More than a third of students in Quebec have an immigrant background: data

More than one in three Quebec students are now immigrants in Montreal and Laval.

In some cases, they are even in the majority in Quebec classrooms, according to data from the Education Ministry, obtained by Le Journal.

However, the government has a very broad definition of who constitutes an immigrant.

According to recent data, nearly 420,000 children and teenagers who attend elementary and secondary schools – out of a total of 1.2 million — have an immigrant background. Ten years ago, they represented only a quarter of students.

Most of these students with immigrant backgrounds can be found in Montreal and its surroundings. No less than 68 percent of young people in schools have an immigrant background; a quarter of them were not born in Canada.

Laval follows closely behind with 67 percent. Much further behind are Montérégie, Outaouais and Capitale-Nationale.

However, the term “immigrant background” is not simply limited to being born abroad, but also applies if one of their two parents was not born in this country.

This means that a student born to a couple made up of a native-born Quebec parent and a person who was not born here is considered a student from an immigrant background.

The population of second-generation immigrant children has seen the largest increase since 2014.

Foreign-born children and adults, considered first-generation immigrants, represent only 14 percent of Quebec students.

Francisation exploding

The number of students receiving francisation services has also radically increased over the past ten years.

In 2014, just over 29,000 children had access to such services. There are now more than 70,000 of students accessing francisation services, including more than 17,000 students who attend “welcome classes” with introductory French.

Quebec Education Minister Bernard Drainville has often repeated that the increase in temporary immigration has created “enormous pressure on Quebec’s public services and particularly on its schools.