The province of Quebec has called for the federal government to introduce a national quota system for asylum seekers in order to more evenly distribute them throughout the country.
Quebec Immigration Minister Christine Fréchette commented on the proposal on platform X following a meeting with federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller on Aug. 16.
“Today’s meeting is a step in the right direction. The federal government is demonstrating a firm desire to arrive at a federally coordinated mechanism for distributing asylum seekers by the end of September, in order to reduce the pressure on Quebec and Ontario,” she said.
“We will also need to agree on a system of financial compensation for our efforts to accommodate asylum seekers.”
The meeting between Fréchette and Miller was also attended by immigration ministers from Ontario, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Prince Edward Island.
Fréchette had sent a letter to Miller on July 22, where she recommended the federal government set quotas for provinces to receive asylum seekers, basing the numbers on their demographic weight, ability to house newcomers, and language or the presence of family members.
Other proposals Fréchette has brought up include tightening the visa requirements for newcomers from countries like India and Bangladesh, introduce new federal transfers to the provinces to compensate them for housing asylum seekers, and restricting asylum seekers’ work permits by province.
For several months, Quebec Premier François Legault has been saying that his province has exceeded its capacity for asylum seekers. As of Jan. 1, Quebec is estimated to be home to 54 percent of all asylum seekers in Canada.
In March, Legault asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to transfer all immigration authority to Quebec. Trudeau rejected the request, saying the province already enjoys sufficient immigration powers.
“Quebec has more powers over immigration than any other province as it is, because it is extremely important to protect French,” Trudeau told reporters at the time. “It’s not a question of jurisdiction. It’s a question of finding solutions. That’s what I’m focusing on.”Legault had added that if the federal government refused to transfer full immigration powers to the province, it would consider a “Plan B” and evaluate other options.
Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon has repeatedly called for a referendum on the issue of immigration.
The Quebec government has also called for Ottawa to reimburse it $1 billion, which is the amount the province says it has spent on accommodating asylum seekers. The province said it spent $576.9 million on social supports for asylum seekers in 2023, in addition to $470 million in 2021 and 2022.
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet told reporters on Aug. 15 that the intention to apply quotas is “noble,” and that he would not be opposed to efforts to reduce the “outsized pressure” that immigration is putting on Quebec. He said the province has had difficulties with integrating newcomers and allocating enough resources for them.
