COW – Parliamentary Context – May 28, 2026

Committee and Appearance Overview

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.

Background

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. Like any appearance at this committee, questions on every topic related to IRCC are expected.

Members have fifteen minutes of speaking time, with a maximum of ten minutes for remarks and the remaining time for questions. Speaking time may be split among two members.

The appearance has been confirmed for Thursday, May 28. Debate begins after Adjournment Debate (approximately 7:00 p.m.) and lasts for 4 hours, until around 11:00 p.m.

Unlike a normal committee meeting on estimates, no government officials will appear. However, up to three government officials are allowed to accompany the Minister on the floor. However, these officials may not respond to questions. Additional officials can be supporting from the lobby.

The response time cannot exceed the time taken to ask the question.

Environmental Scan

The CPC is expected to pose questions such as tying immigration levels to housing capacity and the recent alleged fraud in the immigration system. CPC members have recently been critical of the cost of the Interim Federal Health Program and IRCC's lack of knowledge on protocols on removals. Questions may be asked on the decline of youth employment regarding temporary workers.

The BQ's messaging on immigration is consistent with longstanding positions, such as more autonomy for Quebec over immigration, and a more equitable distribution of asylum claimants between provinces. They have recently been more vocal around the OAG report on international students, and how IRCC could better manage removals.

The NDP has lost official party status in the House, and thus allocated questions will be reduced dramatically. The immigration-related statements the party has recently made, were regarding their concerns around Bill C-12, cuts and criticism surrounding the Interim Federal Health Program, and the shifting blame from the federal government to international students and refugee claimants on fraud .

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 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 Activity

*CPC Immigration Shadow Minister, Michelle Rempel-Garner, posts about IRCC matters numerous times a day on her X account.*

• May 13 – X: Shared a clip discussing IRCC and its lack of knowledge over protocols to track if bogus claimants leave the country (Redekopp).
• May 11 – X: Shared a clip of her reading a breakdown on how the Main Estimates will be using more taxpayer money (Kusie).
• May 7 – Debates: Noted a Conservative youth jobs plan by addressing many issues such as fixing immigration (Genuis).
• May 6 – Debates: Commented on the hundreds of thousands of new non-citizen temporary foreign workers who entered Canada this past year; Noted the current scandalous fraud in the student visa program (Rempel Garner).
• May 5 – Debates: Voiced that the Canadian government has no way of tracking who is leaving or when they are leaving the country (Redekopp).
• May 5 – Debates: Noted the increased cost, debt, taxes and chaos to the immigration system (Poilievre).
• May 5 – Debates: Voiced concern over the 700 IRGC members in Canada that have yet to be expelled (Poilievre).
• April 29 – X: Shared a clip from the House about increased fraud in the immigration system (Redekopp).
• April 21 – X: Shared a clip from the House discussing the LPC investigation of potential international student permit fraud (Menegakis).
• April 20 – CIMM: Inquired about the government's justification for rewarding 105 fraudulent study permit holders with permanent residence (Menegakis).
• April 14 – Debates: Noted that the Auditor General found over 153,000 suspected cases of international student visa fraud with only a fraction being investigated (Stevenson).

Bloc Québécois

Top Party Issues

Temporary foreign workers

• Open sectoral and regional permits for temporary foreign workers.

Border or asylum issues

• Creating 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 has 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 Century Initiative, which they believe will exceed Quebec's integration capacity.
• Federal Government must discuss levels with provinces and consider their capacity

Recent Party Activity

• April 27 – CIMM: Voiced the lack of proper accommodation to settle newcomers in Quebec, even after the issue has been raised to the government (Champoux).
• April 22 – CIMM: Asked if the stakeholder believes there should be in-person hearings as part of the pre-removal risk assessment process (Deschênes).
• April 22 – CIMM: Noted that the Bloc Québécois seeks a balanced approach to temporary immigration, advocating for an approach that would take regional realities into account (Deschênes).
• April 20 – CIMM: Inquired whether the measures IRCC has put in place could truly manage removals of fraudulent students (DeBellefeuille).
• April 20 – CIMM: Asked why there isn't more collaboration between IRCC and CBSA on the cases of people without status in Canada (Champoux).
• March 27 – Hill Times: Voiced deep concern about IRCC's "disregard" for potential fraud with study permits and expressed shock that the government didn't consider acting on the 800 cases of fraudulent documents (Brunelle-Duceppe).
• March 26 – Debates: Noted the OAG report on international students and concerns about the integrity of the process (Deschênes).
• March 23 – X: Shared a clip from the House discussing 800 permits for foreign students granted based on fraudulant documents (Deschênes).
• March 23 – CIMM: Spoke on the OAG report, flagging IRCC's 150,000 cases of students who potentially failed to comply with the terms of their study permits (Deschênes).
• March 23 – CIMM: Inquired how IRCC will account for the 800 problem cases where study permit applications were based on fraudulent documents (Deschênes).
• February 9 – CIMM: Noted that processing times are increasing in all programs, such as the International Student Program (Brunelle-Duceppe).

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 Activity

• May 5 – X: Shared a statement noting that the latest announcement on 33K PR applications is misleading and deceptive (Kwan).
• April 22 – Debates: Voiced concern for the 130 students from Gaza that have been waiting over two years to continue their studies at Canadian universities (McPherson).
• April 20 – Debates: Moved a motion on Bill C-274, an Act to amend the Citizenship Act and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. Which would give the government the responsibility to apply for citizenship for children in care who came to Canada as minors (Kwan).
• April 14 – OGGO: Noted that IRCC is racking up unreasonable delays, leaving families in limbo (Boulerice).
• March 26 – Debates: Spoke to the ongoing and deep concerns about Bill C-12's infringement of rights for refugees and asylum seekers (Kwan).
• March 26 – Debates: Voiced concern over the government blaming international students and introducing a cap instead of taking accountability for the current fraud (Kwan).
• February 24 – Debates: Noted that refugees and immigrants pay taxes and are not to all blame for the current fraudulent claimants (Johns).
• February 24 – Debates: Mentioned how Bill C-12 conflicts with the 1951 refugee convention as it does not allow imposed timelines (Gazan).
• February 24 – Debates: Spoke to Quebec's need for federal support of immigration and refugee backlogs to alleviate the lack of access in health care (Kwan).
• February 24 – Debates: spoke against the Conservative motion targeting the interim federal health program as it scapegoats newcomers and refugees and denies preventative care (Kwan).

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

• May 6 – Debates: Spoke on the decline in the number of temporary residents, a decline in the number of people seeking asylum, and working towards improving the international student system (Fragiskatos).
• May 5 – Debates: Noted IRCC setting records on economic immigration and attracting French-speaking immigrants (Diab).
• May 5 – Debates: Spoke on the current government's focus on attracting health care workers and tradespeople to strengthen Canada's rural economies and communities (Diab).
• May 4 – Debates: Noted the new express entry categories to grow Canada's economy and strengthened rural immigration pathways (Diab).
• April 30 – Debates: Noted that IRGC members and senior Iranian officials are inadmissible to Canada (Anandasangaree).
• April 24 – Debates: Spoke on the increased cost of the Interim Federal Health Program, noting that the government has worked to bring down costs and put in place a copayment system that is going into effect in May (Fragiskatos).
• April 21 – Debates: Noted the 60% decline in the number of international students coming to Canada (Fragiskatos).
• April 20 – CIMM: Asked how the letter of acceptance and verification system is strengthening the integrity of the International Student Program (Zahid)
• April 20 – CIMM: Inquired about the measurable improvements that IRCC has observed in terms of application integrity following the OAG report (Sodhi).
• April 14 – CIMM Report: Included a supplementary opinion to the committee's Report 4: Reconstituting Canada's International Student Program, in which the LPC calls on provincial governments to better fund designated learning institutions, and to monitor and audit their intake of international students (CIMM LPC members).