Is Immigration a Threat to Language and Culture in Quebec?

Poll suggests Quebec voters starkly divided along partisan lines

The front entrance of Cégep de Saint-Laurent, in Montreal (where I teach physics)

Prior to last year’s Quebec general election, Premier François Legault promised to cap annual immigration levels at 50k for the province, stressing that surpassing this number would be “suicidal” for the Quebec nation and for the protection of French in the province.

Yet, the CAQ did reverse course last spring on keeping that 50k annual cap, with a new bill that sets knowledge of French as a strong prerequisite for those who wish to permanently settle in the province (a condition on which Quebecers are divided, you can read my column in L’actualité here).

We present today the last part of the Pallas Data Quebec poll (fielded September 26-27, 2023), which focused on Quebecers’ voting intentions (provincial here, federal here), support for sovereignty, and immigration issues.

The poll’s final question was “Do you agree that current levels of immigration cause a threat to the French language and Quebec culture?”

Let’s first look at the province-wide numbers, and then dive into the crosstabs.