Ottawa to give Quebec $750M for surge in temporary immigrants

Quebec Premier François Legault say Ottawa is offering $750 million to help pay for a surge in temporary immigrants to the province.

Legault had been asking Ottawa for $1 billion to cover costs incurred from 2021 to 2023.

The news comes as the two leaders met today in Quebec City following Legault’s demands that Ottawa reduce the number of temporary immigrants in the province and pay the costs linked to housing and caring for them and their children.

In addition to the payment, Ottawa is committing to treat claims by asylum seekers more quickly and to work with other provinces to distribute would-be refugees across the country, documents show.

Ottawa is also pledging to “improve the integrity” of the country’s visa system and to ensure more temporary foreign workers know how to speak French.

Legault has long complained that the number of temporary immigrants to the province — including asylum seekers, students and workers — has “exploded” to 560,000, a number he says has doubled in the past two years and has put a strain on social services.