Where is Canada’s immigration minister? Community groups are asking

2026/02/26 Leave a comment

Don’t expect her to survive the next shuffle:

When Lena Diab was appointed head of Canada’s Immigration Department, community expectations were high.

The new minister is the daughter of immigrants, is trilingual and spent part of her childhood in Lebanon. Diab had also previously served in cabinet in her home province of Nova Scotia.

“It seemed like the perfect plan,” said Stephan Reichhold, executive director of the Quebec-based Table de concertation des organismes au service des personnes réfugiées et immigrantes.

But Reichhold quickly became disillusioned with a minister who, in his opinion, was conspicuous in her absence.

Members of Parliament are also expressing disappointment in Diab’s performance — including some of her fellow Liberal caucus members.

‘She is completely absent’

Reichhold said he has never managed to speak directly with Diab, despite repeatedly asking to meet following her swearing-in last May.

“I have seen 14 immigration ministers come and go, and it is truly surprising. We are really astonished that she is completely absent,” Reichhold said.

That’s in contrast with her predecessor Marc Miller, who Reichhold said had frequent contact with stakeholders in the field even when his government lowered its immigration targets.

Radio-Canada spoke with five other organizations that criticized Diab’s availability. Among them is the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, which spoke with the minister only once, via videoconference, last spring.

The organization is seeking to open a path to permanent residency for Ukrainians who have fled the war, but has still not managed to secure an in-person meeting with Diab. Her predecessors were more readily available, said the CEO of the congress, Ihor Michalchyshyn.

“It’s frustrating,” he said. “We haven’t been able to schedule a meeting despite several attempts.”

Organizations also note that the minister is not very visible in the media, even as the immigration issue was widely covered in Quebec.

When asked to comment, Diab declined Radio-Canada’s request for an interview and did not provide a written response.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Mark Carney said that “as minister of immigration, [Diab] plays a key role in the government’s mandate to bring immigration back to sustainable levels, while attracting the best talent in the world to help build our economy.”

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) did not comment on the criticism from community groups.

Committee presence criticized

On the few occasions when Diab has been visible — in parliamentary committee, for example — her performance has raised eyebrows.

At the end of October, the minister had difficulty answering a question from the Bloc Québécois about processing times for refugee status applications and sought information from the civil servants sitting next to her.

Exasperated, MP Claude DeBellefeuille snapped, “Madam minister, why won’t you answer me? It’s your power. Why are you delegating it to your civil servant?”

“There are many laws governing these issues,” Diab replied, adding that “it depends on the circumstances.”

A few weeks later, Conservative immigration critic Michelle Rempel Garner, known for her sharp tongue in committee, questioned Diab about the possibility of extending the visas of millions of temporary residents and called her a “very bad minister.” The exchange was widely shared on social media.

“I understand as a woman in politics, sometimes you can get framed unfairly,” said Rempel Garner in an interview with Radio-Canada. “But she is the minister of immigration. She has to step it up, right? And I just, I haven’t seen that.… I feel like I know the file far better than she does.”

The minister testified this month before two Senate committees studying the border security legislation Bill C-12. On several occasions, Diab had to give the floor to the officials accompanying her, visibly unable to answer the questions.

“She doesn’t have a strong command of her file,” said Bloc Québécois MP Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe, who was present during some of these committee exchanges and who, until recently, was the Bloc’s immigration critic.

Discouraged Liberals 

Criticism is coming not only from opposition parties, but also from Diab’s own Liberal colleagues.

Away from the cameras, 10 Liberal MPs spoke to Radio-Canada about her performance. They were granted confidentiality in order to express themselves freely.

Of those, only one defended Diab’s job performance. Although several of them emphasized that she is a “good person” in charge of a “difficult” portfolio, nine MPs said they believe that the minister is overwhelmed and are openly questioning her place at the cabinet table.

“It doesn’t make sense. In the House of Commons, many MPs hold their breath when she answers questions from the opposition,” said one Liberal elected official.

“We’re afraid she’ll put her foot in her mouth.”

Source: Where is Canada’s immigration minister? Community groups are asking

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Tasha Kheiriddin: Pierre Poilievre’s deportation gamble

2026/02/26 Leave a comment

Good take:

….Here’s the rub. Yes, it is unfair that refugees can access benefits unavailable to Canadian citizens. Why should asylum claimants get discount supplemental health care when millions of Canadians are lining up at food banks? Why should criminals get lower sentences, remain in the country, and get health care on the taxpayer’s dime? These things are wrong and must be remedied.

But as with most things in politics, communications matters. Timing and framing can decide whether an issue gets resolved or simply serves as an occasion to grandstand. And in the current case, I fear it’s the latter.

Deporting foreign criminals is exactly what US President Donald Trump promised to do during his 2024 election campaign. Since then, the word “deportation” has become a lightening rod, conjuring up images of American ICE agents detaining five-year-olds and shooting their own citizens. You can’t talk about this issue, and use the identical vocabulary, without being linked to the current administration in Washington.

So why is Poilievre using this language? There are two possible answers: one, he and his comms people don’t see it, or two, they do — and are making a calculated appeal to MAGA-friendly voters in Canada.

“This does a disservice to the very issue they are championing. The Conservatives know they aren’t going to get the changes they are asking for — but they will shore up their base, one third of which are Trump fans.

Why now? Poilievre’s party may have given him an 87 per cent endorsement at his policy convention, but he just lost another MP to the Liberals. His best frenemy, Durham MP Jamil Jivani, just returned from a White House meet-and-greet with his former law school buddy, Vice President J.D. Vance, which he warbled about all over social media. Caucus is grumbling at the prospect of Carney cobbling together a majority, leaving them warming the opposition benches for another three years. And the Liberals have a twelve-point lead in the polls, should they choose to call an early election.

The Conservatives’ concerns about immigration aren’t misplaced. But in the current climate, they’re more rage farm than reform….

Source: Tasha Kheiriddin: Pierre Poilievre’s deportation gamble

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Malcolm: Liberals broke our immigration system. We need Conservatives to fix it.

2026/02/26 Leave a comment

Gives a sense of where the more extreme wing of Conservatives are. Some more realistic than others but overall, more a laundry list than serious, practical or politically viable. Malcolm, who did briefly work under Jason Kenney as a communications adviser, lacks the sophistication and nuance of her former boss:

Cutting off extended benefits for illegal immigrants is obvious, low-hanging fruit – so much so that the Conservatives shouldn’t waste political capital on it. They’re going to get called “racist” by elites and Liberals no matter what, so why not propose something meaningful?

Here are some ideas:

  • End all temporary foreign work programs
  • Deport all illegal immigrants
  • Fast-track asylum hearings, or possibly send asylum claimants to a third party location while they await hearings (like Australia does with Nauru)
  • Require visas from countries that abuse our asylum system. Automatically reject asylum claims from students whose visas are expiring
  • Limit student visas to 5% of any college or university’s student body
  • Reduce or pause economic immigration streams until GDP per capita grows by a certain per cent per year
  • Bring back in-person interviews for all immigrants
  • Crack down on immigration fraud and strip citizenship from those who committed fraud to become a citizen, show allegiance to a foreign terrorist group, or are convicted of a violent crime or gun crime
  • Reserve social benefits for citizens, require visa-holders (including PRs) to buy health insurance
  • Fortify Canadian citizenship: Adopt the Swiss model and require newcomers to spend 10 years living in Canada, pass a grade 12 equivalent English/French course, show sincere knowledge of Canadian customs and history, show financial stability (no social assistance use or major debts) and require references from Canadians citizens
  • Most importantly for Conservatives: whatever you do, DON’T listen to people like Andrew Coyne!

It was the Liberals who broke our immigration system and destroyed the consensus. A majority of Canadians now oppose mass immigration. A majority say numbers are too high and must be lowered

Canadians rely on Conservatives to clean up the mess made by Liberals, and right now Conservatives have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to address very real problems and propose a strong and secure system for our future. It needs to be based in self-respect and a revitalized national pride. This is one area where Conservatives can meaningfully differentiate themselves from Liberals. They must confidently and unapologetically propose real changes.

Source: Malcolm: Liberals broke our immigration system. We need Conservatives to fix it.

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Hundreds of American nurses choose Canada over the U.S. under Trump

2026/02/26 2 Comments

Of note:

…The Millers are part of a new surge of American nurses, doctors, and other health care workers moving to Canada, and specifically British Columbia, where more than 1,000 U.S.-trained nurses have been approved to work since April.

Many nurses have felt the draw of Canada’s progressive politics, friendly reputation, and universal health care system, which stands in contrast to what they see as authoritarian policies under Trump along with deep cuts to funding for public health, insurance, and medical research.

Additionally, some nurses were incensed last year when the Trump administration said it would reclassify nursing as a nonprofessional degree, which would impose strict federal limits on the loans nursing students could receive.

Canada is poised to capitalize. Two of its most populous provinces, Ontario and British Columbia, have streamlined the licensing process for American nurses since Trump returned to the White House. British Columbia also launched a $5 million advertising campaign last year to recruit nurses from California, Oregon, and Washington state. 

“With the chaos and uncertainty happening in the U.S., we are seizing the opportunity to attract the talent we need,” Josie Osborne, the province’s health minister, said in a statement announcing the campaign….

Source: Hundreds of American nurses choose Canada over the U.S. under Trump

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Why millions of New Englanders may now be eligible for ‘proof’ they are Canadian citizens

2026/02/26 Leave a comment

Definitely a theoretical possibility but in practice, given that most parents will not have met the residency requirement needed for the second and third generation to claim citizenship will likely be a small percentage. But proof data will show the extent of any increase but only broken down by country:

…Bill C-3 allows citizenship to flow beyond the first generation born or adopted abroad, ultimately recognizing an entire chain of descendants, as long as there is a Canadian citizen who anchors the chain with at least 1,095 days (three years) of cumulative physical presence in Canada. The descendants will automatically be new citizens, able to obtain proof of Canadian citizenship, rather than having to apply for citizenship.

Patrick White, a journalism professor at the Université du Québec à Montréal, points to significant interest in obtaining Canadian citizenship by the descendants of French Canadians who migrated from Quebec to New England.

“I see a genuine interest in Facebook groups associated to Franco Americans,” White said in an email to National Post. One group, based in Maine, posted news about the new legislation in early February.

“Close to one million French Canadians left Québec between 1840 and 1930,” says White, citing Franco-American historian, David Vermette, who described the migration in his book, Distinct Alien Race: The Untold Story of Franco-Americans.

Their descendants “now represent almost 10 million Americans,” says White. “The current climate in the U.S. is leading many of them to inquire about the possible acquisition of Canadian citizenship because of the changes made here in December. This is a ‘Plan B’ for them.”

Though, “it’s too early to say” if there how many will be applying, he adds.”

Source: Why millions of New Englanders may now be eligible for ‘proof’ they are Canadian citizens

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Canada will slash millions in spending meant to help immigrants. Here’s how hard Ontario is being hit

2026/02/25 Leave a comment

As expected given decline in overall numbers. Odd that services will be restricted to economic immigrants given that they are largely selected on the basis of higher levels of human capital and thus arguably in less need than other categories:

The federal government is going to slash its immigrant settlement funding by $98.1 million this year, including a 17.3 per cent reduction for organizations that support newcomers in Ontario, the Star has learned.

The across-the-board funding reductions outside Quebec are expected to affect all services, including employment counselling, information and orientation, translation help for appointments and other supports to assist newcomer integration. Newcomer women and caregivers, survivors of trauma, people with disabilities and others who are likely to delay language and other programs are feared to be disproportionately affected, though refugee services won’t be affected by the cuts.

The 9.5 per cent overall cut for the 2026-2027 fiscal year is in addition to the previously announced spending cuts to end all English classes beyond level 4 of the Canadian Language Benchmark (the government’s language assessment system with levels from 1 to 12) by September 2026. New eligibility will also take effect on April 1 to restrict access to services for economic immigrants.

Immigrant service agencies in Ontario will see funding reduced to $424.6 million from $513.6 million in 2025-2026. The hardest hit province is British Columbia, which will see a 25 per cent reduction in settlement funding, followed by Nova Scotia (23.3 per cent) and Prince Edward Island (22 per cent).

“The department recognizes the challenging impact these funding decisions will have on service provider organizations, and we will strive to provide transparent and timely information, as well as to respond to any concerns,” assistant deputy immigration minister Catherine Scott said in a Feb. 13 email to service agencies. “We can jointly ensure service continuity for clients.”

All funded agencies are expected to be contacted by the department before the end of the week on how their individual programs will be affected, as resources will also be reallocated to support organizations that serve French-speaking clients as a result of Ottawa’s priority to boost francophone immigration outside Quebec. 

The news has sent another shock wave to service providers, who had already had federal funding for the sector reduced from about $1.17B in 2024-25 to $1.12B in the current fiscal year.

“It’s a one-two punch,” said the executive director of one multiple service agency, who asked not to be identified for fear of repercussions to his organization by the department….

Source: Canada will slash millions in spending meant to help immigrants. Here’s how hard Ontario is being hit

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Depuis la fin du PEQ, les immigrants francophones se tournent vers d’autres provinces

2026/02/25 Leave a comment

Not surprising:

…“« Le fait qu’il y ait potentiellement des francophones qui, ne pouvant pas obtenir la résidence permanente au Québec, choisissent de s’installer dans une autre province est certainement une occasion », explique Kimberly Jean Pharuns, directrice générale de l’Observatoire en immigration francophone du Canada.

Les organismes de défense du fait français partout au pays martèlent depuis des années que l’immigration francophone est l’une des solutions pour rétablir le poids démographique des francophones au pays. La ministre de l’Immigration, Lena Metlege Diab, a promis de rétablir la proportion de francophones au Canada d’ici 2029, notamment en augmentant les cibles fédérales d’immigration francophone hors Québec.

La fin du PEQ pourrait-elle aider cet objectif ? Oui et non, selon Kimberly Jean Pharuns. « Les choses ne sont pas aussi simples, parce qu’il faut vraiment prendre en considération la nécessité d’avoir un bon niveau d’anglais pour pouvoir s’intégrer sur le marché du travail à l’extérieur du Québec, résume-t-elle. Ce n’est pas comme si tous les gens qui avaient prévu de s’installer au Québec pouvaient, en claquant des doigts, s’en aller au Manitoba ou en Saskatchewan. »

“Le Canada atteint depuis quatre ans ses cibles d’immigration francophone hors Québec. En 2026, 5000 places seront réservées pour les francophones voulant s’installer ailleurs qu’au Québec.”

Source: Depuis la fin du PEQ, les immigrants francophones se tournent vers d’autres provinces

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Migrant farm workers’ class-action suit against Canadian government certified

2026/02/25 2 Comments

To watch:

An Ontario court has cleared a major hurdle for migrant farm workers to pursue a Charter challenge against Ottawa for systemic racism and discrimination.

On Monday, the Superior Court of Justice certified a $550 million class-action lawsuit initiated by two lead plaintiffs, Kevin Palmer and Andrel Peters, who were brought to Canada under the federal government’s seasonal agricultural farmworker program (SAWP).

The lawsuit alleges that their rights were violated under the “tied employment” provisions of the program that restricted them to work for a named employer only, and their “compelled” payments to Canada’s employment insurance premiums despite their disqualification from receiving the benefits.

The certified class will cover current and former agricultural workers who are or were employed in Canada on a contract basis under SAWP, on or after Jan. 1, 2008. The federal government has already identified precisely 74,785 people who are members of the class, and has produced a class list with each member’s personal information.

Launched in 1966, the SAWP allows agricultural employers to hire temporary foreign workers from Mexico and participating Caribbean countries for up to eight months a year when qualified Canadians are unavailable. Between 30,000 and 40,000 seasonal migrants come to work here via the program each year.

In his decision, Judge Edward M. Morgan concluded that the plaintiffs’ proposed common issues predominate over any individual issues in the action, and focus on a common set of conditions imposed on all class members in the SAWP. 

“The breaches alleged are systemic and apply across the class,” Morgan wrote in his 25-page decision. “The Charter claims focus on state action in imposing oppressive and liberty-restricting terms in the SAWP contracts and legislation/regulation.

“Likewise, the unjust enrichment claim arises from a set of facts imposed by legislation and held in common by all class members — i.e. the payment of EI premiums, accompanied by restrictions imposed in the EI scheme and the SAWP that prevented access to EI benefits….

Source: Migrant farm workers’ class-action suit against Canadian government certified

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Senate committee calls for gutting of flagship immigration bill over human rights concerns

2026/02/25 Leave a comment

In the end, Senate approved without amendments:

A flagship bill that would tighten Canada’s immigration and asylum rules should be gutted, with key sections removed to address concerns regarding human rights and privacy, a Senate committee has recommended. 

The Senate committee on social affairs, science and technology has been studying Bill C-12 and hearing from experts. In a new report, it expressed fears that parts of the proposed legislation would lead to an “overreach of executive powers” and have a disproportionate impact on women and members of the LGBTQ community. 

The Senate committee called for the deletion of parts 5 to 8 of the bill and, failing that, for substantial amendments including to sections tightening up Canada’s asylum system. 

The Senate committee on public safety, which has also been examining Bill C-12, reviewed the proposed legislation in detail on Monday and discussed amendments after considering the social affairs committee’s recommendations. 

Of particular concern to the social affairs committee was part 8, which would prevent asylum seekers who have been in Canada for more than a year from having claims for refugee protection heard by the independent Immigration and Refugee Board.

The purpose of the rule, according to Immigration Department officials who addressed senators, is to prevent potential misuse of the system, such as by international students who claim asylum because they want to remain in Canada. 

But the Senate Social Affairs committee report warned that the change could mean that someone who visited Canada as a baby for a day and later returned at age 10 could be deemed ineligible to be heard at the independent tribunal. …

Source: Senate committee calls for gutting of flagship immigration bill over human rights concerns

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John Lorinc: This is the real crisis of Canadian immigration

2026/02/24 Leave a comment

Valid concern although I think Alberta is more open to immigration than Premier Smith calculates:

…Just think about Alberta premier Danielle Smith’s address to the province last week, in which she mentioned immigration no fewer than 17 times, disparaging the “status quo” system, and claiming that current (and significantly reduced) immigration levels are “out of control” and “overwhelming our core social services.” Those are the words of someone making hay.

It is worth noting that Trump hasn’t yet targeted Canadian immigration and diversity policies in his obsessive campaign to subsume America’s closest ally in the name of hemispheric hegemony. Yet. But even a cursory scan of the cultural horizon — Bad Bunny’s Spanish lyrics, Trump’s determination to edit out Black Americans’ experiences in the name of national pride — would indicate we are as just likely to become targets of his white supremacy as Europe.

Culture warriors don’t care about policy or data, and if the Carney government doesn’t get that basic fact, it will lose the existential fight to rebuild public confidence in our migration system, whether or not we continue to tell ourselves that diversity is our strength.    

Source: Opinion | John Lorinc: This is the real crisis of Canadian immigration

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