Saying a hike in immigration would be "suicidal" for Quebec or that most immigrants don't work sows fear, opposition leaders charge.
QUEBEC — Quebec’s opposition leaders accused François Legault’s Coalition Avenir Québec of sowing fear and using “dangerous” tactics after comments surfaced from the party’s outgoing immigration minister that “80 per cent of immigrants go to Montreal, do not work, do not speak French or do not adhere to the values of Quebec society.”
The immigration issue, which has repeatedly returned to centre stage in the Quebec electoral campaign, was further inflamed when Legault said Wednesday that allowing more than 50,000 immigrants a year into the province would be “suicidal” for Quebec.
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“These words are dangerous, because they are feeding fear of others,” said Liberal Leader Dominique Anglade, the daughter of Haitian immigrants. “They are dividing Quebecers, and they are false on top of that. And they don’t reflect who we are collectively as Quebecers.”
Jean Boulet, an incumbent CAQ MNA who holds the immigration and labour portfolios in Legault’s government, made his statement about immigrants during a radio debate for candidates in Trois-Rivières riding last week that was not widely reported.
The candidates were asked about immigration and the labour shortage.
Elaborating on the comments, Boulet said the solution is “regionalization and francization,” meaning more immigrants should settle in Quebec’s regions and the province has to ensure immigrants speak French.
“It’s not the first time. It’s not just Mr. Boulet — it’s the premier himself, who equated immigrants with violence. We’re all concerned,” Duhaime told reporters.
“At some point, we have to wonder: Is it really a mistake, or are they trying to send a mixed signal? It has come to the point that the premier can’t even talk about immigration because he’s making mistakes. Obviously, the CAQ has a problem with immigration, and that’s what we see right now.”
“Montreal is a welcoming place for immigrants, who contribute to the economic, social and cultural vitality and to the dynamism of French,” Plante tweeted.
Bloc Montréal Leader Balarama Holness called for Boulet to resign.
After his comments were reported Wednesday morning, Boulet tweeted: “I’m sorry for expressing my thoughts badly. The excerpt broadcast does not reflect what I think. We must continue to focus on the reception, francization and integration of immigrants, who are a source of wealth for Quebec. ”
Later Wednesday, Legault said that “for reasons of perception and confidence” Boulet has “disqualified” himself as a future minister of immigration if the CAQ forms the next government after the Oct. 3 election.
Legault himself was under fire Wednesday for his “suicidal” comments about immigration. In an appearance before the Montreal chamber of commerce, he defended the CAQ’s policy of keeping a lid on the number of new arrivals despite Quebec’s desperate need for more workers to compensate for shortages.
“People say, ‘Where did you draw this (idea about the) capacity to integrate from?’ ” Legault said, answering a question from chamber president Michel Leblanc, who highlighted the shortages. “The most recent numbers are clear. There is a decline.
“So if we use the same recipe, it will produce the same cake. What we say is stick with 50,000, but be more demanding on the knowledge of French.
“Until we have stopped the decline of French, I think that, for the Quebec nation, which wants to protect French, it would be a bit suicidal to increase it.”
While Legault got a standing ovation for his long presentation on his economic vision for Quebec, Leblanc rapidly told reporters he disagreed with the CAQ leader.
Quebec’s business lobby has been pressuring the government for months to increase the level of new arrivals. It says Quebec needs 64,000 immigrants to fill all the vacant jobs.
“It’s not suicidal,” Leblanc said, noting the need for more workers is the No. 1 issue for the province. “In our mind, it is not at all suicidal.
“The risk we are living with now is the weakening of companies that want to grow, that want to accept contracts, that want to export and that need (people) to fill these posts. The objective is to integrate them, to make them feel comfortable, to make sure they learn French.
“But we need to have more immigrants. We need to have all the help we can get. That’s the main message from every business, in Montreal but also all across Quebec.”
At a news conference after his speech, Legault stuck to his position, saying Quebecers understand his use of the word suicidal.
“It’s an expression in Quebec to say that if we increase the number of immigrants while French is in decline, it would be a bit suicidal,” Legault said. “I think everyone understands what that means. We have to stop the decline (of French). It’s not by increasing immigration that we’ll stop.”
Québec solidaire premier hopeful Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois was holding a news conference in Sherbrooke when reporters asked him to react to Legault’s “suicidal” comment on Quebec increasing immigration levels beyond 50,000, as proposed by QS.
Nadeau-Dubois fell silent for a few minutes, and then reacted with apparent outrage.
“What is suicide? Suicide is to kill oneself. Is the outgoing premier of Quebec saying that welcoming people to Quebec would bring death to the Quebec nation?” he said.
“What we need in Quebec is a leader who brings people together. Look at what is happening around the world. Look at the rise in conflict and tensions. It seems to me Quebec deserves to be led by someone who brings Quebecers together no matter what your religion or the colour of your skin or how your name sounds — you are a Quebecer.”
Duhaime said all the leaders like the “distinctiveness” of Quebec and want to preserve it.
“It’s not by seeing other people as a threat that we’re going to be able to survive as francophones in North America,” he said. “That’s the difference between myself and Mr. Legault. Mr. Legault thinks immigrants and non-francophones are the problem. I think they’re part of the solution. And it’s a huge difference between the two parties and one of the wedge issues of this campaign.”
Legault’s party is trying to hide the weakness of its platform by making inflammatory statements on immigration, said Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, who was on the hot seat himself Wednesday over the remarks of two of his candidates on the Muslim religion and on police brutality.
“It’s a way to forget the poverty of their program, the poverty of their record and what they have to offer for the French language,” he said during announcements in the east end of Montreal.
It’s not the first time Legault and Boulet have stirred controversy with statements about immigration.
In a December 2021 tweet, Boulet implied asylum seekers were bringing COVID-19 into the province.
At the time, he was worried about the arrival of refugees via Roxham Rd. in the midst of a pandemic and asked the federal government to close that route of entry into the country.
“Look at the team we have assembled here,” she added, gesturing to the multi-ethnic Quebec City region candidates accompanying her at a press conference. “Are these not people who contribute to Quebec? Some have been here for generations, some are first generation. … Shouldn’t we be proud of that, to see what we can accomplish as a place that welcomes people, and to see the contribution of all these people who enrich us collectively?
“The history of Quebec is what we see here. That’s what we are building together.”
Presse Canadienne contributed to this report.
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