Tens of thousands of people hoping to reunite with family in Quebec are stuck in a years-long immigration limbo, and lawyers are now turning to the courts to force the process to move. According to CBC News, the number of people waiting to be granted permanent residence in Quebec's family reunification category stood at 42,000 as of May 2026, a backlog that has left families across the province in a prolonged state of uncertainty.
The delays set Quebec apart from the rest of the country. Unlike other provinces, Quebec determines its own immigration targets, dictating how many permanent residence applications are processed federally each year. The result, CBC reported, is that an applicant who might have received an answer within a few years elsewhere in Canada can end up waiting far longer if their file runs through Quebec.
One of those caught in the backlog is a Montreal man identified as Ataya, whose case illustrates the human toll. Originally from Lebanon, he was sponsored by his wife, Sarah, after they married in 2020, and quickly received Quebec's Certificat de Selection du Quebec. But his file then stalled at the federal background check stage, where it has remained for roughly six years, even as his wife and two young children are Canadian citizens.
For the family, the wait has been defined by fear and uncertainty. Ataya said he worries about the future because he does not know what tomorrow holds, and fears his application may simply have been lost somewhere in the system. His life, he said, is now firmly rooted in Canada, leaving him to wonder what he would do if, after six years, the answer were to come back no.
The province has recently reopened the door, but only partway. At the beginning of July 2026, Quebec resumed taking family reunification applications, setting a limit of 15,700 applications to be accepted until the end of June 2028. That cap, however, does little for those like Ataya who are already in the queue and still waiting for their permanent residence to be granted.
Frustrated by the pace, Quebec's association of immigration lawyers has taken the matter to court. The group filed a request with the Federal Court seeking to compel the federal immigration ministry to resolve the long processing times, arguing that the delays are not simply a question of staffing, since other provinces have shown they can complete security screenings in a reasonable amount of time.
For its part, the federal government acknowledged the strain on families. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said it was sensitive to the emotional stress that can be caused in cases involving family members, while pointing to the high volume of applications and the screening delays that lie behind the long waits many applicants now face.