At a time when Prime Minister François Legault wants to cut temporary immigration in half in Quebec, it continues to progress to reach another peak.
According to Statistics Canada data, released Wednesday, non-permanent residents, also called temporary immigrants, increased from 560,174 in the first quarter to 597,140, an increase of 6.6%.
This growth is even stronger in Quebec than in Canada as a whole, or than in Ontario.
Still according to Statistics Canada, the number of non-permanent residents increased by 5% across the country in the last quarter, from 2.6 million to 2.8 million. In Ontario, it jumped 3.8%, from 1.2 million to 1.25 million.
The strongest increase, in Quebec, is found among work permit holders.
Over the past three months, 21,376 temporary foreign workers have arrived in the country, almost twice the number of new asylum seekers, which stands at 13,228.
Quebec’s share in welcoming asylum seekers is 38% compared to 49% for Ontario, which welcomed 16,997 in the 2nd quarter.
Furthermore, the number of foreign students has barely changed. Only 500 students from elsewhere were added, in Quebec.
These data do not make it possible to distinguish between workers admitted under the temporary foreign worker program, managed by the Quebec government, and those who came under programs controlled by the federal government.
Quebec experienced a 6% increase in non-permanent residents in the 1st quarter of 2024. Much stronger increases were recorded in 2023, notably in the 3rd and 4th quarter, with 12%.
