Borderlines

Canadian immigration may be entering another period of major change. Kubeir Kamal joins Steven Meurrens and Deanna Okun-Nachoff to discuss what could be coming next for Express Entry, whether immigration levels may begin increasing again, the future of French-language draws, changes to provincial nominee programs, and why predicting Canadian immigration policy has become so difficult. We also discuss possible changes to the Express Entry points system, whether draws could be paused while a new system is implemented, where CRS scores may be headed, Ontario's revamped immigration program, whether Canada should bring back an investor immigration program, and whether closer integration with the European Union could create new immigration opportunities. Finally, we discuss increasingly unpredictable IRCC decisions, the role of automation and AI in immigration processing, and whether pressure to reduce immigration numbers may be affecting decision-making. TIMESTAMPS 03:28 – Will Canada start increasing immigration again? 06:05 – Can we trust Canada's immigration numbers? 10:10 – Major Express Entry changes are coming 15:45 – French-language points and PNP nominations 19:51 – Do the Conservatives or NDP have a coherent immigration plan? 23:25 – Doug Ford, skilled workers and Canada's immigration debate 25:53 – Will French-language draws continue in 2027? 31:10 – Will security screening delays finally improve? 34:22 – Where are CRS scores headed? 39:48 – Should Canada bring back an investor immigration program? 45:12 – Predictions for immigration changes before the end of 2026 48:11 – What's happening with increasingly strange IRCC refusals? 55:50 – What to expect from the final months of 2026 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How should Canada respond to concerns about Chinese espionage and foreign interference without treating every connection to China as a national security threat? Joanna Chiu, journalist, author of China Unbound: A New World Disorder and founder of Nüora Global Advisors, joins the Borderlines Podcast to discuss how the Chinese Communist Party operates at home and abroad, and what that means for Canadian immigration law. We discuss the United Front Work Department, the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office, Article 7 of China’s National Intelligence Law, foreign interference, overseas “police stations,” Chinese Communist Party membership, and the increasingly difficult security screening faced by Chinese visa and immigration applicants. Joanna also explains why understanding the Chinese-language sources, the structure of Chinese organizations and the realities of how Chinese laws operate in practice is essential when assessing allegations of espionage or foreign interference. We also discuss whether Canadian immigration authorities risk going too far when the possibility that someone could someday be compelled to cooperate with Chinese authorities becomes a basis for finding them inadmissible to Canada. Timestamps 06:02 – What is China’s United Front and what does it actually do? 19:40 – Article 7 of China’s National Intelligence Law: Does every Chinese citizen have to spy? 27:58 – Foreign interference, protests and the risks of profiling Chinese Canadians 32:54 – Is Canada going too far in immigration security screening? 43:10 – Elections, influence campaigns and China’s alleged overseas “police stations” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What happens when a foreign worker loses their authorization to work in Canada? Can an employer put them on unpaid leave? Lay them off? Terminate them? And what happens to severance when a worker’s immigration status makes it difficult, or impossible, to find another job?Employment lawyer Erin Brandt returns to Borderlines to discuss the increasingly important intersection between Canadian immigration and employment law.We discuss:• The difference between termination, temporary layoffs and unpaid leave• What employers should do when a work permit extension is refused• Employees vs. independent and dependent contractors• Employment Standards Act vs. common-law severance• Whether being on a closed work permit can increase severance• Fixed-term employment contracts and immigration-related job offers• Whether employers have to support work permit extensions• Employer questions about immigration processing and security screening• Rescinding job offers when a worker cannot obtain authorization to work in CanadaWe also discuss why immigration lawyers and employment lawyers increasingly need to understand each other’s areas of practice, and why losing immigration status does not necessarily mean that an employee loses their employment-law rights.Erin Brandt is an employment lawyer in British Columbia.Like and subscribe for more discussions about Canadian immigration law and policy Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What has actually changed at the Canada–U.S. border under the second Trump administration, and what is just noise?U.S. immigration lawyer Andrew Hayes joins to discuss the state of U.S. immigration law and what it means for Canadians travelling, working and doing business in the United States.In brief, while Canadian tourism to the United States is down, an increased number of Canadian citizens and permanent residents are moving to America. Topics include whether Canadians should be worried about travelling to the United States, detention and expedited removal at the border, the impact of the Trump administration’s immigration policies, the future of CUSMA/USMCA and what its collapse could mean for TN status, E-1 and E-2 visas, U.S. green card quotas and the lengthy waits faced by Indian-born applicants, travel restrictions and the difficulties facing some Iranian-born Canadian citizens, IRGC service and U.S. inadmissibility, the constitutional battle over birthright citizenship and the growing opportunities for Canadian skilled tradespeople in the United States.We also discuss the broader tension at the heart of U.S. immigration policy: restricting immigration and strengthening enforcement while continuing to attract the workers, investors and entrepreneurs that the U.S. economy needs.Andrew Hayes is a U.S. immigration lawyer based in Vancouver whose practice focuses on cross-border immigration, trade and travel. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Canada wants more Francophone immigrants. But what happens when people who have already built their lives in Canada suddenly discover that learning French may be their best, or only, pathway to permanent residence?In this episode of Borderlines, we speak with Maclean’s editorand recent Canadian permanent resident Alyanna Chua about her experience learning French after changes to Canada’s immigration system put her future in the country in doubt.Alana came to Canada from the Philippines in 2019 to attend the University of Toronto, believing that studying and working in Canada would provide a relatively straightforward pathway to permanent residence. Years later, as immigration targets were reduced and Express Entry became increasingly competitive, she found herself facing an unexpected reality: if she wanted to stay in Canada, she needed to learn French.What followed was an intense year of studying—early mornings, evenings, weekends, tutors, language tests and significant financial and emotional stress. Alyanna describes putting much of her life on hold, failing one component of her first French test, and watching friends and other temporary residents confront the same dilemma.We discuss:• Why French has become so important in Express Entry• What it is like to learn a language when your immigration status depends on it• Why doctors, researchers and other highly skilled workers are being told to learn French to remain competitive for permanent residence• Whether language ability is becoming a proxy for persistence, privilege and access to time and money• The resentment and competition that immigration selection can create between newcomers• What people struggling to learn French should consider as their work permits approach expiry• Whether Canada’s Francophone immigration policy is accomplishing what it is supposed to accomplishWe also discuss live viewer comments and questions, including the experiences of people who have learned French specifically for immigration, the difficulty older applicants face under Express Entry, and whether Canada is losing people it otherwise says it wants to attract.Aylanna ultimately succeeded. She learned French, passed the required language test and became a Canadian permanent resident. But she describes the experience as “80% bitter and 20% sweet,” with lingering feelings of resentment, raising a larger question about what Canada’s rapidly changing immigration system is asking of the people who have already built their lives here.Borderlines is a podcast about Canadian immigration law, policy and politics Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.