CAQ leadership hopefuls propose exceptions for PEQ immigration pathway

Both Coalition Avenir Québec leadership candidates have bucked the party line by announcing that if they become premier, they would apply exceptions for applicants of the province's discontinued immigration pathway, the Quebec Experience Program (PEQ).

Christine Fréchette and Bernard Drainville are the only candidates vying to replace outgoing Premier François Legault after he resigned last month. Both served as cabinet ministers in the Legault government and had professional ties to the Parti Québécois. 

The PEQ ended on Nov. 19, 2025, making the Skilled Worker Selection Program (PSTQ) the sole option for those wishing to settle in the province for economic reasons. 

The program was used to fast-track permanent residency applications for people already in Quebec. It consisted of two streams: one for temporary foreign workers and another for Quebec graduates.

Quebec Immigration Minister Jean-François Roberge has said the government would continue to process PEQ applications received before the pathway was suspended, but they will now be evaluated based on criteria for the PSTQ.

In a social media post Tuesday, Fréchette said that she would restore the PEQ for two years to exempt applicants who lived in Quebec when the program was abolished. 

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

She also said she would reduce invitations under the PSTQ by the same number to respect the province's immigration thresholds.

Speaking earlier with Radio-Canada's C'est jamais pareil, Drainville said skilled workers in fields such as health care, education, construction and specialized manufacturing, and who lived in Quebec before the PEQ ended, should be able to benefit from the defunct PEQ program.

"If you've been in Quebec for two years, speak intermediate-level French, and if you work in [those sectors] you should have a grandfathered right," Drainville said on Tuesday. "We should be able to keep you because we need you. So far, I am the only one taking this position." 

Legault maintains his view that the government should not make any exceptions for permanent residency applications submitted through the PEQ.

He repeated his position Tuesday afternoon, saying there are currently 350,000 temporary foreign workers in the province and the "decline" of French in Montreal must be considered.

"We cannot accept all the temporary foreign workers in Quebec so that they become permanent," Legault said. 

At the National Assembly, Roberge told reporters the CAQ leadership race was "bringing forward all sorts of positions."