In Canada and Quebec we spend hours debating what is the right immigration policy. in the void? It was a simple release from Statistics Canada that gave us the truth about 2022. Canada welcomed a million new arrivals! Nowhere planned.

437,000 duly landed immigrants and 608,000 non-permanent residents. Both are records in Canadian history.

In the case of landed immigrants, the increase is due to the policy of rapidly increasing immigration thresholds proposed by the Trudeau government.

For non-residents, it’s a real loss of control. This category includes regular asylum seekers, illegal entrants via Roxham Road, and foreign students and workers. Never in history has their number been greater than that of regular immigrants.

We’ll say they’re “temporary,” but let’s be serious: the vast majority of them intend to settle in Canada.

single case

The Statistics Canada release emphasizes the uniqueness of what is happening in Canada.

No other OECD country experiences anything like this. In terms of population growth, Canada is on a closer list with countries in Africa where the population is increasing due to a high birth rate.

This data must be interpreted in the context of the immigration policy announced by the Trudeau government. In autumn he announced that he would raise the immigration threshold to half a million per year. If we don’t get a grip on the additional temporary workers, the millions per year will be the rule.

This data must also be understood in the context of Canada’s new dream: the Millennium Initiative. This plan states that by the year 2100 Canada will have a population of 100 million (an increase of 61 million in 77 years). The latest figures give the impression that the Trudeau administration has stepped on the gas to achieve this goal.

Such a radical approach has consequences. In its January report, CMHC described housing shortages in almost every region of Canada. And the resulting increase in housing costs. No one can seriously talk about housing without adding immigration figures into the equation.

In Quebec, French

There is also a consequence for Quebec. It is obvious that Quebec cannot integrate hundreds of thousands of newcomers into French every year. The anarchic arrival is the task of French.

The questioning is particularly sensitive within the CAQ, which has opted to confirm Quebec’s rights in Canada. What can be done in this new Canada?

Losing a battle over health transfers is ugly, but it can be explained. Battles, we win and we lose.

But defending our identity and our language in Canada in front of a million newcomers a year… that’s going to be tedious!