'Our only option is to move': Quebec halves its capacity for family reunification over next 2 years

Cynthia Bélanger has been waiting two years to start building her life with her husband, who's originally from Cuba, in Quebec. But as time drags on, she's had to face the possibility that sponsoring her spouse through the family reunification program might be simpler in another part of the country. 

"The only option I'm left with is to move," said Bélanger, who has her sights set on New Brunswick.

"It's clear there's nothing left for me here," she said.

The Legault government has imposed a threshold on the number of family reunification applications it can process, it announced on June 26 in the Gazette Officielle du Québec.

Over the next two years, until June 2026, the government will process a maximum of 13,000 applications on a first come, first served basis, representing a decrease of 50 per cent compared to the previous period. 

Between 2021 and 2023, the government processed 26,416 applications for family reunification. 

Bélanger and her husband are part of the inventory of nearly 40,000 pending files. Applicants trying to bring over a spouse from abroad to Quebec face an average processing time of 34 months, compared to 10 months in the rest of Canada.

Sylvain Paquette has been waiting to be reunited with his Cuban partner in Quebec since 2019. He's also considering leaving the province despite not wanting to leave his job.

"I have a workplace I love, with colleagues I adore, but it's incompatible with my private life," he said.

"Family reunification involves Quebecers like me, who were born and raised in Quebec, who pay taxes in Quebec, and who had the 'misfortune' of marrying a person who did not come into the world in Canada."

According to him, Quebec is on the wrong track by holding missions abroad to recruit workers, when candidates for family reunification could contribute to society.

François Legault ruled out the possibility of increasing admissions in the family reunification category for immigration, during a press conference last Friday. He said the number of temporary and permanent immigrants has to be limited to ensure the government has the capacity to deliver services to all of them. 

"If we want to be able to offer housing services and protect the French language, we can't welcome more [immigrants] including for family reunification," he said.

Legault has capped the total number of new immigrants accepted into Quebec each year to 50,000.