Quebec Bill Aims to Restrict the Number of International Students in the Province

Coalition Avenir Quebec Immigration, Francization and Integration Minister Jean-François Roberge speaks at a news conference at the legislature in Quebec City on Nov. 23, 2023. The Canadian Press/Karoline Boucher

Quebec has introduced legislation to restrict the number of international students allowed to study in the province.

Bill 74, “An Act Mainly to Improve the Regulatory Scheme Governing International Students,” was presented in the legislature Oct. 10 by Immigration, Francization and Integration Minister Jean-François Roberge.

Foreign student numbers have surged from 50,000 in 2015 to 120,000 this year, an “extraordinary increase” of 140 percent, Roberge said at a press conference.

The government says once adopted, the legislation will allow Quebec to oversee applications under the Quebec Immigration Act and determine the number of students accepted by individual institution.

“Obviously, when we think about the pressure exerted by the large number of temporary immigrants, in the number of foreign students, we can think about public services, health, education, when we talk about students who are younger, we can think a lot about housing too,” Roberge said.

“The bill is presented as a solution to a complex situation,” Roberge said.

The bill stipulates that acceptance into an educational institution will be a prerequisite for any immigration program aimed at international students. This, Roberge said, will serve as a mechanism to ensure candidates actually attend the institutions they have applied to.

The province wants to use the bill to mandate the number of applications from foreign students based on region of the province, level of study, educational institution, or study program.

The legislation is vague about the specific allocation of student numbers permitted for each institution. Quebec plans to clarify these details through regulatory measures following the passage of the bill, Roberge said.

Premier François Legault previously said an analysis of the impact of a proposed student cap is still underway, adding that the maximum number of foreign students per school has yet to be determined.

“So we’re acting on the part we control,” he said. Legault reiterated that Quebec has control over only 180,000 of the 600,000 temporary immigrants in the province, including 60,000 economic immigrants and 120,000 international students.

Immigration Concerns

The legislation is part of Quebec’s ongoing campaign aimed at decreasing the population of non-permanent residents in Quebec.

Legault has been insisting for months that the number of temporary immigrants in Quebec must be reduced due to the strain it is putting on public services and housing.

A recent poll from Abacus Data showed residents share the premier’s concerns. Immigration was identified as a top concern by 35 percent of Quebec respondents who said the province’s ability to preserve Quebec’s culture and language could be at stake.

Legault has also come out strongly against Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, saying he has refused to respond to the increase in asylum seekers and other temporary immigrants in the province.

Trudeau has said that Ottawa has taken numerous steps to reduce the number of non-permanent residents in the country, including reimposing visas for Mexican travellers and adding admission criteria for temporary foreign workers.