Debates of May 28th, 2026

Department of Citizenship and Immigration—Main Estimates, 2026-27

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

Mr. Chair, is the minister saying that up until now we could not track exits in our country? Is that what the minister is saying?

[Lena Metlege Diab, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Mr. Chair, CBSA officers can review, case by case, whether to track people, but in terms of a comprehensive exit tracking system, we have now initiated the foundation to ensure that we build that for all going forward.

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

Mr. Chair, I guess I am curious as to why the government chose to bring in millions of people without having a decent exit tracking system.

[Lena Metlege Diab, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Mr. Chair, the Conservatives were in power a decade ago. Canada has never had an exit tracking system. What we are doing now is ensuring that we build one.

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

Mr. Chair, it is important to note that the government has brought in millions of people using a system that does not work.

The minister is expecting about two million temporary visas to expire this year. That is about 160,000 per month. She also expects them to leave. Can the minister confirm that temporary residents are leaving Canada at these rates?

[Lena Metlege Diab, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Mr. Chair, IRCC and CBSA continue to improve how the immigration and border systems work together. With respect to temporary residents, we are taking steps to help those with status be compliant with immigration law and respect the conditions of their stay.

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

Mr. Chair, it works out to about 160,000 people leaving per month. Can the minister confirm that those are the kinds of numbers that she is seeing in her department?

[Lena Metlege Diab, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Mr. Chair, as I have said, there are consequences for people who do not abide by the conditions and who do not leave. CBSA removed 23,000 inadmissible people last year, and we are launching the pilot to better manage, reduce and enforce overstays.

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

Mr. Chair, how many undocumented non-citizens are currently in Canada?

[Lena Metlege Diab, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Mr. Chair, temporary residents who do not leave Canada once their authorized period of stay has ended face consequences, including removal from Canada and restrictions if they wish to come back.

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

Mr. Chair, we understand the rules, but my question is, how many are there? The department must have an estimate. I am sure the minister has a deputy minister sitting right there. They must have an estimate of how many undocumented people are in Canada right now.

[Lena Metlege Diab, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Mr. Chair, under a renewed effort to detect fraud, the total number of applications refused for misrepresentation has increased significantly over the last year, and we work with the CBSA to ensure that those who should be removed are removed.

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

Mr. Chair, I did not hear a number in there.

I know that a couple years ago, IRCC at committee estimated that half a million undocumented people were in Canada. Is that number still accurate, or does the minister just not know?

[Lena Metlege Diab, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Mr. Chair, what Canadians need to know is what we have done over the last 12 months. Asylum claims are down, new student visas are down, and temporary foreign worker permits are down. In addition, we passed Bill C-12 to proactively manage the departure of migrants.

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

Mr. Chair, I think what is more important to Canadians, what they really want to know, is whether there are half a million people who are not supposed to be here.

[Lena Metlege Diab, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Mr. Chair, as I said, we have passed Bill C-12 to ensure that we protect our borders, that we have integrity in our system and that we reinforce our values. The plan that we have set is working. The numbers of asylum claimants, student visas and temporary workers are down considerably.

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

Mr. Chair, I think I will go with half a million, because I did not hear anything different.

VFS Global runs 164 visa application centres for the government. Reports say that they charged extra for premium lounge access, which included faster turnaround and free drinks.

If VFS was flagged for fraud and security risk, why is IRCC still relying on it?

[Lena Metlege Diab, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Mr. Chair, the visa application centres are third party providers that support the application process. They collect biometrics. They provide administrative services. They do an important job to keep Canadians safe.

[Brad Redekopp, Conservative, Saskatoon West, SK]

Mr. Chair, can the minister guarantee that no inadmissible person entered Canada because of weaknesses at a VFS centre?

[Lena Metlege Diab, Liberal, Halifax West, NS]

Mr. Chair, let me, for the record, say that the IRCC VAC network includes 164 locations in 109 countries. We have an extensive network around the globe. They work to ensure that our system remains integral.

[Guillaume Deschênes-Thériault, Liberal, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Mr. Chair, I will be sharing my time.

I rise this evening to speak to an issue that is particularly close to my heart and to the minister's: francophone immigration. As we know, immigration has significant economic, social, and demographic impacts on our communities. Immigrants enrich the social fabric of our francophone communities and help meet labour needs.

As we know, immigration is the main driver of population growth in Canada. Historically, francophone immigration rates have been very low. It was not until 2019 that francophone immigration outside Quebec exceeded 2%. This has contributed to the accelerated decline in the demographic share of francophones living in minority communities across the country.

That is why, in 2003, a strategic framework for francophone immigration was established. The initial goal was to reach a target of 4.4% francophone immigration by 2008. It was also in 2003 that, as part of the first action plan for official languages, initial public funding was announced to help structure the francophone immigration ecosystem. This made it possible to establish the first collaborative structures as well as French-language settlement services across the country.

However, in 2006, with the change in government and priorities, francophone immigration took a back seat. We can talk about a decade of stagnation. We had to wait for the Liberals to return to power to review action on francophone immigration, including a significant reinvestment in 2018 through the action plan for official languages 2018‑2023. Then, there was a historic investment of more than $220 million to support francophone immigration in the action plan for official languages 2023-2028. I will get to that in a moment.

What is important to know is that the government met its target of 4.4% in 2022 for the first time and then we increased our targets every year. For example, last year, under the minister's leadership, we reached a record target of 8.9% for francophone immigration. This is important because francophone immigration of 8.9% is enough to put the demographic weight of francophone communities outside Quebec back on track for growth.

What is more, the investments that we have made, including the over $220 million announced in 2023, have enabled us to implement targeted international recruitment measures and empower our communities to play a role in recruitment. However, there is more to it than just recruitment. We need to make sure that we have the capacity to welcome and properly integrate those who choose to settle here, whether it be in Acadia, French Ontario, western Canada or the north. We must help our communities.

With the funding we have invested in francophone immigration, we are seeking to strengthen the French-speaking pathway. That begins with pre-departure services that are offered even before people arrive in the country and individualized reception services at our airports. When people arrive, they get orientation services, help finding employment, language training and community connection services, which are provided by francophone organizations that understand what life is like in our minority communities and that play a key role in integration. We need to make absolutely sure that our communities have the intake capacity needed to ensure that people stay and that immigrants who choose to settle in our communities have positive social and economic experiences.

For example, we have been able to increase the number of welcoming francophone communities across the country. In fact, I am fortunate to have in my riding of Madawaska—Restigouche two of the 24 welcoming francophone communities outside Quebec. These are concrete examples of how our investments are making a real difference in this area.

I would like to highlight the minister's leadership on francophone immigration. When she took office as Nova Scotia's immigration minister about a decade ago, francophone immigration accounted for 0.5% of admissions through the Nova Scotia nominee program. That meant that one permanent resident out of every 200 was francophone. Less than two years after the minister took office in Nova Scotia, that number had risen to 10%. The number went from one in 200 to one in 10 because she brought in concrete measures to ensure the success of francophone immigration in Nova Scotia. I am now seeing her exercise that leadership at the federal level.

As I mentioned, we reached 8.9% in 2025, and we are aiming to continue toward the ambitious goal of 12% by 2029. This involves implementing a range of measures. We have a francophone immigration pilot program. We have put measures in place through express entry, and we are also working with our provincial and territorial partners.

My question for the minister tonight is this: What is her plan? What measures will be put in place to enable us to achieve our ambitious goal of 12% francophone immigration by 2029? I know that this is an important issue. Like many of my colleagues, I care deeply about this issue, and having discussed it often with the minister, I know that she cares a lot about it too.

[Lena Metlege Diab, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Chair, I would like to begin by thanking my colleague, the member for Madawaska—Restigouche, for his hard work over the past decade on behalf of his community in New Brunswick, as well as the Canadian francophone community and Acadians. I want to congratulate him once again on the research and the work he did before entering politics to support official language minority communities. It has been a pleasure to work with him and his constituents over the past year. They are very fortunate to have such a dedicated member of Parliament.

For me, the French language is central to Canadian identity and culture. By protecting it, we are preserving part of what sets us apart as a country. Thanks to our programs, we have met and even exceeded, as the member said, our target for francophone immigration outside Quebec for four consecutive years, which puts us on track to achieve 12% francophone immigration by 2029. This year, we are reserving an additional 5,000 spaces for the provinces and territories to welcome francophone immigrants. I would like to take this opportunity to say that New Brunswick is a leader in filling these spaces, and I hope that many provinces will follow suit. This is a new initiative I have launched as minister. We did so because we realize that we need to increase francophone immigration and strengthen our partnership with the provinces, territories, communities and organizations.

We are also continuing to invest in community projects that inform, attract and integrate francophone immigrants outside Quebec. We are making modifications to the settlement program and protecting it.

[Chi Nguyen, Liberal, Spadina—Harbourfront, ON]

Mr. Chair, I am pleased to rise today to speak to Canada's refugee and humanitarian commitments, and how Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada's 2026-27 main estimates will support this work.

Immigration is one of the great acts of nation building. It is how we meet labour shortages, reunite families and respond to persecution and displacement. It is also how people born elsewhere come to call Canada home and become our neighbours, workers, entrepreneurs, parents, volunteers and citizens. There is no question that immigrants and newcomers have contributed tremendously to Canada by driving economic growth and strengthening our communities.

Immigration policy is not only about numbers, applications or fiscal lines. It is about the kind of country we are choosing to build and whether we have the discipline, the generosity and the institutional seriousness to build it well. The question before us is not whether Canada remains a welcoming country. The more difficult question is whether we can remain welcoming in a way that is credible, orderly and sustainable. I believe that we can, if we are honest about what makes that possible. That is the context for these main estimates.

A system that is overwhelmed cannot service the people who need it most. People who come to Canada seeking protections are arriving at one of the most difficult times in their lives and deserve a system that treats them with dignity, gives them a fair hearing and provides them with timely decisions. We know that a system that cannot distinguish truth from fraud cannot properly protect the vulnerable. We also know that a system that is overwhelmed cannot offer timely protection to the people who need it most. While Canada cannot control when crises emerge, we can control how we prepare, how we respond and how we ensure that our response reflects both our humanitarian commitments and the capacity of our immigration system.

As a proud Vietnamese Canadian, I know that Canada's humanitarian tradition is not only something we describe in policy, but something real people have lived. The story of Vietnamese refugees in Canada is part of the modern story of this country. It is the story of the families who arrived after conflict, displacement and uncertainty. Canada made it possible for those who fled Vietnam to arrive to safety, stability and a fair chance at becoming a part of the fabric of this country. This is one example of what humanitarian protection can mean at its best. It gives people an opportunity to move beyond a point of crisis to belonging, contributing and one day becoming part of the Canadian story themselves. That is the promise behind humanitarian protection.

To keep that promise, compassion has to be matched with capacity. That means having the right planning, partnerships and supports in place, not only to offer protection, but to help people rebuild their lives once they are here. It also means maintaining public confidence. Canadians need to see our humanitarian commitments continue to offer protection over time. It means that when we respond to people in need, we do so through a system that can endure: one that is planned, coordinated, fair to applicants, responsible to communities and aligned with our country's capacity.

These main estimates help to support that work. They support the people, programs and partnerships needed to manage immigration responsibly, including the work required to uphold Canada's humanitarian commitments. This includes targeted supports for protected persons already in Canada, helping eligible protected persons and their in-Canada dependants transition to permanent residency in 2026 and 2027. These are people who have already been found to need Canada's protection. Helping them transition to permanent residency provides stability. It allows them to continue building their lives with greater security, put down roots, work, study, raise families and contribute more fully to the communities where they have been welcomed. This is an important example of how humanitarian commitments and responsible system management can work together.

Canada will continue to be there for people in need, but we also need to make sure that our humanitarian pathways are delivered through a system that can support people properly. That means considering settlement capacity, working with provinces, territories and communities, and aligning our humanitarian measures with the immigration levels plan, operational realities and the broader needs of the system.

Recent years have shown how quickly humanitarian situations can evolve. Canada has responded to a range of international crises and displacement situations. Each one has been different. Each one has required careful decisions about what Canada can do, which tools are appropriate and how immigration measures fit within that broader government response. These experiences have reinforced an important lesson: Humanitarian responses must be principled, coordinated and sustainable. That is why IRCC has strengthened the way it prepares for and responds to emerging international crises. The department's crisis response framework helps guide how IRCC assesses emerging crises and considers whether immigration measures may be appropriate as part of Canada's—

[The Assistant Deputy Chair, Conservative, John Nater]

The time has expired for the member's comments.

She may now ask questions.

[Chi Nguyen, Liberal, Spadina—Harbourfront, ON]

Mr. Chair, I would like to ask my dear colleague, the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, about these main estimates.

It has been very good to have the minister come and see some of the incredible work being supported in my riding of Spadina—Harbourfront. We had a chance to see first-hand the work of Centre Francophone du Grand Toronto, where they have a legal clinic, medical services, employment supports and mental health and counselling for newcomers.

Can the minister speak more on why partnerships with organizations like Centre francophone, the Institute for Canadian Citizenship and Rainbow Railroad are so important and what role they play to help us deliver on our shared objectives?