Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, Canadians gave the government a clear mandate to bring sustainability to our immigration system. We have been clear that we are reducing the temporary resident population. Our student numbers are down. Our worker numbers are down. The temporary resident population fell by 176,000, and our asylum numbers are down by a third. We will stick to our targets. We will enforce our rules so th…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, as I said, we have a clear mandate. Canadians gave us a clear mandate. We are, in fact, working to strengthen our immigration systems. The most recent data show that the temporary resident population fell by 176,000 in the fall. We will keep working to improve our economy for all Canadians and for all businesses.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, again, for the member's benefit, I will say that Canadians gave the government a clear mandate to bring immigration to sustainable numbers. That is exactly what we are doing. In The Globe and Mail on January 15 there was a great article. TD stats show as well that rent is decreasing and housing starts are up. There has been economic recovery. We are bringing more population to our rur…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, we have a sustainable and strategic immigration plan. This plan aims to attract the top international talent to build a strong economy, bring top researchers to Canada, invest in foreign credential recognition and support francophone and rural communities. We will protect our borders and strengthen our immigration system with Bill C‑2 and Bill C‑12. I encourage the opposition to suppo…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for the question. On Monday, as part of our international talent attraction strategy, I announced new express entry measures to attract doctors, specialists and surgeons who are ready to practice in Canada and to retain foreign doctors who are already here caring for patients in our communities. Thanks to our plan, our government is going to build a more stable he…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, here are the fact: Virtual citizenship ceremonies started during the time of the pandemic. We all know that during COVID, life shifted. Even in Parliament, we now have the voting app, for example. We are always looking for opportunities to celebrate our citizenship, to bring people together, to celebrate and build the Canadian economy and make it strong. We will continue to do that.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I respect that member, and I know he knows that is not correct. I know he recognizes that we have a robust system in this country and that there is no such thing as one system. We have multiple layers. When it comes to citizenship ceremonies, there is no such thing as that. There are multiple layers of defence when somebody is coming out of a port of entry, 100% of those people spend …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, again, I am correcting the record for that member and those who are listening. Virtual citizenship ceremonies started during the pandemic. That is correct. There are still some that are happening. However, for all new Canadians, it is still being done under a secure, fully fledged citizenship ceremony, with officials present.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, let me thank the colleague and member for placing her confidence in me and in the government. Let me tell you one thing: Canadians elected the government with a big mandate. We have brought in a generational budget that includes a sustainable immigration plan, one that will deal with permanent immigration as well as temporary immigration, and bring global talent. Why do the member and…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I want every Canadian and certainly every Quebecker to know that I am not focused on past squabbles. I am fully focused on ensuring that our immigration system remains strong and attracts the best talent in the world for Quebec and Canada. What is more, under the Canada-Quebec Accord, Quebec selects its permanent immigrants.
Read full speech →Government Orders
moved that the bill, as amended, be concurred in with further amendments.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, Bill C-3's approach enables individuals to show their commitment to Canada and their plans to participate in and contribute to Canadian society. Most of the applications concern children born after 2015, who are 16 years of age or under. If those children want to become Canadians, then I hope that their parents will submit the appropriate application on their behalf, and that they wil…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, the legislation is extremely important, but it affects a minority of people in the population. For those we are trying to rectify this for, it is of significant importance. Even if we can rectify the situation for a few thousand people, that is why we are here. This is for people who have a tie to Canada, have lost their right to citizenship and whose situations were not remedied by t…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, the member has a very informed question and was at the committee when I was there. I respect the manner he always presents himself and his respectful question. Again, we respect Canada's institutions. The courts are those institutions, and the fact is that this legislation would remedy what the court said was unconstitutional. If we do not do anything, it would mean that citizenship b…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I am rising today to speak to Bill C-3. The bill would remedy the status of people who, were it not for the first-generation limit imposed in 2009, would be Canadian citizens by descent from birth. This is largely a cohort of children who were born after 2009, which means they would be 16 years of age and younger; it also includes descendants of previously lost Canadians. It also addr…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, allow me to clarify things a little. The purpose of the temporary foreign worker program is to allow Canadian employers to hire foreign workers when no qualified Canadian or permanent resident is available. We are still reducing the number of temporary workers. We are also going to work with the member. Our purpose is to protect Canadians, but also to protect employers and businesses …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I can tell my colleague opposite that we are working with Quebec. For study permit applications in Quebec, a Quebec acceptance certificate issued by the provincial government is required. It is mandatory. The province is in the driver's seat when it comes to accepting students in its territory. Nearly 100,000 fewer new students arrived between January and July compared to 2024. We wil…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, that is an excellent question. I really enjoy questions that are exactly on the point we need to address here in public policy and as legislators. The government is committed to increasing trust in Canada's immigration system. We are making our borders stronger, more resilient and more responsive, and our efforts are working. Asylum claims are down by a third compared to last year, bu…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I rise today, as the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, to talk about the strengthening Canada's immigration system and borders act. Our immigration system is one of our greatest strengths. It fuels our economy, builds our communities and reflects who we are as a country. As patterns of global migration evolve, our system must also evolve. Our government is committed t…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, we have introduced the bill to provide us with the tools we need to curb abuse and to process more quickly so case loads and costs can go down. The member knows, and the party opposite knows, we published the charter statement on Bill C-2. The member knows that the provisions in the current Bill C-12 with respect to immigration are identical to those in Bill C-2. The immigration measu…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, the hon. member has her facts wrong. This country and this government will not create a two-tier system, and we will never penalize the children in this country who were born here.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question. Bill C‑3 is our solution for lost Canadians. At the same time, we will ensure that children born or adopted abroad will be able to access citizenship if their Canadian parents, themselves born or adopted abroad, have a substantial connection to Canada. That is how we strike a balance between fairness and protecting the tremendous value of Canadia…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, Canadian law is clear: Since the end of the Second World War, anyone born in Canada is a Canadian citizen. Our government will continue to support a fair, constitutional and robust citizenship framework.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, persons seeking to come to Canada must meet eligibility and admissibility requirements of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. Each case is assessed individually. Entry into Canada may be refused for a number of reasons. An individual whose electronic travel application has been declined can reapply by doing an eTA and addressing the reasons it has been refused. IRCC cannot com…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, Canadians' trust in their immigration system is paramount. That is why we are constantly working to improve immigration security screening processes, particularly in response to new challenges and pressures. We have the border bill, Bill C-2. I invite my colleagues to help us pass that bill, which will further strengthen our immigration system.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, as I said, each case is assessed individually. Anyone wishing to enter Canada must meet the requirements of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. A person whose application for an electronic travel authorization has been refused may reapply after explaining the reasons. We cannot comment on individual cases.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, again, I want to thank the Prime Minister. In fact, I want to thank the people in Halifax West for electing me to this Parliament. I am here to do the best job I possibly can do with my experience, with my expertise and with my love for Canada and love for Canadians. We will continue to do that. With respect to my record as minister of immigration provincially from 2013 to 2021, the r…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I am not going to thank the member for that question, but I will answer the question. I have spent my summer, a whole 10 or 11 weeks, working seven days a week without taking one day for vacation. Having said that, this government is intent on ensuring that our immigration system becomes sustainable, as well as intent on protecting our borders. That is why we have Bill C-2 in front of…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, Canadians gave us a mandate to bring international student programs back to a viable level, and we are doing just that. Nearly 100,000 fewer new students arrived in 2025. The House is also considering Bill C‑2, which would reduce the number of applications and prevent sudden spikes in applications. We are here to strengthen our borders and make them more resilient as well. I invite al…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the Prime Minister for choosing me to be the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship. I am very proud of my record from when I served as Nova Scotia's minister of immigration. Protecting prospective newcomers from those who try to take advantage of them is critically important. That is why we have established the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consult…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, Canadians have given us a mandate to restore our international student program to sustainable levels, and that is what we are doing. Nearly 100,000 fewer students arrived in 2025, and the latest figures show that the number of student visa holders dropped by 144,000. We want to attract the best talent while protecting international students.
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, anybody who commits a crime in Canada, regardless of their status, will face consequences. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada is working with the Canada Border Services Agency and all our partners to ensure the following. If we need to deport somebody, we will. That is CBSA's job. Again, we work with other government departments to ensure that Canadians are protected and tha…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, we just campaigned on strengthening our borders. Fraud is getting increasingly sophisticated, so we need effective tools to maintain a migration management approach. The House is currently considering Bill C-2, which seeks to ensure equity in our immigration system and to improve visa and asylum application processing. We want to protect the integrity of our system, and I invite all p…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, our measures are working. Yes, they are working. In the first quarter of 2025, Canada experienced the lowest non-pandemic demographic growth since the Second World War. We are continuing to implement our plan on immigration levels, a plan that reduces our temporary resident population by hundreds of thousands and reduces our permanent resident target by over 20%. Our objective is clea…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, let me repeat it in English so she and other members of her party understand: Our measures are working. In the first quarter of 2025, Canada recorded the smallest non-pandemic population gain since the government started to keep records in 1946. We are following through on our immigration plan, and that is reducing our temporary resident number and our permanent resident number by 20%…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, Canadians gave our government a mandate just a few months ago: to return the international student program to sustainable levels, and we are doing exactly that. Almost 90,000 fewer students arrived between January and June 2025, compared to the same period in 2024, and the latest numbers show 100,000 fewer study permit holders in Canada compared to the end of 2024. We want to attract …
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, we just ran a campaign on restoring sustainability to our immigration system to ease pressure on housing and social services, something the Conservatives also voted for. Our immigration levels plan reduced targets for permanent residents. That plan is working. New student and temporary worker admissions are down more than 60%, asylum claims are down one-third and new permanent residen…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, one of the goals of the campaign we ran a few months ago was to restore the vitality of our immigration system in order to alleviate the housing and services crisis. Our measures are working. Admissions of new students and temporary workers have decreased by more than 60%. Asylum applications have fallen by a third. The number of new residents will be reduced by 20%. With Bill C‑2, we…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, while the opposition is concentrating on making assumptions and speaking about things that are not there, let me tell members that, with the asylum system, our numbers are down 40%. We have also introduced Bill C-2, which will strengthen our border, and this legislation is in front of the House. We campaigned on it, and Canadians gave us a mandate. So did Conservatives, and we hope th…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I know that Canadians are concerned. Our government has been working tirelessly. We understand that we need to see a return to sustainable immigration levels that fit our capacity and serve our growth, which is exactly why we are focused on our levels plan with reducing both temporary and permanent residents in this country, and we are seeing results. We are bringing population to sus…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, those are valid points. As I stated already, I do look forward to the co-operation of all parties in the House. It is important to remind members, as well as viewers, who have really been waiting for this for years, that the reason we are here today is that sections of this were declared unconstitutional by the Ontario Supreme Court on December 19, 2023, and Parliament has had x amoun…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I look forward to working with my colleague. We worked together on the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights. I am here to work on immigration issues with him and all the members of his team.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, now that we have clearly identified that the audio is working in both languages, I appreciate this historic opportunity to stand today and really make right what is a wrong. I will continue by saying that this bill was already introduced in the last Parliament but did not go through all the stages. The previous government put in place interim measures to allow lost Canadians affected …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I am here today to speak to this bill to amend the Citizenship Act. I am here to say that it is very important to work on getting this bill through committee and the House. I look forward to the co‑operation of all parliamentarians who are working in the House to move this bill forward.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, again, I am going to reiterate that the reason we are here today is a decision made by a court that rendered these provisions unconstitutional. If we do absolutely nothing, it will put Canadians at risk, and it would really be a tragedy for those who have been waiting for years to have their citizenship recognized. I very much look forward to members discussing and debating this and r…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, allow me, first of all, as we start to debate on the bill, to take a moment to thank again the stakeholders across the country, including Don Chapman, who is the head of the lost Canadian website and who has been a tireless advocate for this. Let me also clarify the record. I look forward to the committee study on this, but the majority of lost Canadian cases were remedied by the legi…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, again, I am looking forward to constructive dialogue from all parties, whether it is today or in committee. We are taking the responsible step of approaching the court decision by creating a framework to citizenship by descent, including creating the need to demonstrate a strong connection to Canada. I am very much looking forward to July 1, because on July 1, traditionally, for the l…
Read full speech →Government Orders
moved that Bill C-3, An Act to amend the Citizenship Act (2025), be read the second time and referred to a committee. Mr. Speaker, let me begin by acknowledging that we are gathering on the traditional unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe people. It is a privilege to stand here this morning, as Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, to present Bill C-3, an act to amend the Cit…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, first, I would like to thank my colleague from Longueuil—Saint-Hubert for the question. It is a very good question, a crucial question. My answer is that we are taking important steps to strengthen the integrity of our immigration system while honouring our humanitarian commitments. That is why we introduced changes to ensure that our immigration system can handle such challenges now …
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Chair, CBSA and the Department of Public Safety are in charge of those exit numbers.
Read full speech →