Nicholas Keung

Nicholas Keung

Majority of Canadians say immigration level still too high, but confidence growing in Carney fixing ‘broken’ system: Poll

The Liberal party has restored some Canadians’ confidence in its ability to manage immigration, though a majority still believe the Conservatives are better equipped to fix the beleaguered system, according to a new poll. A year after implementing some seismic policy changes to reduce immigration intakes, the Liberals are closing the gap with the opposition Conservatives in public perception of...

Nicholas Keung

More visible minority candidates ran — and won — in Canada’s federal election. The Conservatives boosted the numbers

More visible minorities ran and were elected in the spring federal election compared to the previous election, an increase that a new report found was driven by representation in parties on the right. There were 315 visible minorities representing the six major parties, according to the report published by the Institute for Research on Public Policy. The candidates accounted for...

Nicholas Keung

‘Idiots’ or ‘knuckleheads’? Federal-provincial immigration dispute gets personal

Ottawa is considering dissolving a joint federal-provincial working group on asylum seekers after accusing three Conservative premiers of weaponizing the refugee crisis for political gains. On Wednesday, Immigration Minister Marc Miller called out the three provincial leaders — Alberta’s Danielle Smith, Blaine Higgs of New Brunswick and Tim Houston of Nova Scotia — who are facing upcoming re-election bids or...

Nicholas Keung

Canada’s refugee system is overwhelmed by skyrocketing claims. What can Ottawa do to reduce backlogs?

Canada’s refugee system has been the envy of the world. It’s recognized as being orderly, fair and efficient when compared to any other western country. But as the number of asylum seekers keeps surging here — and with the queue and processing times getting longer, the beleaguered system is in desperate need of a rethink to save it from spiraling...

Nicholas Keung

Immigration Minister Marc Miller on international students, asylum seekers and life in the hotseat — plus an admission about one promise

It was a day after his constituency office was found vandalized, with windows smashed and pink paint sprayed over, but that didn’t stop Immigration Minister Marc Miller from cracking jokes with the audience at a special citizenship ceremony in Toronto to mark Cirque du Soleil’s 40th anniversary. “Anyone want to change their mind? You still have time,” Miller said jokingly...

Raisa Patel, Nicholas Keung

Trudeau government will give foreign caregivers permanent residence in Canada

The Liberal government is set to announce two new pathways that would give caregivers from abroad permanent residence upon arriving in Canada, a step intended to update and replace existing pilot programs that will wind down later this month. Immigration Minister Marc Miller will announce two new pilot programs on Monday afternoon as part of the federal government’s efforts to...

Nicholas Keung

Immigration detainees in federal prisons will be separated from other inmates, Trudeau government says

Housing migrants in federal prisons is a temporary measure as border enforcement officials try to modify their own facilities to accommodate “high-risk” detainees, says Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc. In response to concerns raised over proposed legislative changes to immigration detention, LeBlanc said the Canada Border Services Agency will use a section of a penitentiary “independently and separately” from Correctional...

Nicholas Keung

Former Liberal ministers urge Trudeau to drop plans to house migrants in federal prisons

Two former Liberal cabinet ministers are urging the Trudeau government to cancel its plans to start using federal prisons to hold immigration detainees, citing a recent inquest recommendation to end the practice of detaining migrants in jails.

Nicholas Keung

A plan to add one million permanent residents to Canada in a single year was among ideas floated behind the scenes, government docs show

Before Justin Trudeau's government landed on a plan to bring in about 400,000 permanent residents per year, cabinet considered a proposal that would have opened the door significantly wider in a single year, the Star has learned. Amid growing scrutiny of Ottawa's immigration rates, internal government documents show the Liberal government rejected an option to raise the immigration rate to...

Nicholas Keung, Kristin Rushowy

'Gloves truly off now': The fight among college presidents over international students is getting ugly

As soon as Canada announced it would cap the number of international students here, experts anticipated a dogfight among Ontario colleges for the limited new study permits for the province. One prediction was that the colleges would throw Kitchener-based Conestoga College — the school with the most international students in the country — "under the bus."

Kristin Rushowy, Nicholas Keung

Canada to limit study permits for international students: internal memo

It appears the federal government will soon assign a fixed number of international study permits for each province. Starting later this year, the federal government will assign a fixed number of international study permits to each province, according to a Universities Canada memo obtained by the Star that offers a first glimpse at the level of cuts to the international...