2023-08-22 18:30:03
The Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal (CCMM) estimates that it needs 60,000 immigrants a year to be able to meet the needs of Quebecers and make up for the labor shortage.
“Our whole society must combine with a sustained increase in the number of vacancies in all areas, from health to education through high-tech sectors. Welcoming immigrants selected according to the needs of our economy is part of the solution,” Michel Leblanc, president and CEO of the CCMM, said in a press release on Tuesday.
He recalls that since 2016, the CCMM has been recommending that the Quebec government raise the annual immigration thresholds to reach 60,000 admissions in 2027.
“We can learn a lesson from the catch-up made following the pandemic: we know that we can welcome and integrate 60,000 new immigrants a year. We need to adopt a global approach, which targets immigrants likely to integrate well into Quebec society in the metropolis and in the regions and which aligns with a strategy to alleviate the housing shortage,” he said. added.
For Mr. Leblanc, the question of raising the thresholds must also take into account the evolution of the demographic weight of Quebec in Canada. “This share has been falling every year since 1966, and this fall might accelerate with Ottawa’s new immigration targets,” he said, suggesting that the 60,000 threshold “must be seen as a minimum brought to grow in the future.
The CCMM also recommends that the government optimize the offer of francization services for newcomers, and strengthen collaboration with the federal government to facilitate the transition from temporary to permanent status for temporary foreign workers.
Also, the Chamber of Commerce believes that waiting times for permanent residence applications should be reduced to be competitive with immigration programs outside Quebec.
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