# Ministry of Immigration, Francisation and Integration

The Ministry of Immigration, Francisation and Integration (French: Ministère de l'Immigration, de la Francisation et de l'Intégration) is a government department in Quebec responsible for immigration, francisation, and integration in the province. Accordingly, it provides a variety of programs for immigrants and immigrant communities in the province.
Jurisdiction in matters of immigration in Quebec is shared with the Canadian government, in accordance to the Constitution Act of 1867 (article 95) and the 1991 Canada–Québec Accord relating to Immigration and Temporary Admission of Aliens. The federal government pays financial compensation to Quebec in order to ensure the reception and integration of immigrants.
The department was previously known as the Ministry of Immigration, Diversity, and Inclusion (Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Diversité et de l’Inclusion).

## History

The ministry was founded on 5 November 1968, a decision made by then Premier Jean-Jacques Bertrand. The reasons for the creation of the ministry were: to prevent French from losing its dominant position in Quebec society as the birth rate of French Canadians fell, and to attract immigrants from the French-speaking world to Quebec. At its beginnings, the ministry opened immigration offices only in France and Italy. It also established a network of seven language orientation and training centres, whose goal was to teach French to newcomers. The department was previously overseen by the Minister of Immigration and Cultural Communities as a member of the Executive Council of Quebec.
On 20 February 1978, Canada and Quebec signed an immigration agreement giving Quebec decision-making power to choose its independent immigrants, who would then have to be approved by Ottawa.
On 5 February 1991, the Canada–Québec Accord relating to Immigration and Temporary Admission of Aliens was concluded, giving Quebec more power in the selection of immigrants by offering federal transfers of funds for integration of these, and guaranteeing Quebec an immigration rate proportional to its demographic weight in Canada.

### Proposed reform

During the 2022 Quebec general election, the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government of François Legault campaigned on getting more immigration powers from the federal government to Quebec. Legault has raised the idea of having a referendum on immigration powers, a pledge that was repeated after the party has increased its majority.

## List of ministers

| Minister | Minister | Political party | Start | End | Premier |
| Creation of the Ministry of Immigration (5 November 1968) ||||||
| Ministre de l'Immigration ||||||
| | Yves Gabias | Union nationale | 3 December 1968 | 28 March 1969 | Bertrand |
| | Mario Beaulieu | Union nationale | 28 March 1969 | 12 May 1970 | Bertrand |
| | Pierre Laporte | Liberal | 12 May 1970 | 29 October 1970 | Bourassa (1) |
| | François Cloutier | Liberal | 29 October 1970 | 15 February 1972 | Bourassa (1) |
| | Jean Bienvenue | Liberal | 15 February 1972 | 20 January 1976 | Bourassa (1) |
| | Lise Bacon | Liberal | 20 January 1976 | 26 November 1976 | Bourassa (1) |
| | Jacques Couture | Parti québécois | 26 November 1976 | 6 November 1980 | Lévesque |
| | Gérald Godin | Parti québécois | 6 November 1980 | 30 April 1981 | Lévesque |
| Ministre des Communautés Culturelles et de l'Immigration ||||||
| | Gérald Godin | Parti québécois | 30 April 1981 | 25 September 1984 | Lévesque |
| | Louise Harel | Parti québécois | 25 September 1984 | 20 December 1984 | Lévesque |
| | Gérald Godin | Parti québécois | 20 December 1984 | 16 October 1985 | Lévesque |
| | Gérald Godin | Parti québécois | 3 October 1985 | 16 October 1985 | P.M. Johnson |
| | Élie Fallu | Parti québécois | 16 October 1985 | 12 December 1985 | P.M. Johnson |
| | Louise Robic | Liberal | 12 December 1985 | 3 March 1989 | Bourassa |
| | Monique Gagnon-Tremblay | Liberal | 3 March 1989 | 11 January 1994 | Bourassa |
| Merged into Ministry of Foreign Affairs (11 January 1994) | Merged into Ministry of Foreign Affairs (11 January 1994) | Merged into Ministry of Foreign Affairs (11 January 1994) | Merged into Ministry of Foreign Affairs (11 January 1994) | Merged into Ministry of Foreign Affairs (11 January 1994) | Johnson Jr. |
| Merged into Ministry of Foreign Affairs (11 January 1994) | Merged into Ministry of Foreign Affairs (11 January 1994) | Merged into Ministry of Foreign Affairs (11 January 1994) | Merged into Ministry of Foreign Affairs (11 January 1994) | Merged into Ministry of Foreign Affairs (11 January 1994) | Parizeau |
| Ministre responsable de l'Immigration et des Communautés culturelles ||||||
| | André Boisclair | Parti québécois | 29 January 1996 | 4 December 1996 | Bouchard |
| Ministre des Relations avec les Citoyens et de l'Immigration ||||||
| | André Boisclair | Parti québécois | 4 December 1996 | 15 December 1998 | Bouchard |
| | Robert Perreault | Parti québécois | 15 December 1998 | 6 October 2000 | Bouchard |
| | Sylvain Simard | Parti québécois | 6 October 2000 | 8 March 2001 | Bouchard |
| | Joseph Facal | Parti québécois | 8 March 2001 | 30 January 2002 | Landry |
| | Rémy Trudel | Parti québécois | 30 January 2002 | 29 April 2003 | Landry |
| | Michelle Courchesne | Liberal | 29 April 2003 | 18 February 2005 | Charest |
| Ministre de l'Immigration et des Communautés Culturelles ||||||
| | Lise Thériault | Liberal | 18 February 2005 | 18 April 2007 | Charest |
| | Yolande James | Liberal | 18 April 2007 | 11 août 2010 | Charest |
| | Kathleen Weil | Liberal | 11 août 2010 | 19 September 2012 | Charest |
| | Diane De Courcy | Parti québécois | 19 September 2012 | 23 April 2014 | Marois |
| Ministre de l'Immigration, de la Diversité et de l'Inclusion ||||||
| | Kathleen Weil | Liberal | 23 April 2014 | 11 October 2017 | Couillard |
| | David Heurtel | Liberal | 11 October 2017 | 18 October 2018 | Couillard |
| | Simon Jolin-Barrette | CAQ | 18 October 2018 | 4 September 2019 | Legault |
| Ministre de l'Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration ||||||
| | Simon Jolin-Barrette | CAQ | 4 September 2019 | 22 juin 2020 | Legault |
| | Nadine Girault | CAQ | 22 juin 2020 | 24 November 2021 | Legault |
| | Jean Boulet | CAQ | 24 November 2021 | 20 October 2022 | Legault |
| | Christine Fréchette | CAQ | 20 October 2022 | Incumbent | Legault |

## Organization

The structure of the Ministry of Immigration, Francisation and Integration is organized as follows:
* Minister of International Relations and La Francophonie
** Minister's office
* Deputy Minister — High direction
** General Secretariat
** Legal Affairs
** Communications
** Audit committee
** Internal Audit
* Assistant Deputy Minister — Planning, performance and external relations
** Administrative review
** Research, planning and business intelligence
** Ministerial coordination and external relations
** Program evaluation, quality assurance and risk management
* Assistant Deputy Minister — Development, Innovation and Organizational Support
** Innovation and Vision 3.0
** Digital transformation and information resources
** Human resources
** Administration
* Assistant Deputy Minister — Immigration and Prospecting
** Immigration operations
** Immigration and prospecting policies and programs
** Prospecting and recruitment operations abroad
* Assistant Deputy Minister — Francization and Integration
** Francization services
** Francization and integration policies and programs
** Regional Operations

### Laws and regulations

The Minister of Immigration, Francization and Integration is responsible with administering the following laws and regulations in relation to Quebec immigration:
* Act respecting the Ministère de l'Immigration, de la Diversité et de l'Inclusion (chapter M-16.1)
** Terms and conditions of the signing of certain deeds, documents and writings of the Ministère de l’Immigration et des Communautés culturelles (r. 2)
* Québec Immigration Act (chapter I-0.2.1)
** Regulation respecting immigration consultants (r. 1)
** Québec Immigration Regulation (r. 3)