From the very start of the Quebec election campaign, Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon made it clear that immigration would once again be one of the defining issues. By proposing to cut the number of temporary immigrants in the province by half and reduce permanent immigration to roughly 35,000 people a year, the PQ leader has reignited a debate that, predictably, quickly became polarized.
It took only a few days for the discussion to move away from the proposed levels and from Quebec’s actual capacity to welcome and integrate newcomers. Québec solidaire co-spokesperson Ruba Ghazal was quick to ask the PQ leader to define “what is a Quebecer?” Liberal leader Charles Milliard, for his part, accused PSPP of operating in a “gray zone” when discussing immigration.
