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.
 

Conservative Party of Canada leader Pierre Poilievre speaks during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada October 29, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Hindus in Canada are aggrieved after Opposition leader Pierre Poilievre had chosen to cancel the 2024 Diwali celebrations.

The Hindu Forum on Canda says that the move sends a clear message of exclusion to the community.

“A move that sends a clear message of exclusion to a community deeply woven into Canada’s cultural fabric. Diwali, a festival symbolizing light and unity, is celebrated worldwide, with leaders like U.S. President Biden and astronaut Sunita Williams honouring it with great respect. Yet, CPC leader Pierre Poilievre has shown a concerning disregard for Canadian Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Jains. This decision is a politically motivated act of appeasement that dismisses a significant, vibrant part of Canadian society,” a statement from the Hindu Forum said.

The organisation called on Indian-origin people in Canada to vote for leaders who stand by all Canadians.

“Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Jains in Canada — nearly 2.5 million strong–are rapidly growing communities that have made meaningful contributions across fields, from science to education. Mutual respect among communities is what strengthens Canada, but it seems CPC leadership does not uphold this principle when it comes to these communities. It’s crucial for Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, and Jains to stand united against decisions that show a lack of respect for our culture and beliefs. In the upcoming federal elections, let’s choose wisely. Pierre Poilievre is not yet Prime Minister, yet his true colours of appeasement politics show through by cancelling Diwali celebrations. If he were to become Prime Minister, what further tactics might he use? Our votes should go to leaders who genuinely respect and stand by all Canadians, and we must make our voices heard. This Diwali, let’s stand together for representation, respect, and true inclusivity,” the statement said.

Earlier, Canada’s opposition leader Pierre Poilievre cancelled the Diwali celebrations, scheduled to take place at Parliament Hill, amid the ongoing diplomatic row with India.

The Overseas Friends of India Canada (OFIC), the event’s organiser, received no explanation for the cancellation of the Diwali celebration.

Also Read | Timeline: What led to India, Canada expelling top diplomats?

This statement comes amid strained ties between India and Canada, following Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegations of Indian involvement in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar in 2023.

The situation has led to diplomatic tensions and the expulsion of six Canadian diplomats from the country in mid-October.

OFIC president Shiv Bhasker wrote a letter to Pierre Poilievre, expressing dismay over the decision.In a letter to Pierre Poilievre, Bhasker wrote, “It is with extreme disappointment and in sadness that I am writing this letter to you to voice our dismay at the Office of the Leader of Opposition cancelling the 24th Diwali celebration on the Parliament Hill.”

“The failure of the politicians to attend this important cultural event, particularly at such a delicate time, sends a clear message to Indo-Canadians: that we are being viewed not as fellow Canadians but as outsiders who are somehow linked to the political actions of a country many of us have ancestral ties to but no direct connection with,” the letter added.

Further, Mr. Bhasker urged the Office of the Leader of Opposition to recognise the harm caused to the Indo-Canadian community by the cancellation of a Diwali celebration event.

“This cancelled event was not just a political gathering; it was meant to celebrate Diwali, a festival that brings together families, friends, and communities in a spirit of light, hope, and renewal. By distancing oneself from this celebration, our political leader has turned what should have been a moment of unity into one of division,” the letter added.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said he would remove Canada’s 5% national sales tax on new homes sold for under C$1 million ($719,700) if he’s elected prime minister. Poilievre, whose party leads by about 20 points in recent polls, said the cut would save around C$2,200 a year in mortgage payments on a C$800,000 house. 

If the Conservatives win an election that’s currently scheduled for October 2025, he would also push the provinces to remove their sales taxes from new homes, Poilievre said in a news release.

The high cost of housing in Canada has helped sink Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s popularity, especially among younger voters. The benchmark home price has jumped 61% since he entered office in 2015, and interest rate increases have pushed housing affordability to near the worst level since the early 1990s.

Trudeau’s government has spent billions and promised much more to boost home construction. Through its C$4 billion housing accelerator fund, it has transferred about C$1 billion so far to municipalities that cut red tape and allow dense zoning for housing, including C$471 million to Toronto. It has also created a housing infrastructure fund that is set to be handed over to the provinces on Jan. 1 – if those governments agree to allow increased housing supply. 

Poilievre said he would cancel the remaining C$3 billion in the housing accelerator fund and axe the C$5 billion housing infrastructure fund entirely to help pay for the tax cut. 

He also said the tax cut would spur enough new homebuilding to generate an additional C$2.1 billion annually for the government. Therefore, his plan would produce enough in savings and new revenue over four years to offset the estimated C$4 billion annual cost of the tax cut, Poilievre said.

“This is a fiscally responsible plan to cut taxes, build homes and bring back the promise of Canada, of hard work enabling people to buy a home in safe neighborhoods,” Poilievre said at a news conference.

The government already offers a partial sales tax rebate, worth about 36% of the tax paid on new or substantially renovated homes worth up to C$450,000.

Trudeau’s housing minister, Sean Fraser, said there’s a fundamental problem with Poilievre’s proposal – he plans to fund it by cutting the government programs that are “actually going to deliver housing for middle-class and low-income families.”

The housing accelerator fund has pushed nearly every big city in the country to adopt more permissive zoning and move to digital permitting to make it easier and faster to build homes, he said. 

“These funds are making a difference. They’re going to have a bigger difference in the future and to cut them now would be nonsensical,” he told reporters in Ottawa.

Fraser also raised concerns that Poilievre’s plan would support real estate investors buying multiple homes through a corporate vehicle at the expense of low and middle-income taxpayers. 

Mike Moffatt, a policy director at the Smart Prosperity Institute and a former Trudeau economic adviser, estimated Poilievre’s tax cut would cost about C$4.5 billion annually. Though he voiced concern about the Conservatives’ plan to cancel the housing accelerator fund, Moffatt agreed the tax cut would spur more building.

“This could really help affordability for young, middle-class Canadians,” he said on X.

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

Ottawa:

In an unusual move, the leader of Canada’s main opposition party was ejected from the House of Commons on Tuesday after he called Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “a wacko”, the latest clash between two men set to fight an election next year.

The official opposition right-of-center Conservatives are well ahead in the polls and leader Pierre Poilievre regularly attacks the Liberal government for a carbon tax he says is spiking inflation.

“When will we put an end to this wacko policy by this wacko prime minister?” he asked Trudeau in the House of Commons elected lower chamber.

Speaker Greg Fergus, a Liberal, told Poilievre the comment was both unparliamentary and unacceptable and asked him four times to withdraw it. Poilievre declined on each occasion, saying instead he would use the word extremist or radical.

Fergus told Poilievre he was disregarding the speaker’s authority and said: “I order to you to withdraw from the House … for the remainder of this day’s sitting.”

Poilievre and most of his legislators then left.

Trudeau has a testy relationship with Poilievre, who he accuses of being an extremist and a supporter of the Make America Great Again movement of former U.S. President Donald Trump.

Trudeau spoke to reporters earlier on Tuesday and accused Poilievre of spending time with far right groups.

“That is not responsible leadership. That is dangerous for democracy, it’s dangerous for Canadians,” he said.

Ejections from the House are relatively rare. The speaker’s office was not immediately available to comment on the last time a leader of the official opposition had been booted out.

The next election must be held by late October 2025 and surveys of public opinion indicate the Conservatives would win a large majority over the center-left Liberals, who have been in power since November 2015.

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

Ottawa:

Taking a jibe at Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for his allegations on India for its involvement in the alleged killing of the Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar, Canada’s opposition leader Pierre Poilievre has said that he should come out clean with all the facts in order to make judgements.

In a media address on Tuesday, Mr Poilievre said, “I think the prime minister needs to come clean with all the facts. We need to know all the evidence possible so that Canadians can make judgments on that.

Mr Poilievre’s remarks came in response to a media query that asked what more should be done as an Indian diplomat was expelled by Canada.

“The prime minister hasn’t provided any facts. He provided a statement. And I will just emphasize that he didn’t tell me any more in private than he told Canadians in public. So we want to see more information,” Mr Poilievre said.

He stated that the allegations could be found untrue or incredible if more information is not provided.

“We need to have the evidence that drew that allowed the prime minister to come to the conclusions he made yesterday,” he said.

“I would have to have more evidence to make a judgment on that. I do find it interesting that he knew about vast foreign interference by Beijing for many years, at the same time as Beijing had kept two Canadian citizens hostage. And he said nothing. And he did nothing. Just very interesting that that was the approach he took in that case,” he added.

A day ago, Mr Trudeau accused the Indian government of the fatal shooting of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. He claimed that his country’s national security officials had reasons to believe that “agents of the Indian government” carried out the killing of the Canadian citizen, who also served as the president of Surrey’s Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara.

Najjar, who was wanted in India, was gunned down outside a Gurdwara, in a parking area in Canada’s Surrey, British Columbia on June 18.

Hailing from Bharsinghpur village in Punjab’s Jalandhar, Nijjar was based in Surrey and had been declared “absconder” by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

India has, however, rejected the allegations by Canadian PM Trudeau regarding the government’s involvement in the fatal shooting of Nijjar. In a statement, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) termed the allegations ‘absurd ‘and ‘motivated’.

“We have seen and reject the statement of the Canadian Prime Minister in their Parliament, as also the statement by their Foreign Minister,” said the MEA in an official statement.

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