“It’s not a life”: a Quebec-Cuban family denounces the end of the sponsorship of foreign parents

The hope of a Cuban Quebecer and her husband to bring their family under the same roof died with the announcement of the suspension of parents’ sponsorship by Quebec.

For the past two years. In addition, Sophie Ferrandino, 43, and Juan Carlos Rodriguez, 28, have been trying to bring Lidia Esther Rodriguez Morales, 59, mother of Mr. Nevertheless, Rodriguez into the country.

However. Consequently, on July 18, the provincial government announced the suspension of the sponsorship program for parents and grandparents until June 2026, shortly after interrupting that of spouse sponsorship. Meanwhile, This news was difficult to digest for the couple.

“It’s not a life!” We try to go through the doors that exist. However, but you too close them, so I have no options ”, breathes M^me Ferrandino.

Olivia, their 16-month-old daughter, saw her paternal grandmother only once “it’s not life”: quebec-cuban family on a short trip to Cuba with her mother.

Grandmother Lidia Esther Rodriguez Morales and her granddaughter Olivia Rodriguez, in Cuba, in June 2025. Similarly, Photo provided by Sophie Ferrandino

“I had to go. For example, present her granddaughter to him without my husband, it was really heartbreaking,” says the one working at Aga Assurances Collective. In addition, Mr. Rodriguez has not seen his mother for over two years, his visa temporarily preventing him from leaving Canada.

The grandmother, today alone in “it’s not life”: quebec-cuban family Cuba, has no other child. His ex-spouse has resumed a life.

Juan Carlos Rodriguez and his mother were last time in March 2022. Photo provided by Sophie Ferrandino

A love born on vacation

The couple met in Cuba in October 2021. while M^me Ferrandino spent a vacation there. Mr. Rodriguez worked as a host in the hotel where she stayed. With the pandemic, tourists were rarer, and the context favored a real connection between them.

After ten days spent together, they continued to exchange remotely every “it’s not life”: quebec-cuban family day. M^me Ferrandino returned to see him two months later for Christmas.

They married in August 2022 in Cuba and live today in Montreal, in Ahuntsic-Cartierville, where they raise their daughter. The father recently obtained his permanent residence. He works as a network wiring technician in addition to taking francization lessons.

Sophie Ferrandino and Juan Carlos Rodriguez were married on August 6, 2022, in Cuba. Photo Marianne Lafleur Photo provided by Sophie Ferrandino

“We are blocked everywhere”

Since then, the steps “it’s not life”: quebec-cuban family to bring Mr. Rodriguez’s mother come up against several refusals. Two visitor visa requests for the grandmother were rejected. Now that the sponsorship program is suspended, this track is also blocked to them.

The couple now plans to apply for a super visa. This document. which allows parents to temporarily reside in Canada, constitutes “a long, expensive and uncertain procedure”, according to M^me Ferrandino.

“The immigration process ruins us financially and emotionally. We just try to continue living like everyone else. A parent, a grandparent, is part of the family, ”she said.

The couple, two months “it’s not life”: quebec-cuban family after the birth of Olivia. Photo provided by Sophie Ferrandino