Quebec’s Ministry of Immigration, Francisation and Integration (MIFI) has confirmed that the long-standing Quebec Experience Program (Programme de l’expérience québécoise, or PEQ) will permanently close on November 19, 2025. The decision, published on November 9, 2025, ends both the graduate and temporary-foreign-worker streams that have been a fast track to permanent residence for more than a decade. Existing PEQ and pilot-program files will continue to be processed, but no new applications will be accepted.
The province will now funnel skilled-worker candidates through its newer Skilled Worker Selection Program (Programme de sélection des travailleurs qualifiés – PSTQ). Applicants must first create an Arrima profile, meet Quebec’s labour-market scoring criteria and obtain an Attestation of Learning about Quebec Democratic Values. Four PSTQ streams—highly-skilled, intermediate/manual, regulated professions and exceptional talent—replace the PEQ’s simplified two-stream structure.
![Quebec to Shut Popular PEQ Immigration Pathway, Redirecting Foreign Workers and Graduates to PSTQ]()
For multinational employers, the change means that assignees already in Quebec under temporary work or study permits will lose a predictable PR pathway. HR teams should immediately audit mobility populations to identify employees relying on PEQ timelines and begin PSTQ preparations, including French-language upskilling and updated settlement funds. The shift also places more emphasis on labour-market ranking, so employer-sponsored applicants may face longer queues unless their occupations score highly.
In the near term, Quebec’s 2025 immigration plan still targets 45,000 new permanent residents, with 64 percent expected to come from temporary residents already in the province. However, by eliminating PEQ, Quebec is signalling a preference for tightly managed, labour-market-driven selection rather than automatic transitions for graduates and in-province workers. Companies should expect closer scrutiny of job offers, wage levels and regional labour shortages when supporting foreign talent.
The province will now funnel skilled-worker candidates through its newer Skilled Worker Selection Program (Programme de sélection des travailleurs qualifiés – PSTQ). Applicants must first create an Arrima profile, meet Quebec’s labour-market scoring criteria and obtain an Attestation of Learning about Quebec Democratic Values. Four PSTQ streams—highly-skilled, intermediate/manual, regulated professions and exceptional talent—replace the PEQ’s simplified two-stream structure.
For multinational employers, the change means that assignees already in Quebec under temporary work or study permits will lose a predictable PR pathway. HR teams should immediately audit mobility populations to identify employees relying on PEQ timelines and begin PSTQ preparations, including French-language upskilling and updated settlement funds. The shift also places more emphasis on labour-market ranking, so employer-sponsored applicants may face longer queues unless their occupations score highly.
In the near term, Quebec’s 2025 immigration plan still targets 45,000 new permanent residents, with 64 percent expected to come from temporary residents already in the province. However, by eliminating PEQ, Quebec is signalling a preference for tightly managed, labour-market-driven selection rather than automatic transitions for graduates and in-province workers. Companies should expect closer scrutiny of job offers, wage levels and regional labour shortages when supporting foreign talent.
