Immigration Minister Marc Miller says a large-scale plan to provide permanent residency to undocumented workers is “off the table” until the next election.
“That doesn’t mean that in some areas, whether it’s areas where we need key employees, that there isn’t the possibility of sort of small-scale regularization,” Miller told reporters on Nov. 13.
Miller said Canada’s asylum system needs to be fair and give asylum seekers the due process they are entitled to. “That also includes the fact that when they fail, they need to leave the country, and that sometimes also includes deportations,” he said.
During the 2021 election, the Liberals promised to “explore ways of regularizing status for undocumented workers who are contributing to Canadian communities.” A timeline for the reforms was not provided.
In May 2024, Prime Minister Justin
Trudeau said there needs to be a pathway to regularization and citizenship for undocumented people in Canada, which Miller was working on. Trudeau said in other cases there need to be deportations, with a “balance in making sure that the integrity of our immigration system holds.”
In a recent interview with The Globe and Mail, Miller said the Canadian government will work with the incoming Trump administration as it implements measures to combat illegal immigration, noting there is a “reality that not everyone is welcome here.”
Trump’s Border Plan
Trump, who was president from 2016 to 2020, won the Nov. 5, 2024, election following a campaign that focused heavily on illegal immigration. He has repeatedly vowed to implement the “largest deportation operation in American history” when he takes office in January, going after the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants living in the country.On Nov. 11, Trump announced that former Immigration and Customs Enforcement acting director Tom Homan will be his “border czar” and coordinate the deportation operation. In an interview with TV network WWNY that day, Homan
said border patrol agents at the Canada–U.S. border are “overwhelmed” with migrants.
He said that while more migrants have been coming through the U.S.–Mexico border, there’s a smaller ratio of border officers at the northern border, which poses a “huge national security issue.” He also raised concerns about ”special interest aliens“ from countries that sponsor terrorism trying to enter the United States from Canada, adding he saw ”a lot” of them during his 34-year career in border security.
The Canada–U.S. border has seen a growing number of migrant encounters, with U.S. Customs and Border Protection noting the number
has risen from 109,535 in 2022 to 198,929 in 2024. Last week, the RCMP said it has prepared a contingency plan for increased volumes of people entering Canada, with scenarios ranging from a small uptick in illegal migration to a “complete crisis” similar to when Trump won in 2016.
“We’re not wishing for this, but if it does happen, we'll be ready,” Sgt. Charles Poirier told The Epoch Times, adding that the force is examining logistics around transportation and potential buildings to use for a migrant surge.
