Debates of May 28th, 2026

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

[Gabriel Hardy, Conservative, Montmorency—Charlevoix, QC]

Mr. Chair, the interim federal health program has grown from $211 million to $896 million over four years. Asylum seekers whose claims have been denied in this country receive dental care, physical therapy, and all other services that even our own population does not have access to. In fact, 6 million Canadians do not have access to a family doctor.

Does the minister find this acceptable?

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

Mr. Chair, this matter falls under provincial jurisdiction.

At the federal level, as I said, we are working closely with the Province of Quebec, with the Quebec minister, and with the members here.

[Gabriel Hardy, Conservative, Montmorency—Charlevoix, QC]

Mr. Chair, it seems that the interim federal health program falls under provincial jurisdiction.

Is that really what she just told me?

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

Mr. Chair, the Canada-Quebec accord addresses these issues. As Minister of Immigration, I believe the agreement allows Quebec to select all of its immigrants, and we respect that.

[Gabriel Hardy, Conservative, Montmorency—Charlevoix, QC]

Mr. Chair, in 2023, Quebec had 163,000 asylum seekers. This is more than the population of Sherbrooke or Trois-Rivières.

How can the minister call this a system that works?

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

Mr. Chair, first of all, we recognize Quebec's role in welcoming asylum seekers. The good news is that we have reduced the number by 71% compared to—

[The Chair, Conservative, Tom Kmiec]

The hon. member for Montmorency—Charlevoix.

[Gabriel Hardy, Conservative, Montmorency—Charlevoix, QC]

Mr. Chair, so they reduced the number by 71%. Do they acknowledge that there was a problem before? Why is it important to reduce that number now? Clearly, there is a problem.

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

Mr. Chair, we worked very hard. There was Bill C-12, and we also made changes with things—

[The Chair, Conservative, Tom Kmiec]

The hon. member for Montmorency—Charlevoix.

[Gabriel Hardy, Conservative, Montmorency—Charlevoix, QC]

Mr. Chair, the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada expected close to 300,000 outstanding asylum claims by the end of March 2026.

Is the former government's existing system still capable of processing applications, yes or no?

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

Mr. Chair, the department is working very hard to process all claims.

I can tell him that between now and the end—

[The Chair, Conservative, Tom Kmiec]

The hon. member for Montmorency—Charlevoix.

[Gabriel Hardy, Conservative, Montmorency—Charlevoix, QC]

Mr. Chair, federal work permits in Quebec amounted to more than 167,000 in 2023. Meanwhile, thousands of asylum seekers are arriving in Quebec unable to speak French or English.

In your opinion, is it acceptable for your broken system to threaten the survival of French in Quebec?

[The Chair, Conservative, Tom Kmiec]

Before I give the floor to the minister, I would remind the hon. member that he is not to address the minister directly. He must go through the Chair.

The hon. minister.

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

Mr. Chair, as the federal immigration minister, I have no evidence of that.

[Gabriel Hardy, Conservative, Montmorency—Charlevoix, QC]

Mr. Chair, according to the minister, there is no proof that French is in decline across the country, including in Quebec.

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

Mr. Chair, I am working very hard for the French language and for francophone communities across Canada, and therefore in Quebec as well. This is something that I care deeply about.

[Lena Metlege Diab, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Chair, I am very pleased to be here this evening. I welcome the opportunity to highlight how the government is investing, through the main estimates, to support a strong and sustainable immigration system.

Canadian communities benefit from immigration, and Canada also benefits from the talent that our system attracts from around the world.

Immigration supports our economy. It helps our communities grow, reunites families, addresses labour needs in key sectors and reflects our long-standing commitment to protecting people fleeing violence, persecution and forced displacement.

To achieve this, for immigration to continue to work for Canada, it must be well managed, which means a system Canadians can trust that is controlled, sustainable, fair and secure. That is the work that we have been doing, and the results are clear.

Permanent resident admissions are stabilized at less than 1% of Canada's population beyond 2027. The temporary resident population is on track to fall below 5% of Canada's population by the end of 2027, a target that the Parliamentary Budget Officer has independently projected Canada is on track to meet. Temporary resident arrivals are already down significantly. They are down 75% between January and March of this year compared to the same period in 2024, which includes international students. New arrivals were down 79% over the same period following measures such as the annual cap, stronger verification of letters of acceptance, higher financial requirements and the end of the student direct stream.

We are making more deliberate choices on temporary workers, with new worker arrivals down 74% over the same period and pathways better targeted to high-skill and high-demand jobs, including through limits on low-wage hiring, reforms to the post-graduation work permit program and pathways for select skilled workers already contributing in Canada.

Asylum claims have also dropped. Between January and March of this year, 59% fewer people submitted a claim compared to the same period in 2024. This reflects stronger front-end screening, enhanced tools to detect fraud, reforms to the international student and temporary worker programs and the passing of Bill C-12, the Strengthening Canada’s Immigration System and Borders Act.

These are not isolated measures; they are part of a clear plan to bring immigration back to a sustainable path, lessen pressures on our communities and keep the system focused on Canada's needs. Canadians can trust that the plan is working.

This work continues under the 2026‑2028 immigration levels plan and our main estimates. Together, they demonstrate that the government's immigration plan and its fiscal plan are aligned, with lower levels, strengthened integrity and funding allocated to where it will have the greatest impact.

For fiscal year 2026‑27, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada's main estimates total $4.42 billion, a decrease of 15% from the previous year.

These main estimates reflect a disciplined approach to immigration spending. They align resources with lower immigration levels, the phasing out of temporary measures and the government's broader commitment to reduce spending, improve productivity, and focus on core priorities.

Fiscal discipline does not mean stepping away from the department's core responsibilities. These estimates continue to fund the essential work of managing migration, supporting newcomers, strengthening system integrity and improving service. They also support the planning and partnership that keep immigration organized and sustainable, including the implementation of Canada's multi-year immigration level plan and the Canada–Québec Accord. They include limited temporary health care coverage to eligible people and help for provinces and municipalities responding to temporary housing pressures linked to asylum claims.

These supports help Canada meet its humanitarian obligations, support partners on the ground and help newcomers settle, contribute and reach their full potential in Canada. They help maintain the asylum system in Canada, including work to strengthen system integrity and maintain processing capacity. They improve service through modernized digital tools. The lower funding profile reflects our responsible approach, reducing where volumes are lower, where temporary measures are ending and where programs can be delivered more efficiently.

At the same time, this budget maintains targeted support where the system needs capacity, stability and integrity. That includes support for the asylum system, for protected persons who are already in Canada and are in the process of acquiring permanent residency and for workers who are already here and already contributing, who can help meet labour market needs in communities across the country.

Integrity is crucial to fairness. A fair system protects genuine applicants, prevents fraud and misrepresentation and includes rigorous screening, identity verification and secure processing. That is why my department is strengthening the integrity of the asylum system, improving compliance, using biometrics and modernizing the tools officers need. A secure, sustainable system also needs modern services.

Let me turn to Canada's leadership in a changing world. Migration has always been part of the human story. People move to build safer lives, to find opportunity, to reunite with family and to contribute to something larger than themselves. Around the world, migration systems are under pressure. Countries are facing the same challenge of how to respond to movement that is more complex while keeping confidence in the systems that manage it.

When I was at the United Nations earlier this month, it was clear that partners are looking to Canada because we are choosing a responsible path. We are protecting the value of immigration by making the system more controlled, more sustainable and more focused on the people and skills that Canada needs. That is how we keep immigration as a strength.

That is the system we are building: lower volume, higher integrity, more targeted choices and a clear focus on Canada's capacity and economic needs. That does not mean we are straying from our priorities and values. It means we are focusing immigration where it can have the greatest impact. Canada will continue to attract qualified workers and top talent in sectors that matter to our economy, such as health care, construction and emerging industries.

That includes physicians already here and contributing to our health care system. Through the measure I announced in December, 391 physicians have already been invited to apply for permanent residency. These are people in Canada already.

We will continue working with provinces, territories and partners to respond to labour market needs, and we will continue to uphold Canada's humanitarian tradition while building a system that can endure. These are main estimates that work. We need a system that is controlled, sustainable, fair, secure, fiscally responsible and focused on keeping immigration working for Canada. That is the system Canadians expect. That is the system we are delivering.

[Kevin Lamoureux, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons]

Mr. Chair, I have a number of things that I would like to say, leaving maybe 15 seconds for the minister to respond. I will try to get everything in in the next four minutes.

We need to put things into the proper perspective. First of all, I would recognize that we had an election just over a year ago, when the Prime Minister made a commitment to Canadians that we were going to stabilize immigration here in Canada. That was then followed with the appointment of the minister we have today. I believe, as I know my colleagues believe, she has done an outstanding job at stabilizing our immigration system here in Canada. I do not say that lightly.

Let me give a bit of history as to what led to the issues that we had to face. In 2014, I happened to be the immigration critic for the Liberal Party of Canada. I was sitting in the opposition benches when Stephen Harper made the commitment to increase the number of temporary students. He wanted to increase it to numbers in excess of 400,000. There was a time when the Conservative Party recognized the value of immigration. That is long past, I must say, but there was a time when Conservatives did believe in it, and that was when Stephen Harper recognized the value of that contribution by increasing the numbers to over 400,000.

Let us go back to the pandemic. We were able to achieve the goal, and go a little further than that by a few thousand, going into the pandemic. The pandemic is not something that was unique to Canada. It happened around the world. There were concerns regarding people not being able to work in certain sectors. There were concerns around people leaving the country. Back then, even the Conservatives recognized that that was an issue. I do not recall any Conservatives standing up during the pandemic to say we should get rid of temporary workers. I do not remember that at all. Shortly after the pandemic, there was still a high demand, and those temporary workers were given extensions.

Now, a number of factors occurred, which led us to the last federal election. There was a serious issue that was caused by things such as policy announcements back in the previous administration regarding the pandemic and the consequences of the pandemic, including having to address the workforce.

Fortunately for Canada, we elected the right Prime Minister at the right time, and he recognized that we had to stabilize the immigration file. That is exactly what we have done. There have been some issues. We have seen many of the people here on a temporary basis apply for asylum. That is the reason why, prior to the summer, we introduced Bill C-2, which would have helped deal with issues like immigration. The Conservatives, at the time, chose to filibuster that legislation to prevent us from being able to stabilize immigration even earlier.

We had to bring in Bill C-12, which we were finally able to get passed towards the end of the year. We recognized the importance of dealing with the asylum issue, and Bill C-12 did that. After a lot of nudging, we finally got the Conservatives to agree to pass it. Do not get me wrong, I am grateful that they saw a sense of urgency on this issue.

Throughout this period of time, the current minister, a few weeks or maybe a month afterward, came to my home province of Manitoba and met with the minister responsible for immigration. Meeting with the minister of immigration demonstrated that the federal government has a role in working collaboratively with provinces and territories in good faith. I sat at the table with both ministers and listened to the dialogue that was exchanged.

A month or two afterwards, the minister came back to meet with some of the individuals who were being impacted by the immigration policy. What I saw—

[The Chair, Conservative, Tom Kmiec]

The minister will only have 15 seconds to respond.

[Lena Metlege Diab, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Chair, I want to thank my hon. colleague for his passion but also for his experience and for bringing us back to 2014. Again, as I said, I became minister provincially in 2013. The times were very, very different back—

[The Chair, Conservative, Tom Kmiec]

Resuming debate.

The hon. member for Gaspésie—Les Îles‑de‑la‑Madeleine—Listuguj.

[Alexis Deschênes, Bloc, Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine—Listuguj, QC]

Mr. Chair, Quebec is a welcoming place. Quebeckers are welcoming. We understand that we have a duty of solidarity toward asylum seekers. We also understand that asylum seekers and those who become refugees are an asset and that they contribute to Quebec.

Figures released this morning clearly show that this is still the case. Quebeckers are taking in a very large proportion of asylum seekers. I would say that this is a disproportionate share relative to their weight within the Canadian federation. As of April 1, 2026, while Quebeckers make up 22% of the Canadian population, nearly 39% of all asylum seekers in Canada are in Quebec.

Does the minister agree in principle that asylum seekers should be distributed fairly among Canada's provinces?

[Lena Metlege Diab, Liberal, Minister of Immigration]

Mr. Chair, I will start from the beginning.

First, as I mentioned, we fully recognize the important role Quebec has played in welcoming asylum seekers over recent years. There is one very important point—in fact, there are several—and that is that applications have fallen by 71% compared to 2024. Furthermore, since 2019, Quebec has received over $1.1 billion to help cover the costs associated with asylum seekers. We are in constructive discussions with our counterparts in the Quebec government, and we will continue to work with them under the Canada–Quebec accord.