Quebec announces 2025 immigration levels plan

Today, Jean-François Roberge, Quebec’s Minister of Immigration, announced details of Quebec’s 2025 immigration plan.

According to the latest announcement, the province plans to stick to its annual permanent immigration target of 50,000 people. The province plans to welcome between 48,500 and 51,500 immigrants in 2025.

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The economic category has the largest share of newcomers, ranging from approximately 31,000 to 32,900 people.

In addition to this “regular recruitment” there will be ongoing recruitment under the Quebec Graduates component of the Quebec Experience Program (PEQ)*. Thus, the total volume of admissions under the economic immigration category is 72% of the total number of planned admissions.

The remaining permanent residents (PR) are expected to arrive through other routes, such as family reunification (10,200 to 10,600 people) or refugee programs (6,600 to 7,200 people).

*The Quebec Immigration Levels Plan is presented annually by the Quebec Immigration Department, which outlines the number of new immigrants the province expects to accept in the coming year, as well as the categories in which it will accept them.

Great emphasis on French

The plan reiterates the province’s commitment to “strengthening the status of the French language” while remaining competitive in attracting talent to key sectors of the economy.

It is expected that in 2025 the proportion of immigrants who speak French at entry will be 79–80%. For economic immigration main applicants, this figure will rise to 95%.

Suspension of two popular permanent residence programs

In addition to its immigration levels plan, the province today announced it is suspending two popular programs that provide permanent residency.

The first program is the Regular Skilled Worker Program (RSWP). The Province will not issue any invitations to apply for permanent selection under the RSWP or the Skilled Worker Program that will replace it from November 29 until June 30, 2025 at the latest.

Secondly, applications for the Quebec Graduate track of the Quebec Experience Program will be suspended. This is often used by international students as a path to citizenship.

These measures will be in force no later than June 30, 2025.

Temporary foreign workers

Unlike the federal plan for immigration levels for 2025-2027, the province did not include restrictions on temporary residence.

However, it states that multi-year immigration planning will take place in 2025, accompanied by public consultation, taking into account temporary immigration in particular.

This will contribute to the development of multi-year immigration recommendations for 2026.

Country Limit for Generally Skilled Worker Program

Today’s announcement comes after a wave of changes to Quebec’s immigration system this year.

Earlier this month, the province announced it would limit the number of foreign nationals invited under the regular skilled worker program to a maximum of 25% from any one country.

The policy, which takes effect for a year starting October 9, 2024, will cap the share of invitations issued to foreign nationals of any given country at 25% for each draw.

Immigration and Quebec

Quebec is unique among Canadian provinces in its control of the annual influx of skilled workers and immigrants. It also stands out for its focus on French-speaking immigration throughout Canada, a path that is constantly growing every year.

Last year, Quebec announced plans to welcome 50,000 newcomers a year in 2024 and 2025. This number does not include the admission of graduates selected through the Quebec Experience Program and temporary foreign workers.

The announcement came a week after Canada released its 2025-2027 Immigration Levels Plan, which said it would cut its 2025 target by 21%.

Federal goals for permanent resident admissions over the next three years are 395,000 in 2025, 380,000 in 2026 and 365,000 in 2027.

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