Quebec wants migrants relocated to other provinces through quota system

The Canadian Press / Graham Hughes

The Government of Québec wants asylum seekers fairly distributed across Canada, stating it can no longer accommodate more newcomers.

A July 22 letter to Immigration Minister Marc Miller called for a provincial quota system that reflects their capacity to house newcomers as well as their “historic effort” to welcome them.    

Housing asylum seekers is a provincial responsibility, according to the Department of Immigration. 

Québec Immigration Minister Christine Fréchette met Thursday with Miller to discuss redistribution options, confirmed a spokesperson with knowledge of the meeting. 

Among those reportedly not present was Alberta’s immigration minister. Rebel News could not reach its Immigration Ministry for comment at publication.

According to immigration data, Alberta leads Canada in year-over-year population growth at 4.41%, with the number of asylum seekers tripling in recent years. It has received no federal funding.

Alberta's ongoing housing crisis and lengthening queues at social services has prompted Premier Danielle Smith to decline welcoming more migrants to the province. https://t.co/5j0lo2Oyq1

— Rebel News Canada (@RebelNews_CA) July 26, 2024

The Trudeau government earlier pledged $750 million to Québec after heralding complaints from Premier Legault. “There’s a risk of reaction or overreaction in the face of impacts on services, on the French language, on housing,” he said.

The letter asked Ottawa to relocate asylum seekers based on their language skills and whether they have relatives living in a given province. 

“This system would make it possible to welcome asylum seekers with dignity and ensure that they can contribute to the economic vitality of all regions of Canada,” it said.  

As of January 1, Québec housed 54% of all asylum seekers in Canada. Legault says that is more than the province can reasonably handle.

Aissa Diop, Minister Miller's director of communications, would not comment on ongoing talks to redistribute asylum seekers nor Ottawa’s intentions moving forward.

“We're not going to send a message to provinces and territories through the media,” she said. “We need to figure out how to best amalgamate all of their asks and come to a general proposal that would suit everyone.”

Public support for current immigration levels continues to fall.

At the Council of Federation, several premiers made an urgent call for the Trudeau Liberals to alleviate Canada’s migrant crisis.

READ MORE: https://t.co/B0NkMv3vhu pic.twitter.com/PGQpCQTls1

— Rebel News Canada (@RebelNews_CA) July 19, 2024

The Government of Québec reported 597,140 non-permanent residents living in the province as of June 19, including 189,962 asylum seekers. Canada had documented 363,312 asylum seekers at the time.

On April 1 Alberta’s population grew by 204,677 people year-over-year, although it is unknown how many of those constitute asylum seekers and other non-permanent residents.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said on July 17 that the province is in a “very similar position” to Québec, as they take in 22% of newcomers despite having 12% of the national population. 

At the time, the premier declined to welcome more migrants into the province, reported the Globe. She cites the ongoing housing crisis and lengthening queues at essential social services as a cause for concern.

Distributing asylum seekers outside Québec was first proposed at the Council of the Federation meetings in Halifax last month.

Premier Danielle Smith is asked if Alberta would be willing to accept asylum seekers from Quebec that the Legault government is trying to transfer to other provinces. pic.twitter.com/igx3npF3N1

— True North (@TrueNorthCentre) July 16, 2024

Creating a countrywide network would alleviate the pressure experienced by Québec, Minister Fréchette argues. She is adamant the Trudeau government prevent non-permanent residents from “systematically heading toward the metropolitan regions of Montreal.” 

Québec previously asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to grant provinces full say on immigration, but he did not fulfill the ask. The provinces need to solve immigration challenges together, Trudeau said at the time. 

Minister Miller earlier acknowledged that was not sustainable long-term in an interview with The Globe and Mail. The number of asylum claimants “aren't going down drastically anytime soon,” he said.

The Department of Immigration clarified it is the responsibility of provinces to accommodate and provide access to social services while they process asylum applications and work visas.

Quebec Premier Francois Legault says that Quebec cannot handle an influx of 190,000 asylum seekers and is seeking to redistribute them to other provinces. He says some premiers are open to the move. pic.twitter.com/RqkHGqUPeO

— True North (@TrueNorthCentre) July 16, 2024

During the Council of Federation, Premier Legault reiterated those concerns. “I would prefer to receive less [money] in the future and have less asylum seekers,” he said.

A federal report in June found that support for current immigration quotas is falling sharply. 

“Canadians’ support for immigration levels decreased substantially during 2023,” said a Department of Immigration memo. “The proportion of Canadians who say the number of immigrants coming to Canada is ‘too many’ rose by 13 percentage points between March and November.”

The memo states that one-third of Canadians, and a quarter (25%) of Quebecers, say there are too many immigrants.