Ruby Dhalla, a Canadian politician of Indian origin, is making history by running for the leadership of the Liberal Party and potentially becoming Canada’s first woman of colour Prime Minister. Dhalla emphasised the importance of diversity within the party and in the country’s debates.

As a self-made businesswoman, doctor, and three-time Member of Parliament, Dhalla believes she has the experience to navigate Canada’s challenges. She identified the rising cost of housing, increasing crime rates, rising food prices, and the threat of US tariffs as key issues facing Canadians. “Given the tariff threats that Canada is facing, it will have a big impact on Canadian workers and on the Canadian economy”, Dhalla added.

Dhalla’s personal story is one of overcoming humble beginnings. Born in Winnipeg to immigrant parents, she achieved her Canadian dream through hard work and determination. She added that her life speaks volumes about the opportunities that exist in Canada. She also credited Pierre Trudeau, current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s father, for opening Canada’s doors to immigrants in the 1970s.

She said, “My mother came to Canada in 1972 and I have the opportunity to, through her wishes, through a lot of hard work, drive and determination, but also because of the great country that Canada is, to fulfill a Canadian dream.”

Regarding India-Canada relations, Dhalla stressed the importance of strengthening ties, given the large Indian diaspora in Canada. She believes Canada should explore partnerships with other countries, including India, to mitigate the impact of US tariffs.

Speaking in Hindi, she added, “Jitne bhi humare Canada main business log hain, workers hain, unko bhi ek opportunity milni chahiye ki wo baki deshon ke saath kaam kar sake”. (Workers and business people in Canada should also get an opportunity to work with other countries.)

Dhalla has been working with the Liberal Party since she was 14. Her leadership’s campaign focuses on rebuilding the Liberal Party and Canada. Her slogan, ‘Canada’s comeback starts now’ reflects her commitment to addressing the country’s challenges. In response to criticism from Pierre Poilievre regarding the Liberal Party’s damaging impact on the Canadian society and economy, Dhalla outlined her initiatives to address crime, housing and food prices, and taxation.

Finally, she aims to create a competitive economy that supports businesses, entrepreneurs, and young people. With her international experience, she hopes to restore Canada’s reputation on the world stage and build strong partnerships with other countries. She said, “It’s important that we bring Canada back to the country that was very respected on the world stage, that we work with other countries to ensure that we continue to build great partnerships and great relationships.”
 

Ottawa:

Canada will cap the number of international students allowed to enter the country for a second year in a row in 2025, as the government continues to try to ease pressure on housing, healthcare and other services.

Canada will issue 437,000 study permits this year, a 10% reduction from 2024, according to a Friday statement from the immigration ministry.

The country introduced a cap on new international student permits in 2024 after population growth in recent years was seen as aggravating a housing shortage. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who has announced he will resign in March, had pledged to reduce immigration levels in recent months as polls showed less support for newcomers in Canada.

In 2023, Canada issued more than 650,000 study permits to foreign students, according to government data, taking the number of international students in the country to a record of more than a million, roughly triple the number who entered the country a decade ago.

Rapid population growth fueled by immigration has put pressure on services, like healthcare and education, and has helped drive up housing costs.

However, international students contribute significantly higher tuition fees compared to domestic students.

In response to last year’s implementation of the international student cap, most study permit applicants must now submit a Provincial or Territorial Attestation Letter. This year, master’s and post-doctoral students also will need the letters.

These attestation letters are intended to confirm that students are included within the federal government’s international student cap.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

The resignation of Canada’s prime minister Justin Trudeau has sparked intense discussions among immigration experts about the future of international students there. Many experts view Trudeau’s tenure from 2015 to 2023 as a golden era for international students, particularly Indians, who greatly benefited from liberal immigration policies.

According to data from Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), approximately 1.3 million Indian students received study permits between 2015 and 2024. In 2015, only 31,920 Indian students held study permits, accounting for 14.5% of the total international student population. By 2023, this number surged to 278,250, representing 40.7% of the total international student population.

However, new measures introduced by the Canadian government, such as capping the number of international students and tightening study permit processes, have led to a 4% decline in Indian students receiving study permits in 2024. Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, who, at the age of 20 already had a roadmap for Canada, has been critical of Trudeau’s handling of the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) program, stating that “the government has destroyed the TFW program.”

Poilievre plans to preserve the program for the agricultural sector but block temporary foreign workers where they are taking jobs from Canadians. He has also criticised Trudeau’s decision to scale back immigration levels, saying “Trudeau’s last-minute pre-election reversal cannot be believed. He can’t fix the immigration system that he broke.”

With Poilievre likely to become a major player in the upcoming election, his promises on immigration are expected to be a significant issue. He has pledged to restore Canada’s once-effective immigration system and ensure it is better managed in the future. If Poilievre assumes office, international students may face increased challenges due to healthcare, job, and housing availability, making permits for studying in Canada harder to obtain.

The potential changes to Canada’s immigration policies under Poilievre’s leadership may significantly impact Indian students and immigrants. With Poilievre’s proposal to tie immigration rates to job availability, healthcare, and housing, it may become more challenging for Indians to obtain study permits or permanent residency. The eligibility criteria for work programs may also be revised, reducing chances of permanent residency.

The increase in competition for admission to Canadian universities and colleges may also pose a challenge for Indian students. With the government’s plan to cap the number of international students, Indian students may face stiffer competition for limited spots. Moreover, the tightening of study permit processes may lead to longer processing times and stricter eligibility criteria, making it harder for Indian students to pursue their educational goals in Canada.

Furthermore, Poilievre’s plan to “block temporary foreign workers where they are taking jobs from Canadians” may also impact Indian immigrants working in Canada. This could lead to a reduction in job opportunities for Indian immigrants, making it harder for them to support themselves and their families. Overall, the potential changes to Canada’s immigration policies under Poilievre’s leadership may create significant challenges for Indian immigrants and students seeking to make a new life in Canada.
 

Ottawa:

In yet another worrying move for Indian immigrants living in Canada, the Canadian federal government has announced that it will not accept any new applications for sponsoring parents and grandparents for permanent residence in 2025. The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) said that in 2025, it will only process family sponsorship applications that were submitted in 2024 under the Parents and Grandparents Program.

The IRCC intends to process a maximum of just 15,000 sponsorship applications over the course of 2025, according to a report by Canadian immigration news website CIC. 

What Other Options Do Immigrants Have?

Canadian citizens and permanent residents, who want to call their parents and grandparents to stay in Canada for an extended period, can still sponsor their relatives for a super visa. A super visa allows relatives of Canadian citizens and permanent residents to visit them for up to five years at a time. 

What is the Parents and Grandparents Sponsorship Programme?

The Parents and Grandparents Program (PGP) allows Canadian citizens, permanent residents and registered Indians to sponsor their parents and grandparents to immigrate to Canada. Parents and grandparents approved under this program receive Canadian permanent residence and may eventually be able to apply for Canadian citizenship.

People sponsored through PGP can enjoy the full benefits of Canadian permanent residence including being able to work in Canada, obtain health care, get full protection under Canadian law and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and apply to become a Canadian citizen once they meet the eligibility criteria.

As there are a lot more sponsors interested in the PGP programme than there are available spots, the IRCC uses a lottery system to issue invitations to apply to those who have submitted an interest to sponsor form. Per the CIC report, between 2020 to 2024, IRCC issued invitations to sponsors who had submitted forms during the 2020 intake.

Reason To Pause PGP

IRCC has shrunk the permanent resident targets by 20 per cent for 2025. Part of this cut included a reduction in the allocation for landings under the PGP. In the earlier Immigration Levels Plan, published in 2023, IRCC targeted to let 34,000 foreign nationals get sponsored in 2025 under PGP. However, the new target for 2025 is 24,500 landings through the PGP.

Toronto:

Canada is closing its doors to more visitors and temporary residents by approving fewer visas and turning away more people who reach its borders with official documents, according to government data obtained by Reuters.    

The spike in rejections of foreign travellers comes as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government, trailing in polls ahead of an election expected next year, tries to lower the numbers of temporary residents – and possibly permanent immigrants. Migrants have been blamed for the shortage and high prices of housing.

Canadians have prided themselves on embracing newcomers but polls show a growing number say Canada is admitting too many immigrants. That stance is filtering down to border and immigration officers, observers say.

In July, Canada refused entry to 5,853 foreign travellers, who were “allowed to leave,” as Canada puts it, and who include students, workers and tourists, the most since at least January 2019, according to border agency data that has not been previously reported.

Border officers turned away 3,727 foreign travellers per month on average through the first seven months of 2024, an increase of 633 people or 20% from a year earlier.

Separately, officers deemed 285 visa-holders inadmissible in July, also the most in any month since at least January 2019, the data showed.

A Canada Border Services Agency spokesperson said changes in findings of inadmissibility can be caused by migration patterns or policy changes and are decided case by case. CBSA did not identify any specific policy changes.

“The CBSA’s role, policy, and practice has always been to assess the admissibility of persons coming to Canada. This has not changed,” the spokesperson said.

At the same time, Canada’s immigration department is approving fewer visas.

The ratio of refused visitor visa applications to approved ones was higher in June than at any point since the height of the pandemic. In January, February, May and June 2024, more applications were refused than approved, according to immigration department data.

The number of approved study and work permits also dropped from multi-year highs in 2023 and 2022, respectively.

“Canadians want a system that is not out of control,” Immigration Minister Marc Miller said in August.

Miller’s spokesperson said the immigration department was “committed to a fair and non-discriminatory application of immigration policy and procedures” and attributed the drop in study-permit approvals to a cap announced in January. The decline appears to have begun last year, however.

Eight lawyers told Reuters they have heard from clients of greater scrutiny of visa-holders at airports and land border crossings.

British Columbia lawyer Will Tao said he has represented half a dozen visa-holders who border officials disbelieved about the nature of their plans in Canada and suggested they turn back voluntarily or risk deportation. Some did so, not knowing the implications this could have for their visa or travel authorization, including potential cancellation.     

Tao sees increased border officer skepticism stemming from a “180-degree” attitude shift on immigration from the government.  

The idea that foreigners are entering Canada without meeting requirements, or are causing the country harm, is trickling down from politicians to front-line officials, he added.

‘YOUR TEMPORARY RESIDENT VISA IS NO LONGER VALID’

Mohammed Kamil Shaibu was paged while waiting to board a connecting flight from Paris to Toronto last September on his way to a conference in Edmonton.

The Ghanaian was told a Canadian immigration officer wanted to talk to him. He was then quizzed over the phone about his employment, the purpose of his trip and any assistance he had received in filing his tourist visa application.

“I had trouble answering,” he said in an interview. “I was so terrified. I don’t even know what I said.”

Shaibu was told he would not be going to Canada. Instead, he was asked to return to Accra.

“Your temporary-resident visa is no longer valid for travel to Canada,” reads an email reviewed by Reuters that Shaibu received that day from the immigration department.

Canada should not grant visas it does not plan to honor, said University of Calgary assistant law professor Gideon Christian.

“Why accept people if, when they come, you’re not going to admit them?”

Shaibu says his experience has not soured him on Canada.

“I know Canada is a very nice place made up of very nice and accommodating and hospitable people.”

He says he may even try again to visit one day.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Ottawa:

Canada plans to reduce its temporary residents and set a cap on temporary immigration for the first time ever, Immigration Minister Marc Miller said on Thursday, the latest government effort to address a housing shortage and stretched essential services.

In recent years Canada has seen a sharp rise in international students, foreign workers and other temporary residents who come to the country on time-limited visas as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government relied on immigration to drive economic growth and plug labor gaps.

But the Liberal government has also come under political pressure for its immigration policies, with critics arguing they have exacerbated a housing crunch. Some services provided by the provinces, such as education and healthcare, are also struggling to keep up with population growth.

The government wants to reduce temporary residents to 5% of the total population over the next three years from 6.5% in 2023, Miller said. That would be a cut of about 20% from Canada’s 2.5 million temporary residents in 2023.

Miller will convene a meeting with his provincial and territorial counterparts in May to finalize the plan.

“We need to ensure the number of temporary residents entering the country is at a sustainable level,” Miller told reporters in Ottawa.

“Starting this fall for the first time, we will expand the immigration levels plan to include both temporary resident arrivals and permanent resident arrivals,” he said, referring to the federal government’s immigration targets.

In November, the Trudeau government said it would stop ramping up immigration for permanent residents from 2026 onwards.

In January, Canada announced a two-year cap on the intake of foreign students and said it would stop giving work permits to some students after graduation as it seeks to rein in record numbers of newcomers.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)