Quebec temporary residents — CAQ and permit planning
MIFI temporary resident planning rows for CAQs, temporary workers, international students, and permit-holder admissions, shown separately from Quebec permanent-resident admissions.
Data as of May 2026
How to read the Quebec TR rows
Quebec publishes temporary resident planning rows in the MIFI annual immigration plan. These rows include CAQ selection certificates and admission or permit-holder planning ranges, so the metric column matters.
- CAQ rows are certificates or selections, not federal permit issuances.
- Permit-holder rows include people admitted or extended under the relevant temporary category.
- The 2025 values are forecasts, while 2026 values are planning ranges.
Relationship to federal study caps
Quebec uses the CAQ process for study authorization. A CAQ can serve the attestation role for IRCC study permit processing, but the Quebec CAQ row is not the same as a province-issued PAL table.
Quebec temporary resident plan
| Category | Group | Metric | Unit | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Quebec Acceptance Certificates | Total | Selection certificates | certificates | 217,503 | 214,171 | 151,700 | 130,700–177,800 | Ministere de l'Immigration, de la Francisation et de l'Integration |
| Temporary Foreign Worker Program CAQs | Workers | Selection certificates | certificates | 60,837 | 56,243 | 51,900 | 43,400–63,700 | Ministere de l'Immigration, de la Francisation et de l'Integration |
| Agricultural worker CAQs | Workers | Selection certificates | certificates | 22,955 | 23,384 | 23,600 | 21,200–30,600 | Ministere de l'Immigration, de la Francisation et de l'Integration |
| Non-agricultural worker CAQs | Workers | Selection certificates | certificates | 37,882 | 32,859 | 28,300 | 22,200–33,100 | Ministere de l'Immigration, de la Francisation et de l'Integration |
| International student CAQs | Students | Selection certificates | certificates | 156,666 | 157,928 | 99,800 | 87,300–114,100 | Ministere de l'Immigration, de la Francisation et de l'Integration |
| Total temporary resident admissions in Quebec programs | Total | Permit holders | persons | 136,545 | 129,525 | 95,400–111,000 | 84,900–124,200 | Ministere de l'Immigration, de la Francisation et de l'Integration |
| Temporary Foreign Worker Program admissions | Workers | Permit holders | persons | 58,545 | 56,740 | 47,600–55,400 | 40,400–55,700 | Ministere de l'Immigration, de la Francisation et de l'Integration |
| International student admissions | Students | Permit holders | persons | 78,000 | 72,785 | 47,800–55,600 | 44,500–68,500 | Ministere de l'Immigration, de la Francisation et de l'Integration |
Frequently asked questions
Are Quebec CAQs the same as temporary resident admissions?
No. A CAQ is Quebec's selection or authorization step. A permit-holder or admission row describes a different metric and should not be merged with CAQ certificate counts.
Does Quebec appear in the PAL system?
Students in Quebec generally use a CAQ instead of a separate PAL or TAL document. The CAQ can serve the attestation role for IRCC study permit processing.
Why are some 2025 Quebec values marked as forecasts?
MIFI's 2026 plan publishes 2025 temporary resident values as forecasts rather than final actual results.