Quebec Immigration Plan 2019

The Quebec immigration plan for 2019 could see up to 42,000 new permanent residents welcomed through various Quebec immigration programs.

This page covers the following:

What is the Quebec Immigration Process?
What are Quebec’s Economic Immigration Programs?
Quebec’s Economic Immigration Plan for 2019
Quebec’s Overall Immigration Plan for 2019

What is the Quebec Immigration Process?

Under the 1991 Canada-Quebec Accord, the Government of Quebec is responsible for selecting immigrants to the province. The selection process is managed by Quebec’s Immigration Ministry, the Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Diversité et de l’Inclusion (MIDI).

The Quebec Selection Certificate, or Certificat de sélection du Québec (CSQ) is a document issued by MIDI that proves to Canada’s federal government that an applicant has been selected for immigration to Quebec. Immigration candidates who are issued a CSQ can then apply for permanent resident status Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

The Quebec Immigration ministry:

assesses foreign nationals’ eligibility for a CSQ under Quebec’s various economic immigration, business immigration, refugee and humanitarian categories; and
issues CSQs to applicants who meet the criteria for immigration to Quebec.

The Government of Canada continues to oversee the following:

security, criminal and medical background checks that determine the admissibility of new immigrants to Canada; and
creation of categories and classes of immigration, allocating and enforcing annual immigration levels while taking into consideration the number of immigrants the Government of Quebec wishes to welcome in any given year.

This page summarizes the various Quebec economic immigration programs and outlines the provincial immigration targets/ranges under each category for 2019.

This page also features a general overview of Quebec’s proposed immigration plan for 2019.

What are Quebec’s Economic Immigration Programs?

Foreign nationals who are interested in settling in Quebec can apply for a CSQ in one of the following economic immigration categories:

Quebec Skilled Worker Program (QSWP), also known as the Regular Skilled Worker Program: This is Quebec’s key immigration category for skilled workers who want to become permanent residents of Canada, and reside in Quebec.
Under this program, the Government of Quebec applies a unique points system to prioritize potential candidates for a CSQ. Points are assigned based on ‘human capital factors’ that include education and training, skilled work experience, proficiency in English or French, among others.
Quebec Experience Class, Programme de l’expérience Québécoise (PEQ): The PEQ is a popular immigration option for international students who have obtained an eligible diploma from a Quebec post-secondary institution, and skilled workers with eligible work experience in the province.
Quebec Business Immigration: Foreign nationals who can prove they have the resources can apply for immigration to Quebec under a wide range of business immigration programs for investors, entrepreneurs, and self-employed individuals. Quebec aims to issue between 2,100 and 2,800 CSQs to businesspeople in 2019.

Quebec Economic Immigration Plan 2019

The table below shows total admissions, including ranges and targets per category for 2019. This table also highlights the percentage of economic admissions against the overall number of admissions under all Quebec immigration categories:

Economic Immigration category	2018		2019
	Minimum	Maximum	Minimum	Maximum	Target
Skilled Workers	24,300	25,900	18,000	20,100	19,500
Business people	4,000	4,300	3,100	3,200	3,400
Other Economic categories	900	1,000	600	800	750
Economic immigration totals	29,200	31,200	21,700	24,300	23,450
	Percentage of overall: 58.4%	Percentage of overall: 58.5%	Percentage of overall: 57%	Percentage of overall: 57.8%	Percentage of overall: 58.6%

Under the Quebec Immigration Plan 2019, the province is allotting between 12,500 and 15,000 CSQs for economic immigration candidates. A target of 23,450 admissions is also set for economic immigration candidates for 2019, which represents 58.6 per cent of the 40,000 target for total admissions to Quebec.

The table below captures the total number of selections under each economic immigration category for 2019. This table also highlights the percentage that economic immigration selections will represent of selections through all immigration categories in 2019:

Economic Immigration category	2018	2019
	Expected	Minimum	Maximum
Skilled Workers	24,000	12,500	15,000
Business people	5,900	2,100	2,800
Other Economic categories	600	600	800
Economic immigration totals	30,500	15,200	18,600
	Percentage of overall: 80.6%	Percentage of overall: 61.9%	Percentage of overall: 62.5%

Quebec’s Overall Immigration Plan for 2019

	2018		2019
Economic Immigration category
	Minimum	Maximum	Minimum	Maximum	Target
Skilled Workers	24,300	25,900	18,000	20,100	19,500
Business people	4,000	4,300	3,100	3,200	3,400
Other Economic categories	900	1,000	600	800	750
Economic immigration totals	29,200	31,200	21,700	24,300	23,450
	Percentage of overall: 58.4%	Percentage of overall: 58.5%	Percentage of overall: 57%	Percentage of overall: 57.8%	Percentage of overall: 58.6%
Family reunification	11,300	11,700	8,900	9,400	8,900
	Percentage of overall: 22.6%	Percentage of overall: 21.9%	Percentage of overall: 23.4%	Percentage of overall: 22.3%	Percentage of overall: 22.2%
Refugees and people in similar situations	8,600	9,400	6,800	7,500	6,950
Refugees selected abroad	5,600	6,000	4,400	4,800	4,500
State-supported refugees	1,500	1,600	1,150	1,200	1,150
Sponsored refugees	4,100	4,500	3,250	3,600	3,350
Refugee recognized in Canada	2,900	3,300	2,400	2,700	2,450
Other immigration categories	900	1,000	600	800	700
Percentage selected by Quebec	71%	72%	70%	71%	72%
Percentage selected under an economic immigrationprogram	58%	59%	57%	58%	59%
Percentage selected with French language proficiency	42%	42%	41%	41%	41%
Overall totals	50,000	53,300	38,000	40,000	42,000