OTTAWA — The Harper government signalled Thursday that it will no longer put up with Quebec accepting thousands of deep-pocketed investor immigrants each year even though the majority settle in other provinces, especially B.C.

Immigration Minister Chris Alexander echoed complaints from predecessor Jason Kenney, who said in June that some immigrants are engaged in a “fraud” that enriches the Quebec government while costing taxpayers in B.C. and elsewhere a bundle.

At issue is Ottawa’s cash-for-visa program that gives permanent residency status to those who are prepared to inject – in the form of a guaranteed, interest-free loan — $800,000 into the Canadian economy. Quebec operates a parallel program.

The Quebec program is more popular because the approval process is quicker and easier, and it takes in twice as many people, according to Vancouver immigration lawyer Richard Kurland.

That has critics suggesting rich foreigners are using the Quebec scheme to do an end-run around Ottawa to set up in Vancouver or Toronto.

“If someone applies to immigrate to a particular province, that is where they are undertaking to reside,” Alexander, who replaced Kenney in last month’s cabinet shuffle, told The Vancouver Sun in a statement.

“While we respect provincial jurisdiction, as a matter of fairness we cannot send federal transfer payments to one province for someone living in another. That saddles the other provinces with unfair resettlement costs, such as health care and education.

“We will work with our provincial partners to find a fair and reasonable solution.”

Quebec’s Parti Quebecois government, which announced changes to the investor immigrant program Thursday to increase the number of French-speaking applicants, rejected the fraud charge.

“All immigrants, regardless of their chosen program, have the right to move and settle where they want to in Canada once they’ve obtained permanent residency,” said Jonathan Lavallée, spokesman for Quebec’s immigration ministry. “To say that this is a sham is absolutely wrong.”

Citizenship and Immigration Canada, using statistics from the Quebec government, estimates that more than 90 per cent of those accepted under Quebec’s immigrant investor program end up in other provinces. The majority of that 90 per cent go directly to Metro Vancouver.

Lavallée said Quebec expects to bring in 5,000 to 7,000 business immigrants in 2013, the vast majority of them in the “investor immigrant” category. He said Thursday’s new criteria makes it easier for francophones to use the program, but does not add any barriers for non-French speakers.

Quebec’s target is far above what Ottawa’s program typically brings in for the rest of the country. In 2012 Ottawa’s program, which has broadly the same requirements as Quebec’s, was 2,615.

Kenney, in a tirade to a parliamentary committee in June that wasn’t reported in the media, said participants in the Quebec program are engaged in fraud.

He said the Canada Border Services Agency had been told to lay charges against people who make misleading statements in their applications, which Kenney said is a violation of the Citizenship and Immigration Act.