PQ forms Quebec government with immigration cuts expected but minority status complicates rollout

The Parti Québécois will form Quebec's next government after Paul St-Pierre Plamondon's party won 59 seats Monday — five short of the 64 needed for a majority. The PQ received the lowest share of the popular vote for any Quebec government in history.

StPierre Plamondon has pledged to cut permanent immigration to 35,000 people annually, down from the outgoing Coalition Avenir Québec government's planned 45,000 for 2026. The party also plans to reduce non-permanent immigration, targeting between 200,000 and 250,000 such residents by the end of a four-year term — roughly half the current trajectory.

But the minority status means the PQ needs support from at least one opposition party to set immigration thresholds. The Liberals positioned themselves as a potential coalition partner, while the Conservatives and Québec solidaire captured seats. The CAQ, which held government, was wiped out entirely.

During the campaign, St-Pierre Plamondon linked immigration to housing shortages, French-language decline, and strain on public services — framing immigrants as contributing to multiple crises. Carlos Rojas, director of Conseil Migrant, a Montreal-based organization supporting immigrants and temporary residents, pushed back. "Immigrants have become the scapegoats everywhere in the world," Rojas said. "But the reality is, immigrants are a crucial part of our economy. We cannot continue doing the mistakes that other countries are doing."

Quebec controls most of its own immigration quotas under a 35-year-old accord with the federal government and has the right to select economic immigrants and resettled refugees. The federal government retains final approval authority over permanent residency and issues visas for temporary foreign workers and international students — a tension that will complicate any PQ agenda. St-Pierre Plamondon wants full power over immigration levers transferred to Quebec, a request Ottawa has rejected in the past.

Daniel Béland, director of McGill's Institute for the Study of Canada, said the PQ will likely move toward "more conservative" immigration policies than the CAQ pursued. "The most logical dance partner, in terms of immigration policy, is the Conservative Party of Quebec," Béland said, noting Quebec's existing autonomy comes with financial advantages — the federal government compensates the province for resettlement and integration services.