What Happens to Quebec's PEQ After the Parti Québécois Election Win

The current PEQ intake is accepting applications with no cap on numbers, but it closes on October 31, 2026, and the program’s future now depends on the immigration policy of the newly elected Parti Québécois.

In short

• The PQ is proposing to cut temporary immigration by half (roughly 200,000–250,000 fewer people) and lower the permanent resident target from 45,000 to 35,000 a year.
• The party wants a full moratorium on selecting economic immigrants from abroad — applying for PR would only be possible once you’re already in Quebec.
• The current PEQ intake runs from July 2 to October 31, 2026, with no cap on the number of applications.
• The PQ says it’s prepared to preserve PR eligibility for roughly 40,000 temporary workers selected directly by Quebec, but not for participants in federal programs.
• The election result doesn’t change the October 31, 2026 deadline — it’s worth applying to PEQ now rather than waiting for the new government’s decisions.

What the Parti Québécois Promised on Immigration

The Parti Québécois has promised to cut temporary immigration by roughly half — by rough estimates, that means around 200,000 to 250,000 fewer temporary residents in the province. This category covers temporary foreign workers, international students, and others living in Quebec on a temporary basis.

At the same time, the PQ has named sectors where employers would keep access to temporary foreign workers: agriculture, manufacturing, certain regional industries, and public-facing services — including healthcare, where staffing shortages persist.

Delivering on the full promised cut won’t be straightforward: some temporary immigration programs are controlled not by Quebec but by the federal government, so carrying out this pledge could put Quebec on a collision course with Ottawa.

Permanent Resident Target: From 45,000 to 35,000 a Year

Metric	Value
Current permanent resident intake target (set by the outgoing CAQ government for this year)	45,000 people a year
Target proposed by the PQ	35,000 people a year
Reduction	roughly 22% a year (an estimate based on the stated targets)

This cut applies specifically to permanent immigration — a separate category from the temporary residents the PQ has pledged to reduce separately. The gap between the current and proposed figures is fixed: from 45,000 to 35,000 people, which works out to a cut of roughly 22% a year.

A Moratorium on Selecting Economic Immigrants From Outside Quebec

The Parti Québécois is proposing a full moratorium on selecting economic immigrants directly from outside Quebec — meaning a complete pause, not a partial restriction. In practice, this means applying for permanent residence under an economic category would only be possible once you’re already in Quebec. Anyone currently living outside the province who was counting on applying for PR directly would be directly affected: that route would close.

The Parti Québécois is proposing a full moratorium on selecting economic immigrants directly from outside Quebec — meaning a complete pause, not a partial restriction.

Instead of direct selection from abroad, all permanent residence candidates would be drawn from the pool of temporary residents already in Quebec. The moratorium isn’t open-ended: the PQ says it would stay in place until the party’s temporary immigration target is cut in half. In other words, lifting the pause is formally tied to hitting another program goal — reducing the number of temporary residents — rather than to a fixed date.

The PEQ Program and the October 31, 2026 Application Deadline

The Programme de l’expérience québécoise (PEQ) is one pathway for temporary workers to move to permanent resident status. The program was shut down in November 2025, but under public pressure the CAQ reopened it.

The current intake opened on July 2, 2026, and closes on October 31, 2026. This window is specifically for people who already met the work experience or education requirements at the time the program closed in November 2025.

There’s no cap on the number of applications: Quebec has said it will process every application submitted before the deadline as long as the applicant meets the requirements.

The CAQ had formally planned several more intakes before PEQ’s final closure in July 2028. But those were the outgoing government’s intentions — whether the PQ will follow through on them is unknown.

Grandfathering for Workers Already Selected

Grandfathering here means preserving the right to apply under the old rules for people affected by PEQ’s abrupt 2025 closure, even if the program’s new conditions no longer apply to them. The Parti Québécois has previously backed such a measure, but almost all of its statements concern one specific group — temporary foreign workers selected directly by Quebec. Earlier in the year, the party said it was prepared to preserve rights for roughly 40,000 such workers, by the party’s own estimate.

The party’s reasoning: these workers already went through a two-step process — first approved by Quebec, and only afterward granted a federal work permit. Selection at the provincial level, in the party’s view, creates grounds to expect future access to permanent residence.

For workers who came to Quebec through federally run programs — the International Mobility Program, for example — the situation is different. The party is far less willing to extend grandfathering automatically to this group. The reason is scale: if Quebec opened a path to permanent residence for every French-speaking temporary resident in the province, the party’s own estimate puts the number at 150,000 to 200,000 people. That scale doesn’t suit the party.

if Quebec opened a path to permanent residence for every French-speaking temporary resident in the province, the party’s own estimate puts the number at 150,000 to 200,000 people

What happens to international graduates and workers under federal programs remains unknown — the party hasn’t published detailed rules. What can be said is only this: temporary foreign workers selected through Quebec’s own immigration system have a stronger case for preserved rights than other categories do.

Will There Be Another PEQ Intake After October 2026

There’s no guarantee of a new PEQ intake after October 31: the PQ hasn’t published detailed rules on this. The party could run another round and limit it to a specific group — temporary foreign workers only, for instance — or it could drop further PEQ cycles altogether.

For that reason, anyone who already meets the current intake’s requirements is advised to apply now rather than wait for decisions from the new government: the October 31 deadline doesn’t change because of the election results. That said, rushing at the expense of quality isn’t worth it either — it’s worth making sure every PEQ requirement is met and the document package is complete.

the October 31 deadline doesn’t change because of the election results

In this situation, it’s worth having a lawyer or immigration consultant review the application beforehand: a specialist can help catch gaps before submission, which improves the odds of approval at a time when a second chance to apply isn’t guaranteed.

What to Do if You Meet the Current PEQ Intake’s Requirements

• Check whether you met the work experience or education requirements when the program closed in November 2025requiredThis condition applies specifically to the current intake
• Prepare a complete document packagerequiredMake sure every PEQ requirement is met
• Submit your application before October 31, 2026requiredThe deadline doesn’t depend on the election outcome
• Have a lawyer or immigration consultant review your applicationCan help catch gaps before submission
• Don’t count on a guaranteed new intake after October 2026The PQ hasn’t published detailed rules on this