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.
La Presse — Les demandes d’asile ont doublé au poste frontalier de Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle
L’Agence des services frontaliers du Canada indique que 2733 demandes d’asile ont été déposées en avril au poste frontalier de Montérégie, contre 1356 en mars et 755 en février. Il s’agit d’une multiplication par quatre par rapport à la même période l’an dernier, lors de laquelle 670 demandes d’asile avaient été déposées au poste frontalier. Ces chiffres vont à l’encontre de la tendance des demandes d’asile au Canada, qui ont considérablement diminué depuis l’an dernier.
CBC News — Quebec border sees asylum claims double between March and April
Asylum claims doubled at a Quebec border crossing in April as the Trump administration seeks to strip legal protections from hundreds of thousands of migrants in the United States. There were 2,733 asylum claims last month at the Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle port of entry, south of Montreal. That’s up from 1,356 claims in March and 755 in February, according to data from the Canada Border Services Agency. The April total represents a fourfold increase over the same month last year, when there were 670 asylum claims at the Quebec border crossing. The numbers run counter to the trend in refugee claims across Canada, which have declined dramatically since last year.
CBC News — Colleges and universities in northeastern Ontario suspend programs, with sharp drop in international students
After a period of unprecedented expansion, a bust is following a boom, not in factories or in mines as is usually the case, but in classrooms and on campuses. In the upcoming academic year, colleges and universities across northeastern Ontario are suspending programs to cope with plummeting international enrolment as stricter immigration rules take effect, and the province is preventing schools from raising tuition fees for Canadian students.
CBC News — More newcomers are learning French in hopes of improving their chances to stay in Canada permanently
The pursuit for PR is becoming cutthroat. As of January, Canada is estimated to have 3.02 million temporary residents but there are only 395,000 PR spots available this year. Hence, Sidhu said, the rush to learn French. While struggling with the language, the international student from Punjab, India, said he has been practicing it rigorously “around two hours every day” to bolster his application. He worries that in the next draw, the cutoff points would be higher and hopes learning French becomes his saving grace. CRS is a ranking system used by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for immigrants applying for a permanent residency, using factors like age, level of education, English proficiency and work experience.
Business Standard — Study permits, work visas under scrutiny in Canada’s new immigration plan
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney laid out his immigration plans at his first post-election press conference on May 3, 2025, four days after securing a minority mandate in the April 28 election. With the country facing pressure on housing and public services, the question many had was: What will his government do about immigration? Carney said his government would return immigration to “sustainable levels” by capping temporary workers and international students at 5 per cent of the total population by 2028, down from the current 7.3 per cent.
La Presse — Les ratés du système d’immigration à deux étapes
La mesure la plus importante proposait la régularisation de 6000 personnes sans statut travaillant dans le secteur de la construction à travers le pays. Bien sûr, comme ces personnes travaillent déjà dans le secteur, la mesure ne résoudra pas la pénurie de main-d’œuvre. Cela signifiera peut-être 6000 expulsions de moins, mais même cela est loin d’être certain. L’annonce révèle une reconnaissance à peine voilée d’un des résultats les plus tragiques, et peut-être du plus grand échec, du système d’immigration à deux étapes normalisé par le gouvernement fédéral au cours de la dernière décennie, soit le nombre croissant de sans-papiers au Canada.
