#polqc

Language politics surfaced on the Quebec campaign trail Friday as the leader of the Coalition Avenir Quebec promised his government would force new immigrants to leave the province if they don’t learn French within three years.

After two weeks of campaigning nearly devoid of language talk, Francois Legault said new immigrants would be given a temporary permit upon entry and then have three years to take language courses and pass a basic French-language test.

Those who fail would not be granted permission to stay and would be considered to be in the country illegally, he said.

His budget speech made all of one reference to coronavirus, and the budget itself contained no specific measures to deal with the outbreak or its economic consequences.

In Ottawa, by contrast, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters on Tuesday that the virus will  have "significant economic impacts for Canadians." Trudeau is expected to announce mitigation measures later today.