PEQ applications quickly surpass Quebec’s forecast
Two months into the reopening of the Quebec Experience Program (PEQ), applications surpassed the government’s forecast for the entire four-month period.
On Oct. 16, 2026, the government published an access to information request revealing that Quebec received 12,364 applications across July and August 2026.
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At a June 10 press conference, Quebec’s Immigration Minister François Bonnardel estimated that between 8,000 and 12,000 people would apply under the PEQ by Oct. 31, the deadline for temporary foreign workers and Quebec graduates to submit applications during the program's first intake period.
No future intake periods have been announced, and the province plans to sunset the PEQ by July 2028.
The Parti Québécois, which has pledged to cut annual permanent resident admissions from 45,000 to 35,000, is set to form a minority government and name its cabinet on Oct. 21, 2026, following Quebec’s Oct. 5 election.
The PEQ is Quebec’s only pathway that allows qualifying foreign workers and international graduates to submit direct applications for permanent selection.
In a June 10, 2026 press release, the Ministry of Immigration, Francization and Integration (MIFI) announced the reopening of the PEQ, beginning with an intake window from July 2 to Oct. 31, 2026, for foreign nationals who met its criteria as of Nov. 19, 2025, when the program’s then-permanent closure took effect.
In the same press release, MIFI stated its intention to issue an equivalent number of Quebec Selection Certificates (CSQs) under the Skilled Worker Selection Program (PSTQ) and PEQ over the remainder of its 2026–2029 immigration planning period, which ends on Dec. 31, 2029.
MIFI said in June 2026 that beginning in November 2026, after the first PEQ intake closes, it would adjust the number of PSTQ invitations based on the volume of PEQ applications received.
PSTQ applications at the end of August stood at 12,152.
The lion’s share of the 12,364 PEQ applications were received in July, with the student stream accounting for nearly two-thirds of applications:
| PEQ stream | July | August |
|---|---|---|
| Quebec Graduates | 6,861 | 1,077 |
| Temporary Foreign Workers | 3,626 | 800 |
Once the PEQ has been sunset, foreign nationals pursuing economic immigration with the intent to settle in Quebec will no longer have any route providing a guaranteed opportunity to apply for permanent selection.
Instead, they will need to pursue permanent residence through the PSTQ by creating expression of interest profiles in Quebec’s online system, Arrima, and compete against other candidates under the province’s ranking system to receive invitations to apply.
Ottawa has introduced measures allowing certain PSTQ applicants to keep working in Quebec while the province assesses their applications.
Since March 13, 2026, foreign workers who have been invited under the PSTQ and have submitted a Demande de sélection permanente (DSP), Quebec’s application for permanent selection, may apply for an LMIA-exempt, employer-specific work permit of up to 12 months.
To qualify, they must hold, or have recently held, an employer-specific work permit for work in Quebec and apply to continue working for the same employer.
Workers with a valid permit must have one expiring on or before Dec. 31, 2026, while those whose permits have expired must either have applied for renewal before expiry or, if their permit expired on or after March 13, 2026, apply to restore their status.
On June 5, 2026, Canada's immigration department replaced that public policy with an expanded version that also offers open work permits to spouses and common-law partners listed as accompanying family members on the worker’s DSP.
This policy expires on Dec. 31, 2026.
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