ottawa –
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly said Thursday that Canada will stick to its plan to curb the number of new arrivals, despite concerns that Donald Trump’s re-election could accelerate the influx of migrants from the United States. Ta.
Trump’s decisive victory this week immediately sparked a debate over the border, as he promised mass deportations of people who entered the country illegally or without proper documentation.
Anti-immigrant policies and rhetoric during his first government caused a surge of immigration into Canada, particularly on rural border roads in Quebec.
Canada recently announced plans to reduce the number of new immigrants, but Joly said that would not change Thursday when asked by a reporter what Canada’s plans are for a potential immigration surge.
“We want an immigration system that Canadians can trust,” Joly said. “We intend to stick to that, which is why we have decided to lower our immigration target by 20 per cent to earn the trust of Canadians.”
NDP MP Jenny Kwan said Ottawa needs a plan to prepare for the influx of migrants in a humane way.
“What needs to happen is to be open and transparent with Canadians,” she said.
Following President Trump’s victory, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reinstated the Canada-U.S. Ministerial Committee, which had not met since President Trump left office in 2021. Immigration Minister Mark Miller and Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, who heads the Canada Border Services Agency, among its members.
“We’re ready to plan” for the incoming Trump administration, Jolie said, noting the committee will hold its first meeting on Friday.
Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-François Blanchette accused the Liberal Party of having long downplayed the issue of asylum seekers entering Canada through Quebec’s Roxham Road border crossing.
“Once again, our government is refusing to acknowledge a clear and very serious situation,” he said, calling on Ottawa to increase personnel at border entry points.
Things may not be exactly the same as in 2017.
When President Joe Biden visited Ottawa last year, he and Prime Minister Trudeau announced an agreement to amend the Safe Third Country Agreement. The policy means asylum seekers are ineligible to apply if they enter either country from the other, but previously only applied at official border crossings.
The measure now applies across the entire border, and asylum claims through unofficial border crossings have been significantly reduced.
Muzaffar Chishti, a senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute in Washington, D.C., also said that immigrants are likely to take a wait-and-see attitude because not everything Trump says becomes policy.
“It probably doesn’t mean some people won’t leave the country, but the nature of the Trump administration’s actions will determine whether people change their minds about whether to stay or not,” he said.
He also said how Canada responds will have a big impact on whether there will be an immigration “crisis.”
“If they believe Canada doesn’t have a welcome mat, they won’t go,” he says.
In 2017, shortly after President Trump issued an executive order banning refugees from Muslim-majority countries, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted that the country would welcome refugees. The move is widely seen as a response to President Trump’s policies.
“To those fleeing persecution, terrorism and war, regardless of your faith, Canadians will welcome you. Diversity is our strength. Welcome to Canada,” he wrote on social media. did.
Later, in documents obtained through a Freedom of Information request, it was reported that the tweet led to a flood of inquiries about how to apply for asylum in Canada.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
File from Maura Forrest in Montreal.
