Quebec closed the PEQ (PEC Travailleur) program with no transition measures, abruptly cutting off more than 50,000 participants from their path to permanent residency and stripping the province’s labor market of thousands of skilled workers.
In short
- PEC Travailleur was closed abruptly with no transition period — thousands of participants who had already spent 2 years in Quebec were left without an interim solution.
- A doctoral degree holder who earned his degree in Quebec in 2022 is also blocked by the closure — the diploma doesn’t grant the right to apply for PEC.
- Departing specialists can’t be replaced by asylum seekers: international obligations prevent their deportation, and they can’t be required to take the vacant jobs either.
- The only fast-acting measure is speeding up CSQ issuance and permanent residency processing; the first signals should be expected within the coming weeks.
- According to the forecast cited in the material, the labor shortage situation could change around mid-2027.
What happened to the PEQ (PEC Travailleur) program
Most of the more than 50,000 people who stopped working in Quebec in recent months were participants in the PEC Travailleur program (PEQ for workers). The program offered a straightforward mechanism: after two years of work in the province, a participant could apply for a Quebec Selection Certificate (CSQ) under PEC — a step toward permanent residency, after which a separate application still had to be filed with the federal IRCC. People knowingly took on risk to reach that transition — some left children or spouses behind in their home country, expecting to reunite once their status was secured.
Those affected by the closure include not only workers but also graduates of Quebec universities. One telling case involves a holder of a doctoral degree earned in Quebec back in 2022: despite the diploma, he cannot apply for PEC and remains stuck, with his family left in a state of complete uncertainty.
The defining detail of the closure is its form. PEC was shut down with no accompanying measures and no transition period: participants who had already built two years of their lives around a promised path to residency were left with no interim solution.
The defining detail of the closure is its form.
PEC was shut down abruptly: no accompanying measures, no interim solution for those who had already spent two years building their lives around a path to residency.
What PEC Travailleur participants were promised
Participants were promised a path to permanent residency after 2 years of work: first, processing under PEC with a Quebec Selection Certificate (CSQ), then a separate application to the federal IRCC for permanent resident status. Some applicants had already relocated children or spouses to the province in anticipation of that outcome.
The promise applied not only to workers but also to graduates of local universities. The same doctoral degree holder, who earned his degree in Quebec back in 2022, is a telling example: despite the diploma, he cannot apply for PEC, and his family remains in a state of complete uncertainty.
Employers who recruited specialists on the understanding of “permanent resident status after 2 years” can no longer deliver on that promise — the rules changed after people had already rebuilt their lives around them.
Was a full cancellation of the program on the table
During the consultation phase, before the closure was announced, officials discussed the possibility that a temporary suspension of the program would become permanent — that is, escalate into a full cancellation of PEC Travailleur. This wasn’t a pause with an eventual return in mind, but a scenario in which the program would be shut down for good, with no path to reinstatement.
That move was called a mistake: a full cancellation would mean breaking commitments to people who had already been trained and prepared for the Quebec labor market. Formally, the decision for full cancellation was never made — the program was suspended instead — but the fact that this harsher option was even raised during consultations shows it was seriously considered.
Consultations raised the option of a full, permanent cancellation of the program with no path to reinstatement — that option was dropped, but the program was suspended anyway.
Nationals of France and Belgium among those affected
During the program’s closure, inquiries came in from French citizens as well as people who had lived permanently in France and Belgium without holding French citizenship. These weren’t isolated cases — there were many such inquiries.
These people were counting on the promised path to permanent residency and planning to relocate for new opportunities for themselves and their families. The decision to shut down the program overnight erased that prospect — even though the applicants themselves had done nothing wrong.
Why departing specialists are a problem for Quebec’s labor market
The positions being vacated aren’t ordinary jobs — the material describes them as thousands of skilled positions. These are people who earned their diplomas directly within Quebec’s education system, which is geared toward employment, and some of them had already worked in their field within that same system. That’s exactly why their departure isn’t a simple case of swapping one worker for another: the market is losing people whose diplomas and experience were tailored to local employer requirements from the start.
Filling these positions with new permanent residents right away doesn’t work. A newly arrived permanent resident may hold relevant education earned in their home country and be qualified for the same role — but without the equivalent local credential, employers in practice more often choose a local candidate, even one with incomplete or less relevant education. As a result, vacated skilled positions either stay unfilled or go to less-qualified people — not to those who actually have the needed expertise.
A newly arrived permanent resident with a relevant foreign degree often loses out to a local candidate without the right diploma — simply because the local candidate holds a Quebec credential.
Can Canada replace skilled migrants with asylum seekers
Replacing departing skilled specialists with asylum seekers isn’t a direct option: according to the assessment cited in the material, Canada’s international obligations limit the deportation of people who have filed asylum claims, regardless of the reason. In other words, this group of people can’t be deported — but they also can’t be required to fill the skilled vacancies left behind.
The result is an inversion: the people leaving are credentialed specialists trained for specific jobs, while the people staying can’t be removed but haven’t had their qualifications verified for those same jobs. Skilled-labor vacancies either stay unfilled or go to people who lack the necessary competency.
the people leaving are credentialed specialists trained for specific jobs, while the people staying can’t be removed but haven’t had their qualifications verified for those same jobs
When the labor shortage situation is expected to turn around
According to the assessment cited in the material at the time it was prepared, the situation may shift around mid-2027 — though this estimate could change as events unfold. That, according to this forecast, is when the labor shortage problem will shift in character: an issue that is politically inconvenient to discuss ahead of elections will become relevant again.
For now, authorities are avoiding sharp public moves. International recruitment campaigns for employers are seen as costly and poorly timed — partly because people have lost trust in promises of permanent residency. Even so, private employer-led hiring initiatives abroad, unlike government programs such as Journées Québec, are expected to keep growing: employers have no other choice. The pressure on the labor market itself, according to the material’s assessment, will force employers to act faster, since fewer and fewer people are willing to organize international recruitment campaigns.
fewer and fewer people are willing to organize international recruitment campaigns
The one measure that could produce a fast effect is speeding up permanent residency processing and CSQ (Quebec Selection Certificate) issuance. The first signs of such a turnaround should be expected within the coming weeks.
The one measure with a fast effect is speeding up permanent residency processing and CSQ issuance; the first signs of a turnaround should be expected within the coming weeks.
Frequently asked questions
Can PEC Travailleur be reinstated in the future?
Formally, the program was not fully cancelled but suspended — meaning the right to reinstatement technically remains. A harsher option, full cancellation with no path to reinstatement, was also considered, but that decision was never made.
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