How to Immigrate Canadian Province of Quebec

Colin R. Singer
November 17, 2021

Quebec is seeing a resurgence in immigration this year as the COVID-19 pandemic wanes, public health restrictions are eased and the francophone province works hard to rebuild its economy and resolve labour shortages.

In the first nine months of this year alone, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) figures show the province welcomed more new permanent residents than it did all of last year.

Immigration to Quebec was already up by almost 35.5 per cent of last year’s total at the end of September this year, with 34,170 new permanent residents to the province during that time period compared to the 25,225 new permanent residents to the province in all of 2020.

The province’s immigration minister, Nadine Girault, wants to keep that momentum going and bring in more foreign workers to deal with Quebec’s growing labour shortages. Earlier this year, she pledged to raise the province’s immigration levels as it emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Then, last month, the province announced it would be investing more into immigrant settlement services.

“I am pleased to announce today an important investment of more than $20 million to support non-profit organizations that help immigrants settle into our regions,” Girault tweeted in mid-October.

Before the pandemic, immigration to Quebec had been fairly steady for three years after jumping by 8.7 per cent, from 48,975 to 53,240, from 2015 to the next year, show IRCC figures.

The arrival of COVID-19 in Asia in late 2019 led to travel restrictions there and cut immigration to Quebec, leading to only 40,565 new permanent residents to the province that year. This year, the rate of immigration to Quebec has the province on track to surpass that level set in 2019 by 12.3 per cent.

Quebec plans to welcome up to 70,500 new immigrants in 2022, according to the Immigration Levels Plan tabled in the National Assembly in late October.

The figures include 52,500 newcomers under the previously announced plan, and 18,000 intended to make up the deficit of newcomers registered during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The rebalancing figure is high because Quebec immigration is forecasting that it will fail to reach its 2021 immigration target.

Last year, the Ministry of Immigration, Francisation and Integration (MIFI) planned to welcome up to 54,500 newcomers in 2021, including 7,000 to help make up the shortfall seen in 2020, at the height of the pandemic.

But projections show Quebec will only welcome a maximum of 47,100 newcomers this year, a number that could drop as low as 43,100.

With the labour shortages rampant throughout the province, Quebec’s Ministry of Immigration, Francisation and Integration (MIFI) updated its list of occupations that qualify for its facilitated Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) earlier this year.

The list of jobs in high demand for which employers do not need to demonstrate they have tried to hire and failed to find suitably-qualified Canadians now includes:

NOC code	Occupation
0111	Financial managers
0112	Human Resources Managers
0121	Insurance, Real Estate and Financial Brokerage Managers
0122	Banking, credit and other investment managers
0124	Advertising, marketing and public relations managers
0131	Telecommunication carriers managers
0213	IT system managers *
0311	Managers in health care
0421	Administrators – post-secondary education and vocational training (only for educational institutions designated and recognized by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education or another ministry or agency authorized by the State).
0422	Supervisors / School Principals and Administrators / Administrators of education at primary and secondary school programs (for educational institutions designated and recognized by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education or another ministry or mandatory agency of the State)
0423	Managers in social, community and correctional services
0711	Construction managers
0712	Home construction managers and renovators
0821	Managers in agriculture
0822	Horticulture managers
0911	Manufacturing Managers
1111	Financial auditors and accountants
1112	Financial analysts and investment analysts
1113	Securities agents, investment agents and traders
1114	Financial planners and financial advisers (only this name)
1121	Human resources professionals
1122	Professional occupations in business management consulting
1212	Supervisors, finance and insurance office workers
1213	Supervisors, library, correspondence and other information workers
1214	Postal and courier service supervisors
1215	Supervisors, supply chain, tracking and scheduling co-ordination occupations
1222	Executive assistants
1223	Human Resources and Recruitment Officers
1224	Property management officers
1225	Purchasing agents
1243	Medical administrative assistants
1251	Court reporters, medical transcriptionists and related occupations
1252	Health information management occupations
1311	Accounting technicians and bookkeepers
1312	Insurance Adjusters and Claims Examiners
1313	Insurers / Underwriters
1315	Maritime brokers (only this designation)
2112	Chemists
2113	Geoscientists and oceanographers
2121	Biologists and related scientists
2122	Forest science professionals
2123	Agricultural Representatives, Consultants and Specialists
2131	Civil engineers
2132	Mechanical Engineers
2133	Electrical and Electronics Engineers
2134	Chemical engineers
2141	Industrial and manufacturing engineers
2142	Metallurgical and materials engineers
2143	Mining engineers
2146	Aerospace engineers
2147	Computer engineers (except software engineers and designers) *
2151	Architects
2153	Urban and land use planners
2154	Land Surveyors / Surveyors
2161	Mathematicians, statisticians and actuaries *
2171	Computer analysts and consultants *
2172	Database analysts and data administrators *
2173	Software engineers and designers *
2174	Programmers and Interactive Media Developers *
2175	Web Designers and Developers *
2223	Forest science technologists and technicians
2224	Natural and fishery technicians
2225	Landscape and horticulture technicians and specialists
2231	Civil engineering technologists and technicians
2232	Mechanical engineering technologists and technicians
2233	Industrial engineering and manufacturing technologists and technicians
2234	Construction estimators
2241	Electronic and electrical engineering technologists and technicians
2243	Industrial instrument technicians and mechanics
2251	Architectural technologists and technicians
2254	Land survey technologists and technicians
2263	Public health, environment and occupational health and safety inspectors
2264	Construction inspectors
2281	Computer network technicians *
2282	User support workers
2283	Computer systems assessors and the video game tester designation *
3011	Nursing co-ordinators and supervisors
3012	Registered Nurses and Registered Psychiatric Nurses / Registered Psychiatric Nurses
3111	Specialist doctors
3112	General Practitioners and Family Physicians
3113	Dentists
3114	Vets
3121	Optometrists
3122	Chiropractor / Chiropractors
3124	Related primary health care practitioners
3131	Chemists / Pharmacists
3132	Dietitians and nutritionists
3141	Audiologists and speech-language pathologists
3142	Physiotherapists
3143	Occupational Therapists
3211	Medical laboratory technologists
3212	Medical laboratory technicians and pathology assistants
3213	Animal health technologists and veterinary technicians
3214	Respiratory therapists, cardiovascular perfusionists and cardiopulmonary technologists
3215	Medical radiation technologists
3219	Technical assistants in pharmacy (only this name)
3221	Denturists
3222	Hygienists and dental therapists
3233	Licensed practical nurses
3234	Paramedics
4011	University professors and lecturers
4012	Post-secondary teaching and research assistants
4021	College Teachers and Other Vocational Training Instructors (Only for Educational Institutions Designated by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education or another government department or agency)
4031	Secondary school teachers (only for educational institutions designated and recognized by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education or another ministry or agency authorized by the State)
4032	Elementary and preschool teachers (only for educational institutions designated and recognized by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education or another ministry or agency authorized by the State)
4033	School Information Consultants
4112	Lawyers (everywhere in Canada) and notaries (in Quebec)
4151	Psychologists
4152	Social workers
4153	Marriage therapists/marriage therapists, family therapists/family therapists and psychoeducators / psychoeducators (only this name)
4156	Employment counsellors
4161	Natural and applied sciences researchers, consultants and program officers
4162	Economists, researchers and economic policy analysts
4163	Economic development officers, marketers and marketing consultants
4164	Social Policy Researchers, Consultants and Program Officers
4165	Health Policy Researchers, Consultants and Program Officers
4166	Education Policy Researchers, Consultants and Program Officers
4211	Legal technicians (only this name)
4212	Social and community service workers
4214	Early childhood educators and assistants (whose employer is authorized to hire is an educational institution designated and recognized by the Ministère de l’Éducation et de l’Enseignement supérieur or another ministry or an authorized agency of the State, or a daycare service recognized by the Ministry of Family)
4215	Instructors of persons with disabilities
4312	Fire / female firefighters
5125	Translators, terminologists and interpreters
5131	Producers, directors, choreographers and the name technical, creative and artistic directors, technical, creative and artistic directors and project managers – visual effects and video games
5211	Library and public archive technicians
5223	Graphic arts technicians
5241	Graphic designers and illustrators *
6211	Sales Supervisors – Retail
6221	Technical Sales Specialists – Wholesale Trade
6231	Insurance agents and brokers
6235	Financial sales representatives
6314	Information and customer service supervisors
6331	Butchers, meat cutters and fishmongers – wholesale and retail
7201	Supervisors, machinists and metal forming, profiling and assembling trades personnel (only this designation)
7202	Electricity and telecommunications foremen/women (only this designation)
7205	Contractors and supervisors, other construction trades, installers, repairers and servicers
7231	Machinists and Machining and Tooling Inspectors
7233	Sheet Metal / Metal Workers
7236	Ironworkers
7237	Welders and Related Machine Operators
7242	Industrial electricians
7245	Telecommunications line and cable workers
7246	Telecommunications equipment installers and repairers
7251	Plumbers
7252	Steamfitters, pipefitters and sprinkler system installers
7271	Carpenters / Carpenters
7281	Bricklayers / Bricklayers
7282	Concrete finishers
7283	Tiles / Finishers
7284	Plasterers / Drywall installers/applicators and pavers/finishers and Interior Systems Drywall / Lathers
7291	Roofers and shinglers
7292	Glaziers / vitrières
7293	Insulators / Insulators
7294	Painters and decorators (except interior decorators)
7295	Floor covering installers
7301	Mechanical foreman/woman (only this designation)
7302	Supervisors, heavy equipment operator teams (only this designation)
7303	Supervisors, printing and related occupations
7311	Construction millwrights and industrial mechanics
7312	Heavy-duty equipment mechanics
7316	Machine fitters
7318	Elevator Constructors and Mechanics
7321	Motor vehicle, truck and bus mechanics and repairers
7331	Oil and solid fuel burner installers
7332	Appliance servicers and repairers
7333	Electromechanical / Mechanics
7361	Locomotive and Yard Mechanics
7371	Crane / Operators
7381	Printing press operators
8211	Supervisors, logging
8241	Logging machinery operators
8252	Foremen/women, agricultural services, supervisors of farms and specialized workers in animal husbandry (only this designation)
9212	Supervisors, petroleum refining, gas and chemical processing, and utilities
9213	Supervisors, food, beverage and associated products processing
9214	Supervisors, rubber and plastics product manufacturing
9215	Supervisors, forest product processing
9235	Operators in pulp and paper pulping, papermaking and coating operators
9241	Power station mechanics and power system operators
9243	Water and waste treatment plant operators

In Canada, the province of Quebec is unique in that it administers its own immigration programs which have separate selection criteria from those of other provinces and the federal government.

Francophone Province Manages Own Expression of Interest System

The province has, for example, its own Expression of Interest immigration system to select candidates for the Quebec Skilled Worker program. Candidates submit profiles via an online portal called Arrima.

The system is designed to allow candidates with the best credentials to get to the front of the line to maintain a continuous flow of new workers with profiles that meet the needs of Quebec businesses.

Foreign nationals wishing to settle permanently in Quebec must undergo a two-step immigration process.

First, they must be selected by MIFI and get a Quebec Certificate of Selection (CSQ). This is an official document issued by Quebec immigration authorities to attest that the candidate has been selected by the province. It is not a visa, so it cannot be used to enter Canada.

Once the foreign national has his or her CSQ, the next step is to file a permanent residence application with IRCC within 24 months from the date the CSQ was issued.

The federal government’s role in evaluating a Quebec application for permanent residence is mainly limited to issues of health and criminality.

At this stage, an application will be submitted to IRCC, including police certificates and medical exams, when requested.

There are several programs for those who want to immigration to Quebec.

Under Quebec’s Regular Skilled Worker Program (RSWP), candidates declare their interest in immigrating to Québec to work. The province then selects candidates who are most likely to establish themselves economically in Quebec.

These are workers whose skills correspond to particular provincial market needs, which makes it easier for them to find work. Quebec bases its selection on a grid of factors for which points are awarded, namely education, work experience, language knowledge, age, children, spouse’s characteristics and financial autonomy.

Wealthy individuals may consider any of Quebec’s business programs, which are: Investors, Entrepreneurs and Self-employed.

Another program available for those candidates who are already living and working or studying in Quebec is the Quebec Experience Program – PEQ. Eligible candidates can apply for a CSQ under an accelerated process. Two streams are available: Quebec Graduate and Temporary Foreign Worker.