Quebec to reinstate popular PEQ immigration pathway for 2 years

Quebec to reinstate popular PEQ immigration pathway for 2 years

Those eligible will be able to reapply in coming weeks, sources tell Radio-Canada

Quebec Premier Christine Fréchette's government will announce this afternoon the reopening of the Quebec Experience Program (PEQ) for two years.

Immigration Minister François Bonnardel is scheduled to hold a news conference at the National Assembly at 3:15 p.m.

Immigrants who were eligible for the PEQ before its abolition in November 2025 will be able to reapply in the coming weeks, according to Radio-Canada sources.

However, the government still intends to meet its immigration targets set last fall.

The government lowered its targets for the coming years to 45,000 new permanent residents annually under its 2026–29 plan. That includes approximately 29,000 in the economic immigration category.

Radio-Canada says it is under this category that candidates for the PEQ and the program intended to replace it — the Skilled Worker Selection Program (PSTQ) — will be admitted. The two programs will both continue to operate in parallel during the transition, according to government sources.

Quebec faces pressure to act on promise to reopen fast-track immigration program

Fréchette had promised to reinstate the PEQ for two years during the Coalition Avenir Québec leadership campaign.

"This two-year transition period will provide a fair and predictable pathway for those who are already integrated here," Fréchette wrote in February.

Prior to its termination, the PEQ was for years a popular fast-track pathway to permanent residency.

From 2021 to 2023, the province granted between 3,900 and 16,000 selection certificates through the PEQ.

When the Quebec government under François Legault abolished the program in November 2025, thousands of newcomers were left in limbo. Hundreds of people participated in demonstrations earlier this year calling for the PEQ's reinstatement, a demand also voiced by city mayors, business groups and unions.

Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada called the end of the program a "catastrophe" for the city.

In the face of pressure, Jean-François Roberge, the former immigration minister, refused to reinstate the PEQ or provide exemptions to those already in the province. Instead, he created the PSTQ.

In January, Roberge said the program would prioritize those who studied in Quebec and who work in certain sectors, like health care and education, when choosing permanent residents.

He insisted the program better meets Quebec's needs as it allows the government to select candidates based on several criteria, including knowledge of French, while also prioritizing those located outside the greater Montreal area.

Announcement an 'insult,' advocate group says

In a Facebook post, Les Orphelins du PEQ, a group advocating for families and workers left behind by the program's end, argued the announcement is an "insult" to its efforts.

"What the government is trying to sell us as a human gesture is, in fact, a petty political ploy ahead of the October elections," the group said.

Les Orphelins du PEQ said the 29,000 spots over two years are a "drop in the bucket compared to the tens of thousands of people who have built their lives here in good faith.

"We demand predictability, coherence, and the respect of promises: permanent, automatic, and quota-free access for ALL those left behind by the system," the group said.