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.
Government of Canada — Canada continues to strengthen border security and immigration integrity
Together, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), Public Safety, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), have taken concrete steps to minimize unnecessary border volumes, increase info-sharing, and reduce non-genuine visitors and illegal crossings at the border. These measures are already delivering results. The accompanying backgrounder outlines IRCC’s measures and key results, and provides an overview of actions taken to protect the border and prevent fraud. Public Safety is coordinating the $1.3-billion effort to further strengthen the border, and disrupt illegal cross-border activity. In the coming weeks, the Government of Canada will further enhance real-time surveillance of Canada’s border and increase presence to support communities. We have already deployed 60 new drones along our border with the U.S., and will be deploying additional surveillance towers and purchasing new technology, such as x-rays, mobile x-rays and hand-held chemical analyzers.
Gouvernement du Canada — Mesures visant à renforcer la sécurité aux frontières et le système d’immigration du Canada
Pour réduire au maximum les volumes inutiles aux frontières, Nous avons ajouté un protocole supplémentaire à l’Entente sur les tiers pays sûrs (ETPS), en partenariat avec les États-Unis, afin que l’ETPS s’applique à l’ensemble de la frontière terrestre, y compris aux cours d’eau intérieurs. Le nombre de demandes d’asile déposées par des personnes ayant franchi illégalement la frontière est passé d’une moyenne de 165 par jour en mars 2023 à 12 par jour depuis cette date.
Immigrant Québec — Fin du permis ouvert élargi pour les conjoints de travailleurs et d’étudiants
Dans un avis du 14 janvier 2025, Immigration, Réfugiés et Citoyenneté Canada (IRCC) a finalement entériné une mesure annoncée en septembre 2024 visant à renforcer les conditions d’admissibilité au permis de travail ouvert pour les époux et conjoints de fait des travailleurs et des étudiants étrangers. Il n’y a pas si longtemps, dans un souci de préserver l’intégrité des familles, la plupart des époux et conjoints de fait de travailleurs étrangers temporaires et d’étudiants étrangers pouvaient obtenir un permis de travail ouvert (PTO) de même durée que le permis principal auquel il était attaché.
Government of Canada — Changes to open work permits for family members of temporary residents
The Government of Canada is continuing to strengthen the integrity and quality of our temporary resident programs while supporting the country’s economic goals and labour market needs. As part of the broader measures announced in September 2024, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is changing open work permit (OWP) eligibility for family members of international students and foreign workers. Effective January 21, 2025, only spouses of certain international students and foreign workers will be able to apply for a family OWP.
Toronto Star — Family work permits no longer available for some foreign students and workers starting next week
Ottawa releases details on changing the eligibility for family members of study and work permit holders to get authorization to work legally. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Marc Miller has been bringing in changes to reduce the number of temporary residents. Starting next week, the federal government will impose further restrictions on access to open work permits for families of international students and temporary foreign workers. Following an announcement last fall of reductions in the number of temporary residents in Canada, Ottawa released further details Tuesday on changing the eligibility for family members of study and work permit holders to get authorization to work legally in Canada.
CBC News — Moving provinces helped me see what it took for my parents to move across the world
It was my first day of kindergarten in a new country when my parents and I walked in to see a giant red dog at the door. We were perplexed by the sight of the principal dressed up to entertain students coming in on the first day of classes. At four, I was scared of this towering creature. It wasn’t until a few months later that we realized he was dressed as Clifford the Big Red Dog, a beloved childhood character that most students would have recognized. Not us though. Even now, years later, my family still gets a good laugh remembering our sheer bewilderment at the giant red dog on the first day of school in Canada, just one of the new experiences — strange, funny and heart-warming by turn — we encountered on our way to finding our feet as immigrants.
