Foreign
Canada turning away more foreigners amid rise in anti-immigration sentiment
Ratio of refused visitor visas to approved ones was higher in recent months than any point since height of the pandemic.
Canada is taking steps, both official and unofficial, to curb the number of people coming to the country, highlighting the way in which immigration has become a political flashpoint ahead of a federal election.
According to figures obtained by Reuters, the ratio of refused visitor visa applications to approved ones was higher in recent months than at any point since the height of the pandemic.
Immigration officials rejected more applications than they approved in January, February, May and June 2024.
At the same time, the number of approved study and work permits dropped. And in July, Canada refused entry to nearly 6,000 foreign travellers, including students, workers and tourists – the most since at least January 2019. Reuters reported the shift appears to be informal, and not dictated by a change in policy.
Recent polling has shown a sharp change in how Canadians perceive of immigration, amid a mounting cost of living crisis. One immigration lawyer in Nova Scotia said the firm has seen an increase in rejections – and mounting hostility towards the firm’s clients.
“These are things people have said to us – about barring people from coming here or kicking them out – they likely wouldn’t have felt comfortable saying a few years ago. But now they say it to us, knowing exactly what sort of work we do.”
Last week, the immigration minister, Marc Miller, said his ministry would reassess the number of people applying for permanent residency.
“Now it’s time to take a look at them and put real options on the table for the prime minister and for other cabinet ministers to look at, and not cosmetic changes simply to deal with public opinion. Real significant change,” Miller told CTV News.
That same week, the prime minister, Justin Trudeau, said his government would scale back the controversial temporary foreign workers following a surge in applications. The program was recently condemned by a UN special rapporteur for being a “breeding ground for contemporary forms of slavery”.
Last year, employers were approved to hire 239,646 temporary foreign workers – more than double the 108,988 hired in 2018, according to Employment and Social Development Canada.
Employers are increasingly using the program to fill positions in new sectors, including in fast food and construction. For example, the number of people hired for low-wage jobs in the healthcare sector is up more than 15,000% since 2018.
Trudeau said employers in sectors where the unemployment rate is 6% or higher, will not be able to hire low-wage TFW, with an exception granted for “food security sectors” like agriculture and food and fish processing. His government has also approved a carve out for the construction and healthcare sectors.
The prime minister also mused about reducing the number of permanent residents Canada accepts each year, dramatically upending years of increased immigration levels under his tenure.
“Canada remains a place that is positive in its support for immigration, but also responsible in the way we integrate and make sure there’s pathways to success for everyone who comes to Canada,” he told reporters last week following a cabinet retreat.
With a federal election due within the next year, political leaders have sparred over immigration, with the Conservatives, who lead in the polls, accusing Trudeau’s government of letting in too many people too quickly.
Trudeau and Miller have defended the need for elevated immigration as critical part of Canada’s economic growth strategy, but both have conceded the volume of immigrants – in addition to a lack of federal and provincial investment in infrastructure – has contributed to a mounting crisis.
UN envoy calls Canada’s use of migrant workers ‘breeding ground for slavery’
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In late 2023, the federal government said it would freeze permanent resident targets over the next three years to ensure inflows were “sustainable”. There is an aim to bring in 485,000 permanent residents in 2024, and 500,000 in both 2025 and 2026. Those projected numbers are a more than 50% increase from the 296,000 permanent residents welcomed in 2016.
The Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, whose party has a sizeable lead in the polls, said last week the “radical and out of control” Liberal government has “destroyed our immigration system”.
Poilievre said Trudeau was growing the population at a rate far faster than houses were being build and pledged if victorious in the election, his party would tie Canada’s population growth rate to a level below the number of houses built.
South Africa’s anti-immigration group, March and March, has announced September 30 as a fresh deadline for undocumented foreigners to leave the country, as it staged a protest outside the Southern African Development Community (SADC) summit in Durban on Monday.
The group marched through central Durban under the theme, “It’s time to fetch your people,” calling on African leaders attending the 46th SADC Summit to take back their citizens living in South Africa without legal documentation.
March and March had earlier led nationwide protests on June 30, demanding tougher government action against undocumented immigration and warning that its campaign would continue until its demands were addressed.
Announcing its latest action, the group said the September 30 deadline would mark the beginning of what it described as the “mother of all protests”, while urging South Africans to assist the police in identifying undocumented foreigners.
The protest took place as the 46th Ordinary SADC Summit of Heads of State and Government got underway in Durban, with leaders from the regional bloc’s 16 member states in attendance.
The demonstration has renewed debate over South Africa’s treatment of foreign nationals, particularly citizens of other African countries.
President Cyril Ramaphosa recently condemned discrimination and violence against foreigners, saying South Africa could not advocate regional integration at the SADC summit while practising exclusion within the country.
The June 30 protests were accompanied by security operations and reports of attacks and looting in some areas, according to police reports cited in the original report.
March and March has continued to demand tougher action against undocumented immigration, while tensions over the treatment of foreign nationals have prompted some African countries to evacuate their citizens from South Africa.
The latest protest has brought the immigration dispute directly to the doorstep of the SADC summit, placing the issue before regional leaders whose citizens are among those affected.
US President Donald Trump has threatened to bomb Oman if it “gets in the way” of a US deal with Iran over the Strait of Hormuz, while calling on Tehran to surrender.
Trump made the remarks in an interview with Fox News journalist Trey Yingst, amid ongoing talks between Oman and Iran over future maritime navigation arrangements through the strategic waterway.
“If Oman gets in the way, we’ll bomb the shit out of them,” Trump said, referring to the discussions between Oman and Iran as Washington pursues its own negotiations.
Iranian and Omani officials have been holding talks for weeks, with Iran’s Foreign Ministry saying Monday that both sides were working towards a joint declaration on the strait.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that the Strait of Hormuz is under US control, despite Iran maintaining an effective blockade that has severely restricted maritime traffic.
On Friday, Trump said he could even declare the Strait of Hormuz part of US territory, prompting Iran to insist that the strategic waterway “will remain Iranian.”
Trump also called on Iran to “put up the white flag of surrender,” according to Yingst.
The Strait of Hormuz, which lies between Iran to the north and Oman to the south, was previously regarded as an open international waterway and carries a significant share of global energy shipments.
AFP
There has been no known deployment of US ground forces in Iran during the Middle East war, with the exception of a rescue mission in April for a downed American pilot.
Hatami did not provide any details on where or when the killing or capturing of US soldiers was expected to take place.
“Anyone who kills or captures and hands over an invading American military personnel will receive a reward equivalent to $30,000 or 5 billion tomans from the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Army,” Hatami said, using an informal unit equivalent to 10,000 Iranian rials.
The war between Tehran and Washington began on February 28 after the United States, joined by Israel, attacked Iran. It was followed by an April ceasefire after nearly 40 days of fighting, and a June framework for peace talks that later collapsed.
Iran and the United States have since traded fire sporadically, with fighting mainly centred in southern Iran and around the Strait of Hormuz.
AFP
The family of Philip Ifeanyi Elobuike, an indigene of Eziama Village, Ebe, in Udi Local Government Area of Enugu State, has appealed to the public for assistance in locating him after his photograph surfaced on social media following nearly two years without contact.
Elobuike first travelled to the United States around 2004 and initially settled in the Los Angeles area of California. He later moved to Las Vegas, Nevada, before relocating to Dallas, Texas.
According to his family, Elobuike remained in contact with his relatives in Nigeria until around 2024, when communication with him suddenly stopped. Before losing contact, he was active on social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram.
His family had continued searching for him, and on August 11, 2026, they were relieved when his photograph surfaced on social media. The picture provided them with at least some reassurance that he was alive.
Elobuike Philip
However, contrary to reports circulating in some media outlets and on social media, Elobuike has not been reunited with his family or located by his kinsmen in the United States.
His relatives and members of the Nigerian community reportedly spent the entire day on August 12 searching for him in different parts of Dallas but were unable to locate him.
The family is therefore appealing to members of the public, particularly Nigerians and other individuals in the Dallas area, to assist in locating Elobuike and ensuring that he is safely reunited with his family.
The family also urged people to disregard reports claiming that he has already been found and reunited with his relatives, describing such reports as inaccurate.
Anyone who has information about Elobuike’s whereabouts or comes across him is urged to contact any of the following:
Dr. Fred Ngwu: (214) 418-8145
Moses Onyejekwe: (213) 479-2340
Law Okolo: (646) 302-2597
The family expressed appreciation to everyone who has shared his photograph and appealed for continued circulation of the information until he is successfully located.
No fewer than 205 Nigerians were deported from Canada in June 2026 as Canadian authorities intensified enforcement of the country’s immigration laws, according to official figures released by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).
Immigration removal statistics published by the CBSA showed that 10,607 individuals were removed from Canada during the month, with Nigerians ranking among the top 10 nationalities affected by the exercise.
The figures indicate that Nigerians accounted for nearly two per cent of all removals carried out in June.
India recorded the highest number of deportations, with 3,323 nationals removed, followed by Mexico with 1,573. The United States accounted for 372 deportees, while Colombia and Romania recorded 354 and 293 removals respectively.
Other countries with significant numbers of nationals deported included Bangladesh, with 227, and Pakistan, with 207.
Explaining the rationale behind the removals, the CBSA said enforcing immigration laws was critical to protecting the integrity of Canada’s immigration system.
“Removing individuals who do not have the right to enter or stay in Canada is essential to maintaining the integrity of Canada’s immigration program and to ensuring fairness for those who come to this country lawfully,” the agency stated.
The latest figures underscore Canada’s continued enforcement against individuals found to have no legal right to remain in the country, as authorities seek to ensure compliance with the nation’s immigration laws.
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