What’s Really Behind the Immigration Crackdown
by Syed Hussan of the Migrant Workers' Network
The Trudeau government has launched an immigration crackdown that’s pushing international students, temporary foreign workers, refugees, and undocumented people to a breaking point.
In the next two years alone, 2.3 million permits will expire.
These changes are not just numbers—they mean more abuse, more poverty, more people uprooted or forced to become undocumented.
Why is the government doing this? These cuts aren’t random—they’re Conservative-style immigration cuts in a Liberal disguise. Trudeau is bending to the anti-migrant ideas of Pierre Pollievre and his supporters, hoping to win their votes, by choosing to blame migrants for economic problems instead of finding real solutions.
I support equality and fairness for migrants
The federal government isn’t solving anything by slashing migrant numbers— it is actually making problems worse. Here’s how:
Fewer Opportunities for Lower-Wage Migrants: Programs like the Agri-Food Pilot, the Caregiver Program, and the Provincial Nominee Programs are cutting spots. For many, these are the only possible avenues to getting Permanent Residency. These cuts will trap thousands in temporariness and exploitation.
False Promises for In-Canada Applicants: There will only be 82,980 spots in the Canada Experience Class for 2025, yet there are hundreds of thousands more already here - who have paid high fees, worked for years, and suffered abuse - who need a path to stay.
Refugees & Humanitarian Protection Left in Limbo: Fewer spots for refugees means even after people are granted refugee or humanitarian protection, families will remain separated without stability or rights for even longer.
International Students and Graduates
Post-Graduate Work Permit (PGWP) Restrictions: With over 200,000 permits expiring by 2025, students are being forced to either leave or risk undocumented status. Many college students now won’t get work permits after graduation, even though this was their plan when they applied to come to Canada.
Family Separation and Financial Barriers: New policies restrict families from joining students, limit study permits, and increase already high costs, especially for working-class students.
Family Permits Slashed: New rules limit family work permits for low-wage and high-wage workers, separating families and increasing the costs they will have to bear.
Work permit caps: Migrant workers, particularly in cities with higher unemployment, won’t be able to renew permits, which will force many to uproot themselves or become undocumented.
Closed Doors for Asylum Seekers: The number of refused visitor visa applications versus approved applications was higher in June than at any point since COVID. Border officers turned away an average of 3,727 travelers per month - a 20% increase from last year. Most refugees - legally - come on visitor visas.
Delayed Justice: There are 218,593 people waiting for their refugee applications to be processed. People seeking refuge wait years just for a hearing, often forced to live in fear and hardship.
Undocumented Migrants and Regularization
Broken Promises, No Pathway to Stability: Despite acknowledging the economic and humanitarian value of regularizing the status of undocumented people already in Canada, the government has refused to bring in a comprehensive regularization program. This will leave undocumented people in dangerous and exploitative jobs, without healthcare or security.
Migrants Are Not the Problem—Corporate Greed and Government Failures Are
We are all struggling to pay our rent and afford groceries. But blaming migrants is a dangerous lie designed to make us fight each other while looking away from the real culprits - the rich and their political friends. The reality is:
Housing: Developers and investors raise rents by cheating the rules and keeping housing supply low. Provincial and municipal governments change laws meant to protect residents in order to help their landlord and developer friends. Reducing immigration won’t fix this.
Economy: Migrants grow the economy - they bring in money and labor and spend their wages in Canada, paying taxes that fund services they cannot access. By pushing migrants out, Canada’s GDP and tax base will shrink, which means even lower wages, higher prices, and fewer services for everyone.
Groceries: Food prices go up because grocery store monopolies artificially inflate prices and pay out large profits to their shareholders. Migrants who work in agriculture, food processing, and food service and delivery earn the lowest wages.
Here’s What You Can Do
Many people are being misinformed by the media and politicians. It is crucial that you speak up. Talk to your friends and family about who’s really at fault for the problems we all face. Speculators and landlords—not migrants—are driving up housing costs. Both Conservative and Liberal governments have exploited migrants for growth without offering them rights or protections.
Send a message by adding your name at https://migrantrights.ca/rightsnotcuts now to demand that the government reverse these harmful cuts and stop scapegoating migrants.
If you are part of an organization, endorse this open letter: https://migrantrights.ca/actionslist/openletterformigrants/
Join an online information and action meeting for migrants organized by Migrant Workers Alliance for Change on November 27th: https://migrantworkersalliance.org/nov27.
We will not stand by and let Conservative-style policies harm our communities and fuel xenophobia. Together, we can and we will win equal rights and justice for all.
In solidarity,
Syed Hussan
Migrant Rights Network
PS: Mainstream media and anti-immigrant voices are spreading fear by insisting that there will be migrants flooding into Canada following Trump’s election in the US. That’s just not true! The real crisis is the anti-migrant policies implemented by the Trudeau government right here at home. Share our myth buster on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram.
Migrant Rights Network, https://migrantrights.ca/