Voyageur 91
Quebec's New Premier's First Foreign Trip Is to Washington, and BC's Shut Its Grad and Tech Doors to Permanent Residency.
News for residents of the “11th province”: Canadians abroad.
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Quebec Premier's First Foreign Trip Is to DC
Christine Fréchette, sworn in as Quebec premier two weeks ago, is in Washington this week for her first official foreign mission. Her flight left Sunday.
There is some urgency to her choice, as the United States is the recipient of almost three quarters of Quebec's exports ($91.2 billion in 2024 - mostly aerospace parts & engines, aluminum, gold and silver). Trump's tariffs have hit those sectors directly, and the clock is ticking on the CUSMA renegotiation which begins July 1.
Fréchette is meeting with Canada's US ambassador Mark Wiseman, sitting down with American and Canadian business associations, and is expected to meet with a handful of congressional contacts. She had a private meeting with PM Mark Carney on Parliament Hill on April 17 before leaving.
Fréchette won the CAQ leadership on April 12 with 57.9 percent of the vote, after François Legault stepped down. She's a former economic development director and Quebec's previous economy minister, so the trade file is her home turf.
Read more: Global News / CBC News
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BC’s Shut Its Grad and Tech Doors to Permanent Residency
British Columbia has shut down most of its pathways to permanent residency for international graduates, tech workers, and entry-level employees. Untouched (so far) is healthcare and the trades.
The provincial nominee program (BCPNP) cancelled three planned student streams (Bachelor's, Master's, Doctorate) before they launched. The Entry-Level and Semi-Skilled stream is closed, taking tourism, hospitality, and food processing workers with it. International Graduate streams closed last year. The Priority Tech Occupations targeted draws ran their last round in December 2024 and never came back.
What remains is the Health Authority stream, a list of 31 healthcare occupations (now including veterinary care), nine construction trades, and an Entrepreneur path. The province has promised that 35 percent of all nominations will go to candidates working outside Greater Vancouver.
It’s not all Victoria’s doing, however; the squeeze is partly federal. Ottawa allocated BC just 5,254 nominations for 2026, a fraction of the 9,000 the province requested.
Read more: CIC News