Why does Quebec have its own immigration policy?

However, the integration of Quebec into the Canadian dominion was never as complete as with English Canada; with the Quebecois retaining much of the language, customs, legal frameworks, and religion brought over by the French.

The 1960s were a time of intense and rapid changes in Quebec, known widely as the “quiet revolution”. In 1961 Quebec sought to establish democratic ties with France, the UK, and the United States –however, the federal government intervened—asserting there could only be “one interlocutor” with foreign countries.

The event would ignite debate about the place of Quebec and French Canadians in the Confederation. In 1968 these cultural forces, along with a change in Canada’s immigration policy (moving from a tiered system by country of origin, to a points-based system grounded in individual applicant’s work skills, language ability, family connections, and education) led to the creation of Quebec’s first immigration ministry.

1971 – 1991: The Negotiation for Immigration

According to the Constitution Act of 1867, immigration holds a special place among powers, being controlled at both the federal and provincial levels – however, today no province holds as much sway over its immigration as Quebec does.

The creation of Quebec’s immigration ministry signaled Quebec’s assertion that controlling immigration to the province was a key issue—not just for economic reasons, but also, to preserve the French language and Francophone culture as a primary concern. As a result, Quebec would recruit Francophones from around the world during this period.

Between the years 1971 and 1991, Quebec would continually renegotiate its provincial authority over immigration; resulting in four major pieces of legislation that would shape the province’s powers:

• 1971’s Lang-Cloutier agreement was the first piece of Canada-Quebec immigration legislation; the agreement allowed Quebec to have representatives in Canadian embassies, and for immigration counseling abroad, largely heralding administrative changes to Quebec’s role in Canadian immigration;
• 1975’s Andras-Bienvenue agreement gave Quebec a part in the process of selecting immigrants, allowing the province to conduct interviews and make recommendations to visa officers. This was a huge milestone for the province, as the legislation enshrined in law meant that the federal government would now have to consider Quebec’s opinion for every new immigration application to the territory;
• 1978’s Cullen-Couture agreement extended the same rights to temporary immigration, defining its selection criteria, and giving the province even more sway over immigration to its borders; and finally,
• 1991’s Gagnon-Tremblay-McDougall agreement—also known as the Quebec-Canada Accord—represented the biggest triumph for Quebec immigration in the province’s history. Under this legislation, the province gained full selection process of immigrants (especially economic immigrants) to its borders; as well as the integration and francization of these individuals in the province.

From the Past to the Future

A quick historical summary of Quebec’s immigration policy evidences that one of the province’s primary concerns is the preservation and promotion of Francophone culture and the French language.

In 1977 Bill 101 (The Charter for the French Language) was instated. A huge political milestone in the Quebecois landscape, this piece of legislation made it so that French became the everyday language of Quebec. Most immigrant children (for example) would now attend French-speaking schools above English-speaking ones.

In June of 2022, this Charter was updated with Bill 96 – extending further the emphasis on French in Quebec. Today French is the exclusive language of communication between the Quebec government and its residents. In addition, communication between businesses and their clients and customers, labelling of products, and contracts with Quebec’s civil administration are to be exclusively in French.