affected by visa reductions
But Mr Blackburn disagreed that there were too many agency workers, saying they were “working in our businesses producing goods and services”. Their numbers reflect the needs of the labor market and an aging population, he added.
He said he supports the Legault government’s call to reduce the number of asylum seekers in Quebec, which has taken a disproportionate share in recent years. But he blamed the federal government’s “improvised” decision to abruptly reimpose visas on some Mexicans earlier this year. The move was pushed by Quebec as a way to reduce asylum claims.
He said there was already a “direct impact” on businesses by limiting their ability to attract workers. Subsequent measures to reduce the number of temporary workers would not only further hurt Quebec’s economy, he said, but would also have a negative impact on consumers who would no longer have access to the same goods and services.
“It’s like our government knowingly agreed that companies would lose contracts not based on economic growth, but based on political partisanship. It’s nonsense in a way,” Blackburn said. said.

He added that while politicians unfairly blame immigrants for housing, childcare and teacher shortages, the real problem is that governments are failing to invest in these areas.
A long-standing debate between Quebec and Ottawa has reignited in recent months. Earlier this year, the prime minister wrote to Trudeau about the influx of asylum seekers into Quebec, which hosted more than 65,000 of the 144,000 asylum seekers who came to Canada last year.
Quebec has asked Ottawa to reimburse it for $1 billion spent caring for asylum seekers over the past three years.
Federal Immigration Minister Mark Miller said this week that no country would relinquish full control of immigration. But he said he had had good discussions with state officials and had agreed on a number of issues, including visa restrictions for Mexicans and protections for French nationals.
While Legault blames the federal government for the “explosive” increase in immigration, the research institute’s director and co-author of a recent study on temporary immigration said both Ottawa and Quebec have seen an increase in immigration in recent years. It said it was introducing measures to facilitate entry.
Multiple factors driving immigration surge
Emna Braham said the surge in temporary immigration is due to a combination of factors, including a tight labor market, higher education institutions recruiting internationally, and programs in both Ottawa and Quebec that allow businesses to bring in more workers. He said that it was.
He said the numbers were higher than expected by any level of government, likely because temporary migrants are managed through a series of independent programs.
“We have taken a series of measures that are individually justifiable, but we do not know how the cumulative effect of all these measures will be on the flow of migrants that Quebec and Canada receive,” he said in a telephone interview. “I haven’t done that,” he said.
Both Braham and Blackburn said Quebec’s large number of temporary workers is also a result of the province’s decision to limit the number of new permanent residents admitted each year to about 50,000 people, who are waiting for permanent residency. It has been pointed out that a bottleneck has arisen.
“If the Quebec government had set the threshold at a level that meets the needs of the labor market, we would not be in this situation. [there] “It’s a huge increase in contingent workers,” Blackburn said.
Braham said the time is right for states and the federal government to develop a coordinated approach to immigration and ensure systems are in place to ensure both long-term and short-term needs are met.