With 70,000 regular immigrants being accepted this year, Quebec is also allowing the reception of a growing number of temporary foreign workers. Since 2017, this number has increased by approximately 80%. From nearly 18,000 temporary foreign workers in 2017, there were approximately 33,000 authorized in 2019 and 2020, with a similar trend in 2021 and 2022.

In addition to regular and supervised arrivals, there are also asylum seekers. In the first three months of 2022, more than 7,000 interceptions were reported on the Quebec border, on Roxham Road in Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle, by people irregularly crossing the border and seeking refuge.

The Legault government expects, at the current rate, the arrival of 30,000 to 35,000 people via Roxham Road this year.

Closing Roxham Road: A Simplistic Picture

Quebec has asked the federal government to “close Roxham Road”. This is a simple image, which politicians like to use to try to capture the imagination of the population. In reality, the request is more complex and involves the Trudeau government in Ottawa and the Biden administration in Washington.

What is in question is the safe third country agreement between Canada and the United States, which both recognize each other as host countries, of refuge, where people can seek asylum and protection. Therefore, a person who is on American soil and wants to seek asylum in Canada cannot go through a regular route, which is at customs. He had to take the irregular path and seek refuge with the authorities.

Thus formed, over time, an informal passage which was the Roxham Road, easily accessible between New York State and Quebec. Over time, and with the number of people who used this route, the RCMP set up a station there to formalize the reception and manage this migratory movement.

So you understand that the image of the physical closure of Roxham Road, installing a fence there, as former Parti Québécois leader Jean-François Lisée did in 2018, has been particularly simplified. Closing one path is opening thousands of others. Otherwise, we need to call, like Donald Trump, for the construction of a wall, immense, from one end of the country to the other.

The agreement between Canada and the United States is to be reviewed and the Trudeau government said it is in the process of negotiating with the American administration.

In the meantime, Minister Jean Boulet’s proposal to ensure the relocation to other parts of Canada of people crossing Roxham Road irregularly is probably the most appropriate in the circumstances.

Irregular crossings are mostly done on Roxham Road, while asylum seekers are mostly in the eastern United States, especially in New York or Florida. Access to the border between New York State and Quebec is easy, in some areas.

Immigrants to alleviate the labor shortage

François Legault’s government seems to understand that Quebec needs immigrants. In debates in the House, the Prime Minister accused Liberals of relying solely on immigration to alleviate the labor shortage, without considering their integration and their knowledge of French.

But, in fact, the Legault government decided to accept a record number of immigrants to Quebec in 2022. These immigrants are among many solutions to be implemented in an attempt to reduce the economic pressure caused by the shortage of labor.

First, Quebec decided to fill the shortage caused by the pandemic, which slowed population movements. Quebec accepted more than 40,000 immigrants in 2019, then 25,000 in 2020, before climbing to more than 40,000 in 2021.

In 2022, Quebec will meet a record number of approximately 70,000 immigrants.

Furthermore, after lowering the reception target to 40,000 immigrants when he came to power, François Legault announced that he would increase this number to 50,000 per year, an increase of 20 to 25%. He indicated he wanted to cap that number at 50,000.

François Legault’s government also chose to significantly increase the number of temporary immigrant foreign workers on Quebec soil. At the current rate, Quebec will receive more than 30,000 this year, which approaches or exceeds, as we shall see, the record set in previous years.

By the end of 2021, an agreement has been reached with the federal government to bring more temporary immigrants into lower -wage jobs. In addition, companies can hire as many temporary workers as they want for low -skilled jobs. And many more professions that don’t have to go through a posting.