Murray Wood: Who's hot... and who's not
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MONTREAL — The federal government has agreed to Quebec’s demand to extend temporary work permits for skilled workers while the province processes their permanent residency applications.
Joël Lightbound, federal minister and the prime minister’s Quebec lieutenant, said those eligible for an extension will be able to continue working with their current employer for up to 12 months.
Lightbound, minister of government transformation, public works and procurement, says extensions are only available to people who have already applied to be permanent residents in Quebec.
Quebec and Ottawa share immigration authority. In the economic immigration stream, it is the Quebec government, not Ottawa, who selects those who will be granted permanent residency in the province.
Ottawa’s move comes as temporary foreign workers and businesses negotiate changes in immigration programs at both the federal and provincial levels.
In November, Quebec ended a program that fast-tracked access to permanent residency, and redirected applicants to a new program. Temporary foreign workers, whose permits are issued by Ottawa, worried they would be sent home before their permanent residency applications were processed under the new rules.
As well, the federal government in 2024 capped to 10 per cent the percentage of low-wage foreign temporary workers a company could hire. As a result, companies feared they would lose employees.
Lightbound also announced on Friday that Ottawa will temporarily relax rules for employers in rural areas across Canada, where labour shortages are more pronounced. They will be permitted to increase their percentage of low-wage temporary foreign workers to 15 per cent of their employees until March 31, 2027, he said.
Despite the extensions, Lightbound said temporary foreign workers are not a sustainable solution to the country’s labour shortages. He is promising to reduce temporary workers to less than five per cent of the total population by the end of 2027. According to the minister, 58 per cent of Canada’s temporary foreign workers are in Quebec.
Quebec Immigration Minister Jean-François Roberge said on social media that Ottawa has only responded partially to Quebec’s requests. “It must be acknowledged that these measures, positive on the surface, will only partially address the uncertainty caused by the restrictions still imposed by the federal government,” Roberge said.
He added Quebec has called on Ottawa to extend temporary permits for all foreign workers in the province outside Montreal and its northern suburb Laval, but “that is not what is on the table.”
Business groups in Quebec say Ottawa’s move is a step in the right direction but not enough to address the province’s labour needs.
“It is essential to go further and build, in collaboration with businesses and governments, a temporary and permanent immigration framework that is predictable, stable and aligned with Quebec’s economic needs,” said Julie White, president and CEO of Quebec Manufacturers & Exporters.
A major Quebec employers association — Conseil du patronat du Québec — said businesses don’t want “one-off” measures, adding that the government should not treat rural regions and large city centres differently.
Caroline Senneville, president with Quebec CSN union federation, stressed that the crux of the problem remains: Quebec is not selecting enough people for a pathway for permanent residency.
“Allowing employers to retain or recruit a few more foreign workers … does not guarantee that they will be selected under the (new program) or that they will be able to stay,” she said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 13, 2026.
— with files from Thomas Laberge in Quebec City
Erika Morris, The Canadian Press
