Quebec Premier Christine Fr\u00e9chette was questioned by a French member of parliament during a diplomatic mission in Paris about her government’s plans to reopen the Programme de l’exp\u00e9rience qu\u00e9b\u00e9coise (PEQ)<\/strong>, a popular fast-track immigration pathway that was shut down under her predecessor.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The PEQ had been one of Quebec’s most widely used routes to permanent residency, designed for foreign nationals who had already studied or worked in the province. Its two streams \u2014 the Quebec Graduates stream<\/strong> and the Temporary Foreign Workers stream<\/strong> \u2014 were suspended in October and June of 2024, respectively, before the program was officially closed on November 19, 2025<\/strong>, under former premier Fran\u00e7ois Legault.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The closure formed part of Quebec’s 2026\u20132029 Immigration Plan<\/strong>, which capped annual permanent residency admissions at 45,000 across all provincial programs.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Fr\u00e9chette, who served as Quebec’s Minister of Immigration, Francization, and Integration from 2022 to 2024, made reopening the PEQ a central pledge of her Coalition Avenir Qu\u00e9bec (CAQ)<\/strong> leadership campaign. She also promised to grant an exemption to immigrants already living in Quebec when the program was abolished.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n In her inaugural address to the National Assembly on May 5<\/strong>, she announced the PEQ would reopen for a two-year period. “While respecting our immigration thresholds, we must allow those who already speak French and who are already integrated to have as much predictability as possible,” she said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Despite the announcement, Fr\u00e9chette has not specified when the program will reopen or whether its eligibility criteria or application process will change \u2014 leaving thousands of would-be applicants in limbo.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Immigration lawyer Yves Martineau<\/strong> said the announcement has generated as much anxiety as relief. “At this point, there is more anxiety than joy because there has been a lot of uncertainty,” he said, adding that his firm has been flooded with inquiries.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Without a clear start date, critics warn many immigrants will be forced to leave Quebec before they can even apply. Martineau said several of his clients have already relocated to other provinces or are preparing to do so.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Advocacy group Le Qu\u00e9bec, c’est nous aussi (LQCNA)<\/strong> has called for a direct meeting with new Immigration Minister Fran\u00e7ois Bonnardel<\/strong>, urging the government to find concrete solutions for families and students who relocated to Quebec in response to the province’s own recruitment needs, only to have their path to residency eliminated.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Bonnardel’s office said it is “actively working on various scenarios” to reopen the PEQ and that details will be provided “shortly.”<\/p>\n<\/p>\n On the federal side, Ottawa has granted 12-month extensions for closed work permits. Quebec is pressing the federal government to go further, requesting that renewals also be extended to open work permit holders, spouses, and dependents<\/strong>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Quebec Premier Faces Questions in Paris Over Suspended Fast-Track Immigration Program Quebec Premier Christine Fr\u00e9chette was questioned by a French member of parliament during a diplomatic mission in Paris about her government’s plans to reopen the Programme de l’exp\u00e9rience qu\u00e9b\u00e9coise (PEQ), a popular fast-track immigration pathway that was shut down under her predecessor. What Is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":1053,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37,48],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1054","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nWhat Is the PEQ?<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
Fr\u00e9chette’s Promise to Reopen<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
Uncertainty Persists for Applicants<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
Advocacy Groups and Federal Pressure<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n