COW – Intelligence Dashboard – Overview – June 9, 2025

About The Committee

Mandate

A Committee of the Whole is the entire membership of the House of Commons sitting as a committee, and its meetings are held in the House of Commons Chamber itself. A Committee of the Whole is created on an ad hoc basis to deliberate on a specific matter, and ceases to exist once it has completed its business.

During a meeting of a Committee of the Whole, ministers and parliamentary secretaries field questions from MPs of all parties

About the Appearance

Background

As per the motion, the topic for this specific Committee of the Whole will be Main Estimates. However, MPs are not limited to only raising issues that fall under Main Estimates.

The MPs present in the House will be allowed to ask questions based on party representation. Therefore, in terms of opposition, the CPC will have most of the time, followed by the BQ, and the NDP with minimal turns for questions. For those MPs who do ask questions, they each have 15 minutes of speaking time, with a maximum of 10 minutes for remarks and up to five minutes for questions.

The committee will meet for up to four days, with four-hour sessions scheduled for June 5, 9, 10, and 11.

Note:

• Unlike a normal committee meeting on estimates, no government officials will appear. However, a government official is allowed to accompany the Minister on the floor, with additional officials in the lobby.
• The response time should not exceed the time taken to ask the question.

Environmental Scan

The Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) is expected to pose questions linked to their campaign commitments, such as tying immigration levels to housing capacity and combating alleged fraud in the immigration system. The CPC Shadow Minister for Immigration, Michelle Rempel-Garner, wrote in a recent essay the need to “significantly reducing overall immigration, massively tightening temporary resident permit criteria, and promptly removing those with no legal right to remain.”

The Bloc Québécois’ (BQ) messaging on immigration during the election campaign was consistent with longstanding positions, such as more autonomy for Quebec over immigration, opposition to the Century Initiative, and a more equitable distribution of asylum claimants between provinces.

The New Democratic Party (NDP) did not focus on immigration during the recent election campaign. The NDP has lost official party status in the House, and thus allocated questions will be reduced dramatically. The few immigration-related statements the party has made, were regarding ending closed work permits for Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs) and forming an expert panel to recommend immigration levels.

Conservative Party Of Canada

Top Party Issues

Refugees

• Processing refugee claims faster on a last-in, first-out basis and implementing departure tracking to determine how many people are overstaying their visa.

Temporary Foreign Workers

• The CPC would make the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) more restrictive, with additional requirements to hire Canadians and to limit the program to in-demand industries and farming. They have committed to collaborating with businesses facing labour shortages to help them access TFWs.

Processing Times and Client Service

• Processing refugee claims faster on a last-in, first-out basis.

Border / Asylum Issues

• The CPC have drawn a distinction between “fake” and “real” asylum seekers and have committed to deporting the former.

French Immigration

• The CPC have released a “Quebec platform,” in which they commit to respecting the spirit of the Canada-Quebec Accord vis-à-vis Quebec’s powers over immigration and opposing the century initiative.
• The leader has remarked he will work with Quebec to halve the number of temporary immigrants in Quebec.

Settlement and Integration

• The CPC leader has remarked that newcomers should leave problems abroad at home.

Levels

• Cap immigration levels and tie them to housing, labour market, and healthcare capacity.

Recent Party Positions

• Shadow Minister for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship shared a lengthy and detailed post on X describing her priorities and the issues she has identified with Canadian immigration policy (Rempel-Garner, X)
• Committed to processing refugee claims faster on a last-in, first-out basis and implementing departure tracking to determine how many people are overstaying their visa (Platform).
• Remarked that fraud is a serious problem in the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (CBC News; English leaders’ debate).
• Voiced concern regarding processing times and linked processing delays with an increase in immigration fraud and false claims (CBC News; French leaders’ debate).
• Remarked the CPC would cap immigration levels and ensure they are tied to housing and healthcare capacity (Facebook).
• Remarked that high immigration levels have strained social services and housing, and that Canada should return to more stable levels aligned with housing and service capacity (CBC News; English leaders’ debate).
• Keeping the rate of population growth below the rate of housing growth, job growth, and health care accessibility (Platform).
• Quebec must have the power to determine its own capacity for newcomers (CBC News; French leaders’ debate).
• Granting Quebec more power to select temporary immigrants from the International Mobility Program (CTV).
• Requiring criminal background checks for individuals entering Canada on a student permit (Platform).
• Expanding and accelerating removals for any criminal activity on a visitor permit (Platform).
• Restoring Canadian monuments and heroes like Terry Fox and Vimy Ridge, as well as Indigenous Peoples, to the Canadian passport (Platform).
• Restoring in-person citizenship ceremonies (Platform).

Bloc Québécois

Top Party Issues

Temporary Foreign Workers

• Open sectoral and regional permits for temporary foreign workers.

Border / Asylum Issues

• Create a Minister of the Border.
• Stronger border security measures.
• Will introduce a bill on asylum claimants to improve processing times for asylum files.

French Immigration and Quebec

• The BQ is opposed to the Century Initiative.
• All immigration powers should be transferred to Quebec.

Settlement and Integration

• The BQ have committed to a policy for integrating immigrants into Quebec society.
• The Party would remove all references to the British Monarchy in citizenship ceremonies.

Levels

• The BQ is opposed to the Century Initiative, which they believe will exceed Quebec’s integration capacity.
• Federal government must discuss levels with provinces and consider their capacity

Recent Party Positions

• Commented on services in Quebec being negatively impacted because asylum claimants exceed Quebec’s capacity; noted the volume of claimants makes teaching them French impossible (Blanchet) (CBC).
• Stated the importance of immigration for Quebec’s agricultural sector (Blanchet) (CBC).
• Noted the main issue causing delays in processing is high levels of immigration, and that levels should be lowered to ease processing times (Blanchet) (CBC).
• Called for all powers in relation to immigration to be given to Quebec, allowing the province to set its own capacity limits in regard to current influx of Haitian immigrants (Blanchet) (CBC).
• Noted that the BQ was calling for a plan to address potential influx of asylum seekers and pointed to Quebec being overcapacity (Brunelle-Duceppe) (X).
• Committed to opening sectoral and regional permits for temporary foreign workers (Platform).
• Committed to creating a Minister of the Border, to build stronger security measures, and to introduce a bill on asylum claimants to improve processing times (Platform).
• Opposed the Century Initiative in relation to cost and capacity limits of provinces. Believes that all immigration powers for the province should be transferred to Quebec (Platform)
• Committed to a policy integrating immigrants into Quebec society. Noted that all references relating to the British Monarchy should be removed from citizenship ceremonies (Platform).
• Proposed that an emergency sector at IRCC should be created to help respond to major crises rapidly to better aid refugees (Platform).
• Criticized the Immigration Minister’s post about meeting francophone immigration targets. Stated that the department hardly reaches their promised targets and goals (Brunelle-Duceppe) (X).
• Quoted a publication from the Journal de Montreal, on an interview the MP gave about immigration administrative rigidities (Brunelle-Duceppe) (X).

New Democratic Party

Top Party Issues

The NDP did not focus on immigration over the course of the recent election campaign. The party’s longstanding leader has resigned, and its positions may shift going forward.

However, the NDP advocated for several key policy priorities during the 44th parliament. Highlights include:

• Regularization of undocumented workers.
• TR to PR pathways for temporary foreign workers.
• Open work permits for temporary foreign workers.
• Expanding family reunification.
• Anti-racism and discrimination measures across immigration streams.
• Reviewing the question of appropriate immigration levels and appointing a panel of experts to inform Canada of their recommendations.

Recent Party Positions

• NDP spokesperson Anne McGrath remarked that if foreign workers are good enough to work in Canada, they’re good enough to live in Canada (Global News).
• End closed work permits for temporary workers (CBC News).
• End Canada’s closed work permits and provide temporary workers with open work permits to help them avoid abusive employers (Sudbury Star).
• Processing delays are related to a serious shortage of resources for dealing with the volume of files being processed (CBC News; French leaders’ debate).
• NDP spokesperson Anne McGrath remarked that they would strike a blue-ribbon panel to properly review the question of appropriate immigration levels (Global News).
• Match the number of newcomers to the resources available to welcome them (Sudbury Star).
• Canada’s immigration levels should be set to match economic need and committed to appointing an expert panel to determine levels (CBC News; English leaders’ debate).
• “People come to Canada with the hope that they can build a good life. People hope that they can get a good job, find a home they can afford and be able to get access to the health care they need. That is not happening right now” (Montreal Gazette).
• Canada must accept all claimants provided we retain the capacity to integrate them into Canada (CBC News; French leaders’ debate).

Liberal Party of Canada

Top Party Issues

Refugees

• The LPC will support legal aid for asylum seekers and refugees and expand the Rainbow Refugee Assistance Partnership.

Temporary Foreign Workers

• The LPC commits to cap the total number of temporary workers and international students to less than 5% of Canada’s population by the end of 2027.

Processing Times and Client Service

• The LPC has expressed concerns about resource and productivity issues within the department leading to delays in processing asylum and refugee files.
• The LPC have committed to enhance cooperation between governments, agencies, and organizations for real-time information sharing to improve efficiency and service delivery.

Border / Asylum Issues

• The LPC has noted the STCA allows Canada to return asylum seekers to the US and that this practice remains appropriate, especially given a potential increase of asylum seekers at the border.
• The LPC plans to strengthen border integrity by increasing resources for security screenings, tightening visa requirements, and enhancing enforcement against fraud.

Family Reunification

• The LPC has committed to having an immigration plan that will allow for the reunification of families.

Digitization

• The LPC will leverage digital tools to reduce processing times and eliminate backlogs.

French Immigration

• The LPC committed to increasing French immigration outside Quebec to 12% by 2029.
• The LPC Platform recognizes that immigration is a shared responsibility with the Government of Quebec.
• The LPC leader said it is important to improve the distribution of immigration between provinces.

Levels

• The LPC has committed to stabilize permanent resident admissions at less than 1% of Canada’s population annually beyond 2027 and to cap immigration until it can be returned to a sustainable trend.

Recent Party Positions

• Reposted a tweet from IRCC celebrating Citizenship week, asking all readers to reflect on the rights and responsibilities that come with our citizenship (Diab) (X).
• Committed to expanding the Rainbow Refugee Assistance Partnership (Platform).
• Committed to support legal aid for asylum seekers and refugees so claimants receive timely advice and representation (Platform).
• Committed to strengthen federal, provincial, and territorial collaboration be enhancing cooperation between governments, agencies, and organizations to enable real-time information sharing on claimant status, removals, and settlement supports (Platform).
• Committed to strengthening border integrity by easing resources for security screenings, quickly identifying and removing inadmissible individuals, tightening visa requirements, and enhancing enforcement against immigration fraud (Platform).
• Committed to stabilize permanent resident admissions at less than 1% of Canada’s population annually beyond 2027 (Platform).
• Committed to having an immigration plan that will allow for the reunification of families (Platform).
• Committed to establishing a 12% target for Francophone immigration outside Quebec by 2029 and respecting that immigration is a shared responsibility with the Government of Quebec (Platform).
• Committed to cap the total number of temporary workers and international students to less than 5% of Canada’s population by the end of 2027 (Platform).
• Commented that it is not necessary to create a Minister for border security, but that the roles of RCMP and CBSA should be reinforced (Carney) (CPAC).
• Stated too many people were let in to Canada relative to the capacity to welcome them, in terms of housing, social services, education, and ability to respect the French language in Quebec (Carney) (CPAC).