Legault to ask Trudeau for full immigration powers

Quebec City -

On Friday, Premier François Legault will ask his federal counterpart Justin Trudeau to transfer all immigration powers to Quebec.

He made this clear on Thursday in response to a question from Parti Québécois (PQ) leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon.

The two leaders will meet in Montreal on Friday to discuss Legault's concerns about the immigration situation. He is calling for a reduction in the number of temporary immigrants and asylum seekers.

As of Dec. 31, Quebec has received 160,651 asylum seekers, representing 55.6 per cent of the country's total and putting a lot of pressure on service delivery.

"Yes, that's going to be one of the points, I'm the one who asked for the meeting with Mr. Trudeau, then it's going to be one of my requests, so, to transfer all immigration powers," he said during question period.

"Coup de théâtre this morning," the PQ leader later wrote on X, admitting he had been baffled.

"I've been leader of the PQ for three-and-a-half years now, and for three-and-a-half years I've been constantly asking the premier to keep his promise and formally request that Ottawa give him full powers over immigration. I wasn't expecting this, but in response to my umpteenth question on this issue, the premier finally answered in the affirmative."

Legault is already considering a Plan B in the event of the federal government's refusal to transfer all immigration powers to him.

"We're going to evaluate our options," he said. "There are options on the table, and we're already evaluating them."

The demand for full immigration powers for Quebec has been part of the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) platform since 2015, but the party has never been successful.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on March 14, 2024.