This Trudeau minister kickstarted Canada’s immigration cuts. Here’s what he thinks about Carney’s new plan

2025/11/10 Leave a comment

Suspect that he will be viewed as one of the more substantive immigration ministers:

Whether people agree or disagree with Ottawa’s new immigration targets, the plan will help Canada regain control of the system, says the man who launched the mission to bring it back on track.

“It denotes stability, whether you like or not the important reforms that I put through in the last two years,” said Liberal MP and former immigration minister Marc Miller. Miller was tapped in 2023 by then prime minister Justin Trudeau to rein in rapid immigration growth amid a public outcry.

The reforms “put some instability into the system and it’s not something that’s great for the economy or for immigrants or immigration generally to constantly have change.”

During his tenure, Miller not only reduced the admissions of permanent residents by 21 per cent — the first reduction after years of steady increases going back to the 1990s — but made bold changes to slash the intakes of international students and temporary foreign workers into the country.

In a rare media interview since he was removed from his post by Prime Minister Mark Carney in March, Miller shared his thoughts on the Liberal government’s new immigration levels plan, which sets the admission targets for individual programs for 2026-2028.

Under the new plan, Canada will welcome 380,000 new permanent residents in each of the next three years, which he said is within the bands he previously set.

“Three-eighty is probably a sweet spot,” said Miller, adding that a data analysis by his department found anything below that number would start to get “recessionary” and cause negative implications on population growth. 

The latest Statistics Canada data showed the country’s population has grown by just 157,521 or about 0.4 per cent since January, to 41,651,653, largely due to the decline in new temporary resident admissions.

In response to Canadians’ concerns over the lack of housing and a strained health-care system, Miller was tasked with reducing temporary residents to five per cent of Canada’s population, from 7.2 per cent. One of the first things he did was cut the number of study permits issued by 35 per cent in 2024 from 2023’s level, to 364,000, and he imposed a further 10 per cent reduction in 2025. 

Carney’s immigration plan — in which Miller had no part — is going to chop that further to just 150,000, from the previous target of 305,900. The 24 public colleges in Ontario alone said they are going to see their international tuition revenue go down by $2.5 billion. While the new cut appears “significant,” Miller said the study permit ceilings that he had set were not reached by some post-secondary institutions and overall at the national level.

“Obviously, a lot of (unscrupulous institutions) are living high on the hog and should have been cut down, but I think moving back to a quality proposition from a quantity proposition, it needs to be further refined,” said Miller.

“There are some bright minds out there that should be going to some of our best schools, and frankly there are colleges and some fly-by-night operations that need to be shut down. In the supplemental information (of the plan), there isn’t that sort of qualitative analysis.” 

Under the immigration plan, Ottawa is going to implement a one-time measure to “accelerate” the transition of 33,000 work permit holders to permanent residency in 2026 and 2027. However, as of the end of the third quarter of 2025, slightly more than three million non-permanent residents were still in Canada.

They include the thousands of Ukrainians, Hong Kongers and Sudanese who were welcomed to Canada for temporary refuge; many are having a hard time securing permanent status, in part due to the reduced permanent resident intakes.

“It does make things longer for people to become PR here, but that may be an adjustment that needs to be dealt with,” Miller said. “When you do the immigration levels planning, there’ll unfortunately be some sacrifices in some places. What’s important in all these cases is for those individuals to be safe in Canada.” 

He said Canada has made some important policy decisions in welcoming people on humanitarian grounds in the last decade, starting with Syrians fleeing war.

“Sometimes by being too open you can create a reverse effect on that and really change Canadians’ attitudes,” said Miller. “We can’t accept just anyone. We need to do it within our means and at the same time, remain quite generous, which I think the plan is still.”

There have been concerns that a good percentage of temporary residents would move underground if they find themselves at a dead end. Miller agreed there’s a significant group of people that should be regularized with permanent status because they are established here and “by any other argument, Canadians, other than having a piece of paper.”

Miller said he’s particularly happy that Carney’s immigration plan will include a one-time measure to grant permanent residence over two years to 115,000 protected persons, who have been given asylum but are caught in processing backlogs in Canada.

“It is something that I actually tried to do and didn’t get it across the finish line.”

Marc Miller was tapped in 2023 by then prime minister Justin Trudeau to rein in rapid immigration growth amid a public outcry.

Source: This Trudeau minister kickstarted Canada’s immigration cuts. Here’s what he thinks about Carney’s new plan

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Les nouvelles cibles d’immigration de Québec alimentent les critiques

2025/11/10 Leave a comment

Expected reactions:

Même s’il s’agit du plus généreux des trois scénarios, admettre 45 000 permanents au Québec est « très mauvaise nouvelle » voire une « tragédie » pour les élus de l’opposition, des représentants d’organismes et des gens d’affaire. Avec les nouvelles cibles de Québec, l’obtention d’une résidence permanente pourrait mettre plus de trois décennies dans certaines catégories d’immigration.

« J’ai fait le calcul, on va passer à 36 ans de délais de traitement entre les arriérés et la cible du ministre. Dans la catégorie des réfugiés reconnus, on passe à 12 ans de délais de traitement avec son nouveau plan. Ça n’a aucun sens, c’est complètement déconnecté », a déclaré le député de Québec solidaire, Guillaume Cliche-Rivard.

Le député libéral de l’Acadie André A. Morin a pour sa part dit trouver « inhumain » les longs délais, notamment pour la réunification familiale. Ceux-ci pourraient être de 4 ans au minimum, puisque l’inventaire est de 42 000 dossiers et que le plan de Québec propose d’en admettre 10 000 par année. « Avec ces seuils [de 45 000] on évite la catastrophe, mais on est loin d’être sortis de l’auberge », a-t-il soutenu. « Le gouvernement n’a pas écouté, il a fait fausse route. »

La Table de concertation des organismes au service des réfugiés et immigrants (TCRI) croit pour sa part que les délais de la nouvelle planification pluriannuelle 2026-2029 qui vient d’être rendue publique par le gouvernement est une « tragédie » sur le plan des délais. « C’est complètement inacceptable. Ce n’est pas [avec de tels délais] que les personnes vont s’intégrer et mener une vie normale. On parle de milliers de personnes qui vont attendre. Ça aura un impact sociétal d’avoir autant de gens dans des statuts précaires », a dit son directeur Stephan Reichhold.

Dans l’opposition, seul le Parti québécois a exprimé une vue contraire, indiquant qu’il fallait plutôt diminuer les cibles d’immigration permanente à 35 000. Le député péquiste d’Arthabaska, Alex Boissonneault, n’est pas d’avis que son scénario pourrait mettre à mal l’économie dans les régions. « L’immigration ne règle pas la pénurie de main-d’œuvre. C’est la même chose pour les entreprises en région et même, souvent, ça peut exacerber le problème parce que ces gens-là qui viennent en grand nombre avec leurs conjoints, leurs conjointes, avec les enfants, vont consommer aussi des biens et des services », a-t-il dit….

Source: Les nouvelles cibles d’immigration de Québec alimentent les critiques

Even if this is the most generous of the three scenarios, admitting 45,000 permanent employees in Quebec is “very bad news” or even “tragic” for opposition elected officials, representatives of organizations and business people. With Quebec City’s new targets, obtaining permanent residence could take more than three decades in certain immigration categories.
“I did the math, we will go to 36 years of processing time between the arrears and the minister’s target. In the category of recognized refugees, it goes to 12 years of processing time with its new plan. It doesn’t make any sense, it’s completely disconnected, “said Québec solidaire MP Guillaume Cliche-Rivard.
The Liberal MP of Acadie André A. Morin, for his part, said he found long delays “inhumane”, especially for family reunification. These could be at least 4 years, since the inventory is 42,000 files and the Quebec City plan proposes to admit 10,000 per year. “With these thresholds [of 45,000] we avoid disaster, but we are far from being out of the hostel,” he said. “The government didn’t listen, it went the wrong way. ”
The Consultation Table of Organizations for Refugees and Immigrants (TCRI) believes for its part that the deadlines of the new multi-year planning 2026-2029 that has just been made public by the government are a “tragedy” in terms of deadlines. “This is completely unacceptable. It is not [with such delays] that people will integrate and lead a normal life. We are talking about thousands of people who will wait. It will have a societal impact to have so many people in precarious statuses, “said its director Stephan Reichhold.
In the opposition, only the Parti Québécois expressed a contrary view, indicating that it was better to reduce the permanent immigration targets to 35,000. The Péquista MP for Arthabaska, Alex Boissonneault, is not of the opinion that his scenario could damage the economy in the regions. “Immigration does not solve the labor shortage. It’s the same for companies in the region and even, often, it can exacerbate the problem because these people who come in large numbers with their spouses, their spouses, with children, will also consume goods and services,” he said….

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No data exists on citizenship approved or denied due to criminal records

2025/11/10 Leave a comment

Data gap that doesn’t help. But arguably, not the biggest data gap to fill, as open data only has one citizenship dataset out of more than 100 for immigration-related programs:

….No data available on criminal-related rejections

“Due to data limitations, the department is unable to report on the number of applications for which an applicants has criminal record that were received, approved, denied, received but are still awaiting a decision, nor is the department able to provide a breakdown by type of crime which the department determined was severe enough to deny citizenship, and not severe enough to deny citizenship,” read a note on the response from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) tabled Wednesday in the House of Commons.

The means by which applicants can be denied citizenship are outlined in Sec. 22 of the Citizenship Act, which can include applicants under probation orders, inmates either incarcerated or on parole, those charged with or on trial for indictable offences, or those convicted of an indictable offence in the four years proceeding their citizenship application.

Denials under Sec. 22 aren’t always related to Canadian criminality – withholding documents or being untruthful are also grounds for rejection under the act, as are those involved in unlawful activities outside of Canada.

Those under investigation, charged with or awaiting trial for offences under the Crimes Against Humanities and War Crimes Act can also be denied citizenship – and those convicted under that statute may find themselves permanently barred from ever obtaining Canadian citizenship.

The fact this data isn’t recorded by the federal government is particularly concerning, Rempel Garner told the Toronto Sun. 

“It blows my mind that the government cannot tell us how many criminals they’ve given citizenship to,” said Rempel Garner, who is also the Conservative immigration critic. …

Source: No data exists on citizenship approved or denied due to criminal records

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Ukraine names first countries eligible for simplified multiple citizenship

2025/11/10 Leave a comment

Not surprising, Canada on the list among others:

The Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) welcomes the decision by Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers to approve a list of countries whose citizens will be able to acquire Ukrainian citizenship through a simplified procedure.

According to Resolution No. 1412 of Nov. 5, the list includes Canada, the U.S., Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic.

The resolution will take effect simultaneously with the law “On Amendments to Certain Laws of Ukraine to Ensure the Right to Acquire and Retain Ukrainian Citizenship” that was adopted by Ukraine’s parliament on June 18.

This decision marks an important step toward implementing the right of Ukrainians abroad to hold multiple citizenship. The adoption of this resolution not only strengthens the bond between Ukraine and the global Ukrainian community but will also help engage Ukrainians worldwide in the country’s post-war reconstruction.

The UWC has for years consistently supported legislative initiatives aimed at recognizing multiple citizenship, and the government’s decision today represents a historic moment for millions of Ukrainians abroad who seek to maintain a strong connection with their homeland.

The introduction of a simplified procedure for citizens of friendly nations sends a poignant  signal of unity among Ukrainians worldwide and represents another step toward Ukraine’s deeper integration into the Euro-Atlantic community.

As a reminder, on Oct. 8, Ukraine’s government adopted a resolution that set out the criteria for foreign states with which Ukraine can introduce a simplified process for acquiring citizenship.

In August, during a meeting with the UWC leadership, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy first named the countries that would be included in this simplified citizenship process.

Source: Ukraine names first countries eligible for simplified multiple citizenship

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Carney government’s new immigration plan: Who wins, and who is losing out

2025/11/07 Leave a comment

Good overview in the Star.

One slight of hand manoeuvre in the plan that some have noted is that the overall number of 380,000 permanent resident admissions does not include the one-time initiatives (115,000 for asylum seekers, 33,000 for Temporary Foreign Worker transition) over 2026 and 2027, which would bring the number for those two years to around 450,000.

Legitimate way to handle transition but we will need to see how it works out in practice:

Here are the big winners in the new levels plan:

Provincial immigration programs 

Although the overall permanent resident spots for the economic class have only gone up slightly from 232,150 this year to 244,700 in 2028, the provinces and territories will see their share of that pie growing from 55,000 to 92,500 via the provincial nomination programs (PNP).

The program allows provincial governments to screen and select prospective permanent residents who best meet their regional economic and labour market needs. 

“We don’t know how the provinces are going to allocate those PNPs, nor do we know the categories and occupations of the draws,” said Ottawa-based immigration lawyer Cedric Marin, who speaks on behalf of the Canadian Immigration Lawyers Association. “But clearly, it’s a win.”

French-speaking immigration applicants outside Quebec

The new plan will continue to boost the levels of French-speaking permanent residents settling outside of Quebec from 29,325 in 2025 to 35,175 in 2028. The increase may seem small but will ultimately bring up the percentage of newcomers proficient in French from 8.5 per cent to 10.5 per cent of the annual permanent resident intakes.

This move is not without controversy as French-speaking immigrants face challenges in accessing services and finding jobs settling in English-dominant provinces and territories. Under the skilled immigration selection system, proficiency in French itself has given francophone candidates an advantage over other skilled candidates.

“What we see is that French speakers outside Quebec are able to immigrate and have a much higher chance of success than those in health care, in STEM, those in other occupations,” said Marin, a francophone from Ottawa.

Protected persons who’ve been granted asylum

The Immigration Department plans to launch a one-time initiative to grant permanent residence over two years to 115,000 people who have been given asylum but are caught in processing backlogs in Canada. Officials said this number is in addition to the permanent resident targets in 2026 and 2027.

“The government was right to provide a response to the thousands of people to whom Canada has offered protection but no permanent status,” said Diana Gallego, president of the Canadian Council for Refugees. “It is not only life-changing for them, but also good for Canadian society as a whole.”

But there are people who lose out in the plan:

Temporary residents already in Canada

The Immigration Department plans to implement a one-time measure to “accelerate” the transition of 33,000 work permit holders to permanent residency in 2026 and 2027. However, as of the end of the third quarter of 2025, slightly more than three million non-permanent residents were in Canada.

Many of these temporary residents have worked, studied and invested in their lives here; they have been crushed by the reduced permanent resident levels and could run out of legal status any time.

“The concern I’m expressing has to do with the large number of people already here and the fact that we haven’t actually made a plan for them,” said Queen’s University immigration law professor Sharry Aiken. 

Refugees abroad awaiting resettlement to Canada

The federal government and community groups sponsor refugees abroad under Canada’s resettlement program. The new immigration plan will see the annual quotas for privately sponsored refugees drop by 30 per cent from 23,000 this year to 16,000 in 2026, while government-assisted refugees are reduced from 15,250 to 13,250.

The Canadian Council for Refugees said more than 90,000 refugees are currently in the private sponsorship backlog alone, and the lower quotas mean a wait time of nearly six years.

Permanent residence applicants on humanitarian grounds

Ottawa has offered temporary refuge to Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion, Afghans escaping the Taliban, Hong Kongers seeking freedom from Beijing and Sudanese affected by their two-year-old civil war. Many are only eligible to stay permanent on humanitarian grounds.

The new plan slashes the number of spots from 10,000 to 6,900 in 2026, and 5,000 for 2027 and 2028. “As you can imagine, in this context, they are losers,” said Marin.

Source: Carney government’s new immigration plan: Who wins, and who is losing out

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Québec prévoit accueillir 45 000 immigrants permanents par année

2025/11/07 Leave a comment

Greater relative restraint compared to federal government, along with tighter language requirements and ending the transition from temporary to permanent resident transition program:

Le ministre de l’Immigration, Jean-François Roberge, a déposé jeudi la Planification de l’immigration 2026-2029. Il avait procédé plus tôt cet automne à des consultations publiques à ce sujet. M. Roberge a finalement opté pour la cible d’immigration à l’étude la plus élevée, à 45 000, alors que les autres scénarios prévoyaient des seuils de 25 000 ou de 35 000 immigrants par année.

Concernant l’immigration permanente, c’est-à-dire l’immigration économique, les regroupements familiaux et les réfugiés, le gouvernement caquiste prévoit admettre entre 43 000 et 47 000 immigrants dès 2026, comparativement aux 57 210 à 61 220 personnes qui auront été admises en 2025 selon les prévisions du ministère.

Pour protéger le français, Québec vise désormais « une proportion de plus de 77 % de connaissance du français chez les personnes issues de l’immigration permanente ». Il est aussi prévu « d’accroître la part des personnes issues de l’immigration permanente déjà présentes au Québec pour que celle-ci représentent 65 % ou plus des admissions à la fin de la période ». Le gouvernement veut par ailleurs que l’immigration économique représente 64 % de l’ensemble des admissions permanentes.

Dans tous les cas, Québec prévient qu’il « pourra ajuster les seuils d’immigration permanente avant la fin de la présente planification pluriannuelle » en fonction du nombre d’immigrants temporaires admis par le fédéral et de la situation économique.

Immigration temporaire

En matière d’immigration temporaire, il est prévu de réduire le nombre de résidents non permanents « en visant à terme un nombre maximal de 65 000 titulaires de permis dans le Programme des travailleurs étrangers temporaires (PTET), 110 000 titulaires de permis dans le Programme des étudiants étrangers (PÉE), ce qui représente une réduction globale de 13 % par rapport à 2024 ».

Les travailleurs étrangers temporaires « qui ont séjourné plus de trois ans au Québec de façon continue ou cumulative » devront à l’avenir démontrer une certaine connaissance du français oral.

« Des exemptions sont prévues pour les [travailleurs] agricoles, en raison de leur contribution active à la sécurité alimentaire, les ressortissants étrangers occupant un emploi pour le compte d’un bureau d’une division politique d’un État étranger […] et les employés des organisations internationales non gouvernementales reconnues par le Québec, car celles-ci bénéficient de certaines exemptions aux obligations de la Charte de la langue française », explique le gouvernement.

Autrement, « les vérifications de la connaissance du français débuteront le 17 décembre 2028 ».

La fin du PEQ

Autre importante décision du gouvernement Legault : le populaire Programme de l’expérience québécoise (PEQ), qui a été suspendu en octobre 2024, est officiellement aboli. La forte popularité du programme, pour lequel les admissions étaient en continu et sans plafond, faisait en sorte que les cibles d’immigration du gouvernement étaient dépassées. La voie rapide pour obtenir la résidence permanente devient désormais le Programme de sélection des travailleurs qualifiés (PSTQ).

Par contre, « toutes les demandes présentées avant la fin [du PEQ] seront traitées […] et le ministère continuera de recevoir et de traiter les demandes » jusqu’au 19 novembre prochain.

« Avec la réduction des seuils d’admission et la nécessité de renforcer l’efficacité de l’État, la coexistence de plusieurs programmes destinés aux travailleurs qualifiés n’est plus pertinente », justifie Québec.

Le gouvernement prolonge également jusqu’au 31 décembre 2026 la suspension de certaines demandes au Programme des travailleurs étrangers temporaires (PTET) pour les régions de Montréal et de Laval seulement. Québec affirme vouloir ainsi « freiner l’augmentation du nombre de résidents non permanents [RNP] dans les deux régions où le bassin de main-d’œuvre disponible est plus important, tout comme les défis reliés à la pérennité du français »….

Source: Québec prévoit accueillir 45 000 immigrants permanents par année

La Presse take on federal plan:

Est-ce un changement de philosophie ?

Oui. Le Canada passe d’une logique de croissance démographique rapide à une approche de croissance maîtrisée et sélective. Le discours du budget lie désormais immigration, productivité, souveraineté économique et sécurité nationale. « C’était une erreur de monter à 500 000 immigrants permanents au cours des deux dernières années. C’est ce qui a créé une certaine déstabilisation », explique Me Patrice Brunet, qui se spécialise dans l’immigration.

Qu’en est-il de l’immigration francophone hors Québec ?

Ottawa fixe une cible de 10,5 % de résidents permanents francophones établis à l’extérieur du Québec d’ici 2028, contre 9 % en 2026. Le gouvernement mise sur un recrutement accru dans les pays d’Afrique francophone et sur l’élargissement des services d’accueil et d’intégration en français.

Source: Ottawa entreprend un virage majeur

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Trump Immigration Rule Could Make H-1B Visa Holders Too Costly To Hire

2025/11/07 Leave a comment

Of note. May make Canada relatively more attractive:

The Trump administration will publish a new immigration rule expected to price many H-1B visa holders and employment-based immigrants out of the U.S. labor market. The White House included the plan in the proclamation announcing a $100,000 fee on many H-1B visa holders. The new Department of Labor rule will likely be similar to the two attempts in Donald Trump’s first term to raise the salaries of high-skilled foreign nationals beyond what most employers can afford to pay. A significant body of research indicates that H-1B visa holders are paid the same or higher salaries than U.S. workers with comparable levels of education and experience.

H-1B temporary visas are often the only way for high-skilled foreign nationals to work in the United States long term. When companies recruit at U.S. universities, they find that international students account for 73% of full-time graduate students in electrical and computer engineering. The H-1B annual limit is 65,000, with an exemption of 20,000 for individuals with master’s degrees or higher from a U.S. university, or about 0.05% of the U.S. labor force. In addition to government fees that can exceed $6,000, employers must pay the higher of the actual or prevailing wage paid to U.S. professionals with similar experience and qualifications. 

An Immigration Directive To Make H-1B Visa Holders Too Expensive To Employ

Trump administration officials understood that the $100,000 fee to hire new H-1B visa holders contained in the Sept. 19 presidential proclamation would be prohibitive for employers, effectively blocking many high-skilled foreign nationals from ever working in the United States. They also knew it could not stop all H-1B professionals because the relevant section of U.S. law only allowed the proclamation to prevent the “entry” of H-1B professionals…

Source: Trump Immigration Rule Could Make H-1B Visa Holders Too Costly To Hire

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ChatGPT summary of reactions to immigration section of Budget 2025

2025/11/06 Leave a comment

Reasonable summary (still going through the old way as well):

Nice — here’s a compact, source-backed briefing on reactions to the immigration measures in Canada’s 2025 federal budget, organized by the sub-sections you asked for.

Quick framing: the Budget and accompanying 2026–28 Immigration Levels Plan signal sizeable reductions in temporary resident targets (including international students and temporary foreign workers) and cuts to some refugee resettlement streams. Those policy choices are driving the reactions summarized below. (Budget Canada)

Media commentary

  • Overall tone: widespread note of political risk and policy reset — most national outlets frame the changes as a significant scaling back from the high post-pandemic targets and stress both the political logic (housing, service pressure) and economic trade-offs (labour supply). (Global News)
  • Coverage highlights the scale of reductions: reporters emphasize steep drops in international student arrivals (roughly 60% lower in 2025 vs 2024) and large cuts to temporary worker targets. Coverage also flags the government’s claim that arrivals and asylum claims have already fallen this year. (Budget Canada)
  • Some outlets place the budget in an election-cycle context — discussing short-term political calculations vs longer-term economic impact. (Global News)

Business reaction

  • Broad concern from employer and industry groups that lower targets will worsen labour shortages in key sectors (hospitality, restaurants, health care, construction, seasonal work). Many business groups warn the rollbacks send negative signals to investors and could constrain growth. (HCAMag)
  • Sector example: Restaurants Canada called the reductions “incredibly concerning,” pointing to a fall in temporary resident admissions from ~673,650 (2025 baseline) to ~370,000 by 2027 and warned of staffing crises for foodservice. (Restaurants Canada)
  • Some business commentators acknowledge the government’s stated goals (relief on housing and services) but emphasize that tightening labour supply may raise costs and reduce capacity for many SMEs. (HCAMag)

Provincial reactions

  • Mixed responses across provinces: jurisdictions with tight housing/health pressures (and those with political sensitivity on immigration) publicly welcomed the “sustainable” framing, while labour-short provinces and municipalities expressed alarm about workforce impacts. Local leaders in some cities framed the budget as a cautious “sign of confidence” for fiscal matters but cautiously noted labour impacts. (Global News)
  • Provinces that rely heavily on international students and temporary workers (e.g., provinces with big post-secondary or seasonal industries) have highlighted immediate operational concerns for employers, colleges, and municipalities. (Provincial press releases and municipal reaction pieces stress localized impacts.) (Global News)

Education sector

  • Strong, largely negative reaction from universities and college leaders: cuts to international study-permit targets are described as “alarming” and “deep” (reports indicate new international student arrivals were roughly 60% lower in 2025 vs 2024), creating immediate financial and operational stress for institutions and student supports. (University Affairs)
  • Association and sector commentaries note the budget also funds research recruitment (~$1.7B referenced in sector analysis) — so while research investment is welcomed, the near-term loss of fee revenue and campus diversity from fewer international students is a major concern. (University Affairs)

NGOs / civil society

  • Refugee and migrant advocacy groups are highly critical: NGOs (including Migrant Rights Network and the Canadian Council for Refugees) flag sharp cuts to refugee resettlement slots (e.g., big reductions in privately sponsored and government-assisted refugee allocations for 2026) and warn of humanitarian consequences. They also criticise proposed changes that would increase costs/limits on refugee healthcare supports. (Migrant Rights Network)
  • NGOs frame the budget as reversing prior resettlement commitments and argue the cuts are out of step with global resettlement needs; several are calling for immediate policy reversals or mitigations. (Canadian Council for Refugees)

Key numbers & facts (short)

  • Government/ Budget document: says temporary foreign worker arrivals have already fallen ~50% this year and international student arrivals roughly 60% lower so far in 2025; asylum claims down ~1/3. (Government emphasizes “restoring control” / “sustainable levels”.) (Budget Canada)
  • Industry claim (Restaurants Canada): temporary resident admissions projected to fall from ~673,650 in 2025 to ~370,000 by 2027 (sector-level alarm). (Restaurants Canada)
  • NGOs: significant cuts in refugee streams (e.g., privately sponsored refugees from 23,000 in 2025 → 16,000 in 2026; government-assisted refugees reduced to ~13,250 in 2026 in some NGO tallies). (Canadian Council for Refugees)

Overall read / implications

  • Short term: a mix of political kudos for addressing housing/service pressures and immediate pushback from business, post-secondary institutions, and refugee advocates about labour, revenue and humanitarian impacts. (Global News)
  • Medium term risk: continued sectoral labour shortfalls, reduced international-education revenues for campuses and communities, and reputational/humanitarian questions from refugee/NGO communities unless mitigations are introduced. (HCAMag)

Which do you want next?

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Indian students rejected the most for international student permits in Canada

2025/11/06 Leave a comment

Given most of the growth has been from India, the extent of college recruitment in particular and the examples of fraud, not that surprising:

…For the second year in a row, Canada cut the number of international student permits in order to bring down the number of temporary migrants and to deal with fraudulent applications.

As a result, about 74% of Indian students applying to study at Canadian colleges and universities were rejected in August — a big increase compared to about 32% in August 2023, says Reuters, which was provided with immigration department data.

Indian applicants also dropped from 20,900 in August 2023, when they represented just over one-quarter of all applicants, to 4,515 in August.

During the past 10 years, India has been Canada’s top source of international students and in August,  it also had the highest study-permit refusal rate of any country with more than 1,000 approved applicants….

Source: Indian students rejected the most for international student permits in Canada

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Jamie Sarkonak: Carney’s budget is more subtle on wokeness, but the agenda is still strong

2025/11/06 Leave a comment

Noting the change but discounting the extent:

Tuesday’s budget wasn’t like those of the high Trudeau years, encrusted with identity politics at every turn. But the spirit of the old regime lives on under Prime Minister Mark Carney, who has opted for a deficit of $78.3 billion along with the continuation of social justice programs and diversity mandates.

This year, one-time “investments” are numerous. The federal anti-racism secretariat — the entity that spurred a government-wide clampdown on forced diversity and hiring quotas in Ottawa in 2021, in response to the Black Lives Matter movement — is getting $2 million in 2025-26, and nothing else after that. The Canadian Heritage program for DEI in sport is getting $8 million in 2025-26, and, again, nothing afterwards.

Even better, the Liberals are spending $28 million over the next two years on Canadian Heritage’s Digital Citizen Initiative, which has been around for years now. It could arguably be called a propaganda program, as it essentially involves funding government-aligned influencers to dispel “disinformation” and researchers to track “anti-Liberal” media, among other things. This budget claims that the funding tap will shut off in 2027 … but we’ll see about that.

The National Film Board, which restricts non-Indigenous individuals from using archive footage for commercial purposes, is getting a $4 million bonus next year. Federal museums, which have been slammed with diversity mandates in the Liberal era, will get $12 million.

Identity-based business funding is back, as well. The federal women’s entrepreneurship program is supposed to get $39 million next year, with nothing to come after. Black entrepreneurs, meanwhile, were told in September that they were getting another $189 million over the next five years for race-based business funding (this wasn’t written into the budget documents, however).

How many of these programs will actually end in a year or two, it’s hard to say. It’s easy for the government change its mind next budget season — better, even, because doing this helps keep the projected deficit lower….

Perhaps most disappointing of all is the continued existence of Women and Gender Equality Canada, which will be getting $500 million over the years 2026 to 2030. The department exists to funnel government money to Liberal-aligned social justice organizations and create new crises relating to menstruation, among other things, and really doesn’t have a point in an age where gender equality has largely been achieved.

Regardless of any spending cuts, the core philosophy of the Liberal government has remained the same since 2015: spend on the mosaic model of culture; prioritize supports on the basis of identity and privilege. Under Carney, it’s no different.

Source: Jamie Sarkonak: Carney’s budget is more subtle on wokeness, but the agenda is still strong

Filed under DEI, gender, Multiculturalism Tagged with ,

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