Immigration in Quebec

The immigration in Quebec exists for a long time, because America since always is a ground of immigration.

The first settlements autochtones were carried out there is more than 8.000 years. Their origin is complex and is the subject of archaeological studies.

The first colonists sent in the colonial establishment were Louis Hébert and his wife Marie Rollet at the beginning of the 17th century. At the time of the British Conquest, in 1759 and 1760, the territory is populated of 60.000 French colonists and many people autochtones.

At the end of the XVIIIe century, immigration towards the province of Quebec was narrowly controlled by the British authorities, which encouraged however the massive arrival of the Loyalistes to form the High-Canada.

At the XIXe century, many Scot and Irishmen come to the Canada-Is. Three of the five first Canadian Prime Ministers were born in British Isles. Thomas D' Arcy the McGee, most famous representing Irish community, dies assassinated by a partisan Fénien.

In the first decades of the XXe century, the metropolis montréalaise accommodates many communities, of which the French, British, the Scot, Irishmen, Italians, Jews, Poles, Portuguese and Ukrainians. It should however be specified that at the time, immigration was entirely under the jurisdiction of the federal government.

From 1945 to 1960, a large wave of international immigration makes the portrait much more cosmopolitan. The immigrants do not come only any more from Europe, but from all the continents.

In the Years 1960, Quebec asserts the federal right to take part in the selection of the immigrants on his territory: in 1965 is created the service of immigration of Quebec then in 1968 the Québécois Ministère of immigration.

In 1971, the Québécois civils servant obtain the right to settle in the foreign embassies and as from 1978 Quebec can choose its immigrants according to criteria suitable for a system of points of appreciation established by its ministry. Since the end of the year 1980, one notes the arrival of people of origin Algerian, Moroccan, indo-Pakistani and Haitian, although the source of the immigrants is very diverse. The Québécois authorities hope that massive immigration will be able to solve the problems of dependant labor associated with the demographic Déclin and with the Vieillissement of the population.

One of the recognized difficulties of the Immigration policy is that the very large majority of the immigrants settles in the districts of Montreal and that little of non-Montréalais have a regular contact with the cultural communities. It is estimated that approximately 40 % of the immigrants have a basic knowledge of the French language.

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