Transit, home care and immigration dominate Day 3 of Quebec election
The debate over immigration came on the third day of the provincial election campaign, as Quebec’s party leaders fanned out across the province.
On the third day of the Quebec election campaign, the Parti Québécois (PQ) leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon unveiled a plan to significantly reduce temporary immigration in Quebec. His proposal aims to cut the number of temporary immigrants from over 500,000 to between 200,000 and 250,000, arguing that the current levels have strained the province's ability to provide housing and public services.
St-Pierre Plamondon accused the governing Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) of exceeding this limit under the previous leadership of Christine Fréchette, who served as immigration minister. The PQ would protect sectors reliant on temporary workers, such as agriculture, manufacturing, and healthcare, while selecting economic immigrants already in Quebec for permanent residency rather than bringing in new temporary workers from abroad.
On the same day, Québec Solidaire co-spokesperson Ruba Ghazal criticized St-Pierre Plamondon's decision to make the immigration announcement outside a school, saying it unfairly blamed immigrant children for overcrowded classrooms and deteriorating school infrastructure. She accused him of continuing to blame immigrants for the problems caused by previous governments.
In Shawinigan, Quebec Liberal Leader Charles Milliard also took issue with the PQ's immigration plan, arguing that it could exacerbate Quebec's already existing labour shortage as businesses face challenges due to the U.S. trade war. He warned that reducing the number of temporary workers could harm the province's economy at the worst possible time.
Meanwhile, CAQ Leader Christine Fréchette appealed to sovereigntist voters who are hesitant to support a referendum on independence in the near future. She promised an additional $1 billion over four years to improve public transit infrastructure. Ghazal, on the other hand, pledged $23 billion over ten years to repair and expand Quebec's public transit system.
Quebec Conservative Leader Éric Duhaime proposed pulling Quebec out of its cap-and-trade carbon market and suspending the province's fuel tax for five months, which he claimed would lower gasoline prices by about 33 cents per litre. Milliard also promised to reduce red tape for small and medium-sized businesses.
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