Montréal seeks new routes to permanent residency

Summary#

Montréal city council unanimously adopted a declaration about the abolition of the Programme de l'expérience québécoise (Québec Experience Program, PEQ). The council asks the Québec government to provide transitional measures and predictable routes to permanent residence; this is a request, not a change to immigration rules.

  • The council calls on Québec to create a “grandfather” measure for people who were living in Québec and held a temporary immigration permit when the PEQ was abolished.
  • It invites Québec to provide predictable, humane routes to permanent residence for people already established and integrated in Montréal.
  • It joins calls for Québec to reconsider abolishing the PEQ or offer an alternative for people and families already established in Québec.
  • The city must send the declaration to Québec’s immigration ministry and National Assembly.

What it means for you#

  • Temporary residents: The declaration does not give you permanent residence or change your eligibility. It asks Québec to make changes for people who held temporary permits when the PEQ was abolished.
  • Other Montréal residents: The resolution recognizes temporary residents’ contribution, but does not create a new city service, benefit, or rule for residents.

Money#

No publicly available information on the cost of this declaration.

  • The resolution does not set out spending, fees, or funding.

What is unclear#

  • The declaration does not define who would qualify for the requested grandfather measure, or how it would work.
  • It does not set out the rules or process for the requested permanent-residence pathways.
  • No publicly available information on whether Québec will act on the requests.

Case for#

  • The council’s stated case is that people who built their lives in Québec under the PEQ may need a transition after its abolition.
  • The council says the PEQ offered a route for locally trained workers who had demonstrated French ability. A transition could preserve a route for some people already established in Montréal.

Case against#

  • The declaration asks Québec to act but does not specify detailed eligibility rules or how any new pathway would work.
  • The city’s resolution cannot itself change Québec’s immigration rules, so the requested protections depend on action by the provincial government.