Mauricie
The Opportunity: A $1.5 Billion Boost for Québec
Strategic investment in the English-speaking workforce is a critical lever for provincial growth. Closing the employment and income disparities between English and French speakers would add roughly $1.5 billion to Québec’s economy annually. As a candidate in the Mauricie region, you represent a vital part of this economic opportunity.
Mauricie Region
Unemployment Rate: English speakers face an unemployment rate of 8.9%, which is 2.2 percentage points higher than their French-speaking peers.
The Postsecondary Advantage: The community possesses strong foundational skills, with a postsecondary educational attainment rate of 58.9%.
A Critical Youth Crisis: The most acute vulnerability is among the younger generation. English-speaking youth (ages 15–24) face an alarming 20.3% unemployment rate, leaving them highly exposed to economic precarity.
Core Challenges in the Mauricie Region
Brain Drain: The complete absence of regional English-language postsecondary institutions forces youth to leave Mauricie to pursue higher education, leading them to establish professional networks elsewhere and rarely return.
Language Training: Residents indicated that there is a need for more French-language training opportunities in the region, including work-integrated French-language training opportunities.
Work Language Requirements: Strong bilingualism requirements, combined with the difficulty of securing roles while actively working to improve French-language skills, create labour market integration hurdles for English-speaking job seekers.
Our 2026 Platform Recommendations
We call on all candidates to commit to the following evidence-based pillars:
Increased Funding for On-the-Job Learning Programs: Include English speakers as a target underrepresented group in existing on-the-job learning programs for individuals with difficulties finding long-term employment or acquiring work experience within the region.
Industry-Specific French-Language Training: Provide funding to improve the delivery of on-the-job French-language training.
Targeted Employment Programs: Adapt and expand existing public employment services, skills training, and employment programs to include English speakers, who are an underrepresented group in the labour market.
Tackle issues related to outmigration from the region: Strengthen partnerships with local organizations serving English-speaking communities to tackle outmigration and retention issues.