The balance between allowing immigration and preserving culture and language is a hotly contested issue in Quebec, shown once again in its recent election campaign..On September 7, Coalition Avenir Quebec (CAQ) Premier Francois Legault discussed the "challenges of integration" and confirmed he would allow no more than 50,000 people annually. ."Quebecers are peaceful," Legault said, "they don't like bickering, they don't like extremists, they don't like violence. We have to ensure that we keep it the way it is right now." .Legault later apologized for his statements, which were slammed by Liberal Leader Dominque Anglade, a former CAQ president of Haitian descent. ."I deplore it and I find that it’s dangerous. Our responsibility is to bring Quebecers together," Anglade said..Worker shortages and aging demographics pressure Quebec to let in immigrants. However, Laval University political science professor Yannick Dufresne says French is “fragile” on a continent dominated by English and Quebec’s leaders know it..“Immigration has been used by the federal government to increase the no vote because immigrants are leaving their country to go into uncertainty about the future. Of course, they will vote against a big change like an independence. You're leaving your country, you're going to a new country that you want. That's totally, totally normal,” Dufresne explained in an interview with Western Standard..“Immigrants themselves, if they're being blamed, this is racist and xenophobic. But when immigration helps one side or the other [in the sovereignty debate], you see that there are different discourses developing. When immigrants are in favor of your option, it's easier to be in favor of immigrants.”.The Parti Quebecois was the only party calling for reduced immigration, and suggested 35,000 annually. In 1995, PQ Premier Jacques Parizeau blamed federal government advertising and “ethnic votes” for the loss of the “yes” side in the sovereignty referendum. .Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's goal of taking in 450,000 newcomers to Canada annually places yet another pressure on Quebec to open wide its doors. The province would have to take in 115,000 annually to keep its proportion of Canada's overall population, a number that even exceeds the 80,000 by Quebec Solidaire (QS)..“[QS] is very big on diversity, more open. A Quebec identity is based on French, but also French coming from everywhere. So, it's French, but the same time solidarity, so we need to develop social programs. We want our independence together and to create something new, based on a progressive left-wing society,” said Dufresne, expressing the QS perspective..“They're really on strange ground. They try to remain separatist just because they want the youth from the Parti Quebecois and the progressive vote from the Parti Quebecois, but at the same time they want to reach to immigrant votes in Montreal and in Laval. So they play a bit on both boards. They don't talk that much about it, and they get often accused by the Parti Quebecois of hiding their options, but it’s really there.”.The policy book for the Conservative Party of Quebec said the province should “select permanent immigrants on the basis of their civilizational compatibility,” adherence to “Western values” and the “ability to integrate into Quebec culture”..The party received 12% of the popular vote, but no seats..Debates on religious accommodation are not far behind those on immigration. In 2019, Legault’s CAQ government passed Bill 21 to keep public employees from wearing religious symbols. The Conservative and PQ leaders support the bill, and the Liberals oppose. QS wants teachers enabled to wear religious symbols..Dufresne said the Quiet Revolution took Quebec from being a Catholic province to the most irreligious region in North America, and Canadians may not realize how important that is, especially to the generation that experienced the Quiet Revolution of the 1960s..“There's a reason why, when immigrants are religious, there's a reaction… Quebec has fundamentally way less religious people,” Dufresne explained..“I would say that the variable that is one of the main misunderstood things in the country.”
