The Media Roundup provides links to recent and archived articles, in both English and French, on immigration and diversity appearing in the national and local news. Some international content is also included. Articles are updated weekly.
Global News — Canada warns claiming asylum is ‘not easy’ with new global ad campaign
Once presenting itself as one of the world’s most welcoming countries to refugees and immigrants, Canada is launching a global online ad campaign cautioning asylum-seekers that making a claim is hard. The C$250,000 ($178,662) in advertisements will run through March in 11 languages, including Spanish, Urdu, Ukrainian, Hindi and Tamil, the immigration department told Reuters. They are part of a broader shift in tone by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s unpopular government on immigration and an effort to clamp down on refugee claims.
Fox News — US sees surge in Indian immigrants at border with Canada
Attempted border crossings by illegal immigrants from Indian nationals have surged at the U.S. border with Canada in recent years. Nearly 44,000 Indian nationals attempted to cross the U.S.-Canadian border illegally in fiscal 2024, up from about 30,000 in fiscal 2023 and 17,331 in fiscal 2022, according to the most recent numbers from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection data portal. Indian nationals were the most commonly encountered nationality at the northern border among those tracked last fiscal year, representing roughly 22% of the 198,929 total land border encounters at the U.S.-Canada border in fiscal 2024.
The Gazette — Immigrants stage protest in Montreal against program freezes
In response to the Quebec government’s announced freeze on immigration programs, an immigrant rights organization held a demonstration in Montreal early Saturday afternoon in front of the office of the Immigration, Francization and Integration Ministry. To limit the number of permanent immigrants, the Coalition Avenir Québec government announced in October that it would freeze the Programme de l’expérience québécoise (PEQ) graduate component and the Programme regulier des travailleurs qualifiés (PRTQ) through next June by no longer accepting new applications for the Certificat de sélection du Québec (CSQ).
Radio-Canada — Des immigrants demandent à Québec d’annuler son gel des programmes d’immigration
En réponse aux gels de programmes d’immigration annoncés par les gouvernements du Québec et du Canada, des manifestants sont sortis devant le bureau montréalais du ministère québécois de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration pour lui demander de revenir sur sa décision. Le Québec c’est nous aussi (LQCNA), un organisme de défense des droits des immigrants, fait valoir que les décisions des deux ordres de gouvernement de limiter leur seuil d’immigration, mais plus particulièrement la décision du provincial, nuisent à toutes les démarches entreprises par les migrants déjà présents sur le sol québécois.
Government of Canada — Temporary pause on intake of refugee sponsorship applications from groups of five and community sponsors
For over 40 years, the Private Sponsorship of Refugees (PSR) Program, a model for other countries around the world, has brought hope and opportunity to hundreds of thousands of refugees. This success has also led to a large application inventory and growing processing times. The Government of Canada’s immigration levels plan establishes the number of privately sponsored refugees who can arrive in Canada each year. Due to ongoing high demand, applications from private sponsors continue to exceed the private sponsorship spaces available under the immigration levels plan, resulting in a large and growing application inventory and lengthy processing times.
La Presse — Ottawa suspend certains parrainages privés de réfugiés jusqu’en 2026
Le Canada suspend les parrainages privés de réfugiés par les groupes de cinq personnes ou plus et les organismes communautaires en raison du « volume important et croissant » des demandes à traiter. L’avis a été publié vendredi sur le site internet d’Immigration, Réfugiés et Citoyenneté Canada. La pause entre en vigueur immédiatement et se poursuit jusqu’au 31 décembre 2025. Le gouvernement affirme que le nombre de demandes reçues chaque année dépasse de loin le nombre de places pour les parrainages privés de réfugiés.
