Quebec Premier François Legault’s attempt to bring down the federal government and make a reduction in temporary immigration a central issue in the next federal election has hit the proverbial brick wall. Legault tried last week to enlist the aid of a federal political party committed to Quebec nationalism, the Bloc Québécois, to bring down Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government. That would force an early election which Legault was hoping to use to pressure Ottawa into lowering temporary immigration to the country. He says he will only support whichever federal political party pledges to lower temporary immigration to Canada. “Each political party will have commitments to make and the commitment that the federal parties will make to reducing the number of temporary immigrants in the short term will be very important in determining whether or not I support a political party,” the Quebec premier reportedly told reporters on Sept. 20. This Article In Summary Quebec Premier François Legault failed to secure support from the Bloc Québécois to trigger a federal election over reducing temporary immigration. Legault demands that federal parties pledge to lower temporary immigration to gain his support in future elections. Quebec faces record-high temporary immigration, with over 528,034 temporary residents in 2023, leading to pressure on housing, public services, and language protection. The Bloc Québécois refused to withdraw support from the Trudeau government, instead focusing on securing benefits for Quebec and seniors. Quebec’s struggle with its high number of temporary foreign workers is not new. It first came to light in the last quarter of 2023 when the province hit a new record of 528,034 temporary residents, data from Statistics Canada reveals. A year earlier, there were only 360,936 temporary residents in that province. Under the Canada Elections Act, Canadians would normally head to the polls to elect a new government on or before Oct. 20, 2025 during the 45th Canadian federal election. Governor General Mary Simons, though, could dissolve Parliament before that date at Trudeau’s recommendation for a snap election or if the House of Commons passes a motion of non-confidence. In the House of Commons, the Bloc is currently providing support for the Liberals and making any such non-confidence motion impossible. The Quebec premier wants the Bloc to withdraw that support, a move which would almost certainly lead to a non-confidence motion from Conservatives, the Official Opposition, and bring down the government. “The Bloc Québécois, a sister party of the Parti Québécois, is going to save Mr. Trudeau’s government without asking for anything in return,” Legault has claimed. “I am defending the interests of Quebecers, and defending the interests of Quebecers means demanding that Mr. Trudeau cut the number of temporary immigrants to Quebec in half.” Bloc Says No To Quebec Premier’s Request To Pull Support From Liberal Government The snag in Legault’s plan is that the Bloc appears to be completely uninterested in rescinding its support of the Trudeau government and triggering a federal election. Instead, Bloc leader Yves-François Blanchet is hoping to exploit the Liberals’ tenuous grasp on political power to win concessions from the federal government for Quebec and seniors across the country. When asked if he would withdraw his support of the Trudeau government at the Quebec premier’s request, Blanchet answer was “no”. “We have deposed a law which is now at the very centre of the survival of this government. This is what we call power,” Blanchet reportedly said. The Bloc Québécois’ proposed law, Bill C-319, calls for an increase of 10 per cent in the amount of the full pension of seniors at 65 years of age. The bill would also raise the employment income exemption to determine seniors’ guaranteed income supplements from $5,000 to $6,500. “We could have serious wins about those issues in the coming weeks. If not, then the Liberals might fall,” Blanchet reportedly said. A francophone province, Quebec has maintained that it cannot properly welcome and integrate all immigrants with the current record-high rate of immigration in Canada. Legault has repeatedly called for the number of temporary immigrants in Quebec to be reduced. “Over the past two years, the number of temporary immigrants in Quebec has doubled from 300,000 to 600,000,” wrote Legault on Facebook. “The federal government is largely responsible for this explosion in the number of temporary immigrants. It has been asked to reduce by half the number of those under its responsibility. We must reduce the number of immigrants to protect our public services, to take pressure off housing and to protect the French language, particularly in Montreal.” Quebec’s new immigration minister and French-language czar, Jean-François Roberge, says the province is facing major challenges on the immigration front. “This combination of functions (I have) will increase the effectiveness of the government’s actions, which is essential in the particular context where the number of temporary immigrants is exploding and where the challenges of welcoming and integrating, as well as protecting French, are more present than ever,” said Roberge. Processing For Low-Wage Stream Of TFWP In Montreal Put On Hold In August, the processing of all new Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) applications for the Temporary Foreign Worker Program’s (TFWP) low-wage stream in the greater Montreal economic region was paused for six months. The processing of these applications was suspended starting Sept. 3 for all job offers from greater Montreal where the offer is for wages below $27.47 per hour, Quebec’s median hourly wage. https://immigration.ca/quebec-premier-tries-and-fails-to-force-federal-election-centred-on-immigration/
