Montreal mayor rejects Coalition Avenir Quebec’s immigration reduction plan
Montreal’s mayor rejected Coalition Avenir Quebec’s plan to reduce the number of newcomers to the province as immigration remained at the forefront of the election campaign Monday.
Valerie Plante said she found it difficult to accept the Coalition’s proposed plan to reduce the annual number to 40,000 from 50,000 given a labour shortage in her city and elsewhere in Quebec.
Immigration is a hot-button issue, with Coalition Leader Francois Legault facing repeated questions on his party’s stance in recent days.
Cutting immigration is a central tenet of the Coalition platform, which includes a proposal to reduce immigration by 20 per cent and require newcomers pass a French and values test within three years of arrival as a condition of staying in the province.