Legislative in Quebec: immigration and the blunders of the outgoing party dominate the campaign
Quebec Prime Minister François Legault, who is seeking a second term as head of the French-speaking region of Canada, tried to distance himself from the words of his Minister of Labor and Immigration.
Here, François Legault speaks in Drummondville, May 29, 2022. © Christinne Muschi / Reuters
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
As the Quebec campaign winds down for local elections on October 3, the issue of immigration steals the show.
The words of the outgoing Minister of Immigration, candidate for the Coalition avenir Québec, whom the polls give a winner, have aroused unease within the political class because he affirmed that 80% of immigrants do not work.
An erroneous statistic for which he apologized on Wednesday, September 28.
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With our correspondent in Quebec,
Pascale Guéricolas
“
80
% of immigrants
[who]
go to Montreal do not work, do not speak French, or do not adhere to the values of Quebec society.
These remarks by Quebec Minister of Labor and Immigration Jean Boulet, during an electoral debate,
cause great unease
in Quebec, especially since they do not reflect reality:
immigrants
work just as much as people born in Canada, and eight out of ten can carry on a conversation in French.
Quebec Premier François Legault, in the running for a second term, wanted to dissociate himself from this statement, suggesting that the candidate would no longer be Minister of Immigration.
Asked about the number of foreigners that Quebec should welcome, he indicated however that it would be suicidal for this French-speaking society to go beyond the number of 50,000 immigrants per year, because French is in decline.
This position outrages one of his political adversaries, the liberal Dominique Anglade, herself the daughter of Haitians: “
These are words that are dangerous, because they fuel fear of the other.
They divide Quebecers and they are false
!
»
The Coalition Avenir Québec, which is
seeking a second term in power
, has nothing to do with an extreme right-wing formation.
On the other hand, the potential arrival of a large number of immigrants for labor needs worries part of his electorate, attached to a certain image of French-speaking Quebec.
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To read and listen also:
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