Quebec election and the U.S. migrant crisis

Study on attitudes toward immigration raises a red flag

This week, Montreal’s Center for Interuniversity Research and Analysis of Organizations (CIRANO) released findings from its 2018 Barometer. With fewer than 100 days to go before the next provincial election, the study offers some insight into the key issues on the minds of Quebecers.

CIRANO researchers looked at concerns around health and education, unemployment, infrastructure, environment, energy and the economy, among other issues. While health remains at the top of the list, immigration is another preoccupation — one that is likely to be a central theme of the election campaign.

According to the study, 59 per cent of Quebecers are favourable to the integration of immigrants, and 68 per cent see the benefits to Quebec, particularly as a solution to replenishing our dwindling workforce and aging population. However, 48 per cent of respondents also associate immigration with a “big” or “very big” risk for Quebec.

The groups most concerned about immigration are women (53 per cent compared to 43 per cent of men), people aged 55 to 74 (55 per cent compared to 39 per cent of respondents under 35), and francophones (50 per cent compared to 36 per cent of anglophones and 31 per cent of allophones).

The CIRANO study raises a red flag, particularly as Quebec continues to grapple with a flow of irregular migration coming into Canada across the U.S. border.

From January to May 22 of this year, 8,670 people — including families with small children — were intercepted by the RCMP while walking across at Quebec’s Lacolle border. Last year, thousands of Haitians fled the U.S. into Quebec. This year has seen an increase in asylum seekers from Nigeria, most of whom speak English, not French. Many have cited the political climate and travel bans under U.S. President Donald Trump as a push factor.

The situation has taken an alarming turn in recent weeks. In a speech last month, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced stronger measures to prosecute people attempting to cross into the country illegally through its southwest border, instructing border patrols to show “zero tolerance,” including toward asylum seekers arriving with family members. U.S. protocol prohibits detaining children with their parents because the children, unlike adults, cannot be charged with a crime. Nearly 2,000 children are reported to have been separated from their families over a six-week period in April and May.

The Trump administration’s family separation policy is generating outrage and political polarization, and exacerbating anti-migrant rhetoric in the U.S.

The U.S. — like Canada — has the right and obligation to protect its borders and ensure the security of its citizens. The removal of children from their parents raises questions around whether the U.S. can still be considered a Safe Third Country for asylum seekers, undocumented migrants and those with temporary protected status. Ripping families apart as a deterrent measure targets the most vulnerable members of society — children — and exposes them to possibly irreparable harm and trauma.

But while many Canadians are quick to point fingers at the U.S. response to its migrant problem, how are we dealing with the arrival of asylum seekers at our own border — and how might this impact Quebec’s election campaign?

The two major opposition parties — the Parti Québécois and the Coalition Avenir Québec — argue that the governing Liberals have not succeeded in properly integrating newcomers, in part by failing to ensure they learn French. The CAQ is proposing to decrease immigration to Quebec by 10,000 people a year, while the PQ has called for a full review of Quebec’s immigration policies.

The CIRANO study indicates that immigration, broadly speaking, is perceived as a “risk” or “worrying ” for many Quebecers. Their concerns are understandable. But as the election campaign heats up, my hope is that political candidates, in their quest for votes, choose not to emulate the kind of nationalist rhetoric and fear-mongering around public safety and asylum seekers that we’re seeing south of the border.