Leadership candidate for the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ), Christine Fréchette, is promising to revive the popular fast-track immigration program that her government recently terminated — the Programme de l’expérience québécoise — also known as the PEQ.
Fréchette says if she’s elected to replace outgoing Premier François Legault, she would reopen the PEQ for two more years.
Rival candidate Bernard Drainville has also pledged to introduce a grandfather clause for those already in the process.
“It’s urgent, because there’s a lot of uncertainty,” Drainville said. “People are worried. Entrepreneurs are worried.”
Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada said she was reassured by the candidates’ softer tone, emphasizing the importance of retaining talent and businesses in the city.
Pressure has intensified on Quebec Immigration Minister Jean-François Roberge as opposition parties and members of his own government openly question the decision to abolish the program.
During question period this week, Québec solidaire MNA Guillaume Cliche-Rivard accused Roberge of contradicting himself after weeks of defending the elimination of the program, which offered certain immigrants a fast track to permanent residency.
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Roberge has said scrapping the PEQ was necessary to protect the French language and better manage immigration levels. The move, announced last November, plunged thousands of international students and temporary foreign workers already in the system into uncertainty, triggering protests from affected individuals, business groups and educational institutions.
“We were not given the chance to stay,” said one temporary foreign worker at a recent protest in Montreal. “Now I am here, and I don’t have any future.”
Opposition parties say the conflicting messages have exposed a lack of leadership within the government.
“The immigration minister is now totally alone,” said Liberal immigration critic André Morin. “It doesn’t work.”
Interim Liberal Leader Marc Tanguay questioned who is ultimately in charge of immigration policy, while Morin urged Roberge to act immediately and introduce a grandfather clause.
Health Minister Sonia Bélanger also weighed in earlier, saying she had pressured Roberge to make exceptions for health-care workers, describing his hardline approach as concerning.
“In the health-care system, we need all of our workers,” Bélanger said.
Québec solidaire is calling on the CAQ to pause the abolition of the PEQ until the leadership race concludes, arguing the government itself appears divided.
“So now what we’re seeing is that they don’t even agree among themselves,” said Québec solidaire co-spokesperson Sol Zanetti.
Roberge has so far resisted the mounting pressure, portraying the disagreement as an internal debate. But critics say the growing dissent raises questions about how long he can maintain his position on the issue.