Canada | Québec Immigration Levels Plan 2026-2029

The Minister of Immigration, Francization and Integration announced the Québec Immigration Levels Plan for 2026-2029, which aims to limit the overall volume of temporary and permanent immigration.

Key Points:

• The Programme de sélection des travailleurs qualifiés (PSTQ) (Skilled Worker Selection Program) will be the only available stream for skilled workers to gain permanent residence in Québec.
  • The Programme de l’expérience québécoise (Québec Experience Program) will end on Nov. 19, 2025, and the three permanent immigration pilot programs will end on Jan. 1, 2026.
• The suspension of the acceptance of applications in the Program for Refugees Abroad (Collective Sponsorship) is extended to Dec. 31, 2029.
• The suspension of the acceptance of some LMIA applications for jobs located in the Montréal and Laval regions is extended to Dec. 31, 2026.
• Temporary foreign workers are now required to have a level 4 knowledge of spoken French when applying for a Certificat d’acceptation du Québec (CAQ) (Québec Acceptance Certificate) under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program after having accumulated three years in Québec to work. The regulation goes into effect Dec. 17, 2025, but there is a three-year transitional measure for those currently employed in Québec.

This alert has been provided by the BAL Global Practice Group.

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