Sector News and Research Roundup - August 20, 2026

Each week many sector actors such as umbrella organizations, LIPs, advocacy organizations, and researchers share news, reports, insights/opinions, events, and more. We'll curate and summarize the latest content of interest. Much of this information is shared via email newsletters and on LinkedIn. We encourage you to subscribe to the newsletters and organizations of interest to you to stay updated on what matters most in your work.

News from the sector

Defend Refugees Campaign
For generations, 2SLGBTQI+ communities have proven a simple truth:  When our rights, safety, and dignity are under attack, we defend each other.  Today, as anti-queer and anti-trans movements gain ground around the world, more of us are forced to flee home because of who we are and who we love. The 519’s Army of Lovers and Rainbow Railroad are joining forces with community partners to say clearly and unapologetically:  Defend Refugees

Conference Highlights and videos: National Settlement Coordination Meeting: SWIS-TÉÉ
The Atlantic Region Association of Immigrant Serving Agencies (ARAISA) and District scolaire francophone Sud (DSFS) were pleased to host the National Settlement Coordination Meeting: SWIS-TÉÉ! On this page, you will find the session recordings, photos from the event, and our final report.

UnborderED Training Resources
Training students and postdoctoral researchers is central to the mission of the UnborderED Knowledge partnership. We believe in promoting equitable access to knowledge, so we create open access training resources that are freely available to anyone who may benefit. All our resources are available in English and French. Please see more details below on our different training resources related to professional development and research skills.

We should be fighting homelessness, not declaring war on homeless people
The Globe editors aren’t alone in this view. Division and punishment make up the governing ideology of the Ontario government, and the media are simply amplifying it. For these people, it’s much better to use the most expensive and least effective intervention at our disposal, than to allow our collective, systemic policy failures to become all too obvious and too visible to the voting public. People with far more understanding of the problem, not to mention more compassion, have been working on these issues for years. The crises of addiction and homelessness are not new. Doctors, lawyers, community workers, researchers, funders, and advocates have spent decades defining the problems, developing solutions, and pressing governments to act.

Research and Advocacy: Sanctuary, Solidarity and the Politics of Migrant Justice
One-day conference * — Toronto, 19 September 2026. 9:30 am to 5:30 pm. Join us for a one-day conference exploring how Canada's immigration system institutionalizes precarity for migrants with uncertain status — temporary workers, international students, refugee claimants, and non-status residents — who face barriers to permanent residence, healthcare, and protection from exploitation. Bringing together frontline practitioners, academics, and migrants on every panel, we'll examine what justice in the city really requires, for whom, and on what terms.

Video - Capacity Building Series: Ethical AI for Nonprofits: Using AI with accountability and care
Artificial Intelligence is transforming the nonprofit sector. This virtual Capacity Building Series Workshop from the Council of Agencies Serving South Asians (CASSA) explored how AI can be used responsibly, ethically, and safely while keeping privacy, human oversight, and equity at the centre of nonprofit work.

Building a More Equitable AI Design for Underrepresented Languages
AI tools translating these languages, which also include Vietnamese, Navajo, and Haitian Creole, are dysfunctional. Something as mundane as sending a dictated text or reading a locally relevant Wikipedia entry might require a translator or simply cannot be done. A more daunting result is that AI tools in low-resource languages are much more vulnerable to malicious, harmful content. Those shortcomings underscore how AI exacerbates the marginalization and isolation of already under-resourced societies. That is the challenging environment where the Distributed Artificial Intelligence Research Institute (DAIR) works to achieve a more equitable alternative.

NET LIP Bi-Weekly Newsflash - August 12
Contents: Announcements Events, Webinars, and Professional Development for Service Providers Program Updates for Newcomers Funding Opportunities Sector News and Reports Resources Previously Listed Resources.

ARAISA newsletter Aug 13 - Immigration, disability, and employment
In this week's newsletter: Measures for Palestinians Immigration, disability, and employment Atlantic award winners Immigrant fertility Using generative AI Anti-racism action planning 2SLGBTQIA+ inclusion in trades P2P 2026 National Conference More Events Interesting Reads.

ARAISA newsletter Aug 20
In this week's newsletter: Migration documentary Follow us on LinkedIn! P2P award Multilingual infographics Sector Communications Toolkit UnborderED Knowledge Local Equity & Racial Justice Forum More Events Interesting Reads.

The Toronto South West LIP Weekly Update 351
Essential Information; You Wouldn't Want to Miss Professional Development Sessions & Webinars for Service Providers Research and Resources for Service Providers Municipal Elections Resources Resources and Programs for Newcomers Funding Opportunities News Headlines Job Postings.

Immigration Waterloo Region newsletter - Aug 17
New in this issue: Waterloo Region Migration Film Festival returns this September Less than a month until Welcoming Week! March of 1.000 Umbrellas Be part of the YMCA's Mentorship Program Service Canada webinars coming up in September! Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) seeking feedback on 2027 economic priorities Canadian Race Relations Foundation is accepting applications for the National Anti-Racism Fund Cultural Competency Training by PCHS Waterloo Region Community Foundation funding streams are currently accepting applications Community Sport and Recreation Infrastructure Fund is now accepting applications Events & News!

FCJ Refugee Centre Summer 2026 Newsletter
Check out what we’ve been up to, and have a look to our upcoming events and activities, including our 35th Anniversary Gala Dinner! We have prepared a very special section, with everything you need to know about the October 15th event where we will celebrate more that three decades of walking with uprooted people and serving the community. In this issue, you’ll also find extensive photo galleries with the best images from the Street Party and the Refugee Soccer Cup; you’ll meet the new faces on our Board of Directors; and you’ll be able to readmall the details about our special podcast series Permission to Exploit, which you can now listen to in its entirety.

Canada's 180 on immigration: Part 1 | Front Burner
How the political narrative on immigration in Canada changed dramatically over less than a decade.

Canada's immigration 180: Part 2 | Front Burner
As Canada's population shrinks for the first time in its history, this is part two of our documentary on how the political winds shifted on immigration.

Canada Gave Them Citizenship. Then Changed Its Mind
How Ottawa bungled its new rules for becoming Canadian.

Podcast Series - Permission to Exploit
Permission to Exploit is a special series of the FCJ Refugee Centre’s Borderless Voices podcast, that combines lived experienced specialists and professional specialists’ insights to examine Canada’s closed work permit system, and the reforms needed to make it safer.

EPISODE #188: PERMISSION TO EXPLOIT #10: FROM TEMPORARY STATUS TO PERMANENT BELONGING
In the tenth and final episode of Permission to Exploit, we wrap up this podcast series by focusing on the essential life-changing shift for migrant workers moving from a temporary status to a situation of permanent belonging. We talk about stability, healing, contribution, long-term plans, and why permanent status matters.

46 Prompts for Settling, Integrating, and Making Canada Home
I stumbled across Kevin Kelly’s 88 Prompts for Long Term Thinking a couple of days ago. And after reading all the goodness and wisdom in that piece, I thought, “Why not do something similar for immigrants looking to make Canada home. For context, over the last 53 months, I have spent more than 11,000 minutes interviewing immigrants like myself and those who work in the immigration sector. Here’s what I could pound out over one writing session.

CBSA using ‘harsh, unprecedented’ tactics in Quebec for record-breaking deportations
Border agents confronting migrants in workplaces and schools, detaining them without prior contact, and rushing deportations before legal options for asylum seekers have played out.

The left’s opposition to antisemitism must be unconditional
Opposing antisemitism is not a distraction from Palestinian solidarity but a prerequisite of genuine internationalism.

HOW VOICE THE VOTE TRAINS AND FUNDS COMMUNITY GROUPS TO ENGAGE TORONTO VOTERS
Voice the Vote project leads Marium Vahed and Abby Tait share why neighbourhood organizations are key to strengthening civic participation and how residents can get involved before Toronto’s municipal election day.

When funding equity is a fad
It’s been six years since the racial justice uprisings in 2020, and I think it’s time to call it. Funding equity-denied communities was a fad. To be completely honest, it always has been. Over the past few years, I have researched Indigenous, Black, and feminist funding frameworks and practices, holding conversations with both philanthropic funders and grantees. Over and over again, the story sounds the same: we’re just trying to keep our heads above water.  2020 offered hope that the tides would turn, and traditional philanthropy would begin funding Indigenous, B3*, and women-led/serving organizations and communities at higher rates. The door had finally opened. For too long many of these organizations had been struggling to stay afloat, their respective mandates not always given the recognition they deserved. Scrappily funding their own work was the norm, and 2020 offered an opportunity for real change. But that was not to be.

INVESTING IN HUMAN CAPITAL AND THE CARE ECONOMY: AN INTERVIEW WITH ARMINE YALNIZYAN, PART 1
Armine is the Atkinson Fellow on the Future of Workers and a leading voice on Canada’s economic scene. Before the pandemic, she was senior economic policy advisor to the federal Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development Canada, whose budget is seven percent of GDP. During the pandemic, she coined the term she-cession and raised awareness of the scale and role of the care economy, serving on a high-level federal task group. Her most recent work focuses on private equity’s growing presence in the care economy, and how to safeguard the quality of the services and jobs Canadians rely on.

IRCC Confirms Urgent Processing: Booked Travel to Canada Qualifies Dual Citizens for Urgent Processing of Proof of Citizenship
IRCC confirmed to us in writing: dual citizens of visa-exempt countries with paid air travel to Canada within 6 months qualify to request urgent processing.

​How to Use Artificial Intelligence in Resettlement Work: Opportunities and Challenges​
Webinar Sep 17, 2026 02:00 PM Eastern. Resettlement service providers are navigating a new kind of challenge: how to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) tools into their work to increase efficiency while protecting the expertise, judgment, and human-centered approach that newcomers depend on. Whether you’re already using AI and wondering if it’s safe and appropriate or just beginning to explore, this webinar offers a practical introduction grounded in everyday tasks like case note drafting and multilingual communication. Through live demonstrations and a simple decision-making framework, participants will gain a clearer understanding of what these tools can and cannot do and how to use them responsibly.

Use of AI in work with and for immigrants and documentation recommendations
Webinar Aug 27, 2026 01:00 PM Eastern. U.S. focused but the second and third areas of focus will be useful for Canadian practitioners. Join Social Workers for Immigration Justice (SWIJ) for our upcoming quarterly meeting exploring the use of AI in work with immigrants and recommendations for safer documentation practices. For social workers, students, educators, and others working alongside immigrant communities, these are increasingly important practice, ethics, and safety conversations. We’ll be joined by Dr. Marina A. Badillo-Diaz, LCSW for a conversation that will include:
• Updates on changes to immigration law
• Implications of artificial intelligence when working with immigrants and in immigration-related settings
• Documentation practices that center safety when working with immigrant communities

CLEO Resource collection
Your Legal Rights is a collection of legal information resources produced by organizations across Ontario.

Ontario Ends Social Assistance for People Living in Canada Illegally
The Ontario government is strengthening the rules for Ontario’s social assistance programs to ensure that only people who are living in Canada legally can receive financial assistance from Ontario Works or the Ontario Disability Support Program. The new regulations, which take effect immediately, will protect taxpayer dollars and ensure Ontario’s social assistance programs are focused on supporting only families and individuals facing financial hardship who are legally authorized to live in Canada.

YWCA Toronto Responds to Ontario’s Harmful Amendments to Social Assistance Policy
YWCA Toronto is deeply concerned by the Ontario government’s recent announcement to restrict access to social assistance eligibility criteria based on immigration status. As an organization that supports women, girls and gender diverse people, many of whom are newcomers, survivors of gender-based violence, and experiencing poverty and housing insecurity, we are deeply concerned by this decision and the impact it will have on our community.

First-of-its-Kind: Ontario Human Rights Commission, Peel Regional Police, and Peel Police Service Board Sign Agreement to Address Systemic Racism
The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC), Peel Regional Police (PRP), and Peel Police Service Board (PPSB) have signed a first-of-its-kind Binding Arbitration Agreement that establishes an independent process to support the implementation of recommendations developed through the Human Rights Project. The Project, which started in 2020, was co-created by PRP, PPSB, and OHRC to help address systemic racism in Peel Region’s policing. This Agreement, a vital aspect of the Project, aims to strengthen accountability by creating a formal process to resolve disputes through independent oversight. The PRP, PPSB, and OHRC will jointly select an independent verifier, supported by the community-based Anti-Racism Advisory Committee (ARAC), to oversee implementation. Any disagreements regarding the recommendations will be resolved through binding arbitration. The independent verifier’s decision is binding on all parties and enforceable.

WE ARE ALL MIGRANTS
Why was I interested in interviewing Anna? She is a Greek-born sociologist and one of the leading international scholars on migration, integration, and cultural diversity. She currently holds the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Migration and Integration at Toronto Metropolitan University and has previously held senior academic positions across Europe, including a Robert Schuman Chair at the European University Institute. Her work sits at the intersection of sociology, political science, and public policy, focusing on how migration reshapes societies, identities, and governance systems across regions. Beyond academia, Anna has played an active role in policy debates, advising institutions such as the European Commission, the European Parliament, and Canadian authorities, while also shaping the field through editorial leadership and large-scale international research programs.

The Myths We're Told When Starting Over in Canada
When I arrived in Canada, I trusted everything people said to me. You need to have some experience in Canada. You should start off with a survival job since your degree doesn't count in this situation. The economy is in a bad state, so you must be thankful for any opportunity that comes your way. I believed everything that had been said. This led me to doubt myself, to question whether all the years I had spent working had been worthwhile, and to consider the possibility of simply accepting whatever happened to me and being thankful for it.

AI Connect Event by Skills for Change
September 30, 2026 St. James Cathedral Centre Event Venue, Toronto. Skills for Change's AI Connect, an interactive event bringing together employers, job seekers, sector experts, industry professionals, and community partners to explore how AI is reshaping the world of work. What to expect? Honest conversations about the future of work AI tools and live demos you can try for yourself Direct access to employers and industry experts Connections that can open new opportunities Practical insights you can put to use right away Learn about Skills for Change's AI Upskilling Program.

RECONCILIACTION - #LANDBACK
September 16th, 2026, London. In the spirit of bringing communities together for ReconciliACTION and building off our June session on Treaties, on Wednesday September 16 Atlohsa Family Services is collaborating with Pillar Nonprofit Network to discuss #LandBack - putting Treaty recognition, Indigenous sovereignty and self-determination into practice in your organization, workplace, and personal life.  This day-long event is highly participatory, featuring guest speakers, catered lunch, and activities to think through the concepts you are learning. Throughout the day, participate in group reflection through Conversation Cafes designed for participants to grow awareness, deepen understanding, develop relationships, and build towards solidarity.

Voice the Vote microgrants
We are excited to announce that applications for the Voice the Vote Community Micro-Grants are now open! Individuals can apply for up to $300, and organizations can apply for up to $600 to support non-partisan initiatives that encourage civic participation and voter engagement ahead of Ontario's 2026 municipal election.

Responsible AI: An Introduction
Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer something of the future. It is increasingly embedded in how we work, communicate, learn, make decisions, and navigate everyday life. And as AI becomes more integrated into our institutions, organizations, and communities, the questions we ask about it cannot be limited to technical or financial ones. We must also ask: Who benefits? Who might be harmed? Whose knowledge and experiences are represented in the data? Who gets to make the decisions? And what responsibility do we have for the human impact of the technology we use? These are the questions at the heart of our next Inclusion Solution feature series on Responsible AI.

Albertans Flying Blind On Immigration Ahead Of Oct.19 Referendum
As Alberta voters weigh their choices ahead of the Oct. 19 referendum, they face a central unanswered question: what would greater provincial control over immigration and settlement actually look like in practice? A Quebec-like model appears to be the province’s goal, but experts say it is far from clear what additional powers Alberta would seek, how they would be implemented and whether they might require constitutional amendments.

CCLA Sends Letter to Ontario’s Big City Mayors Urging a Rights-Based Response to Mental Health, Substance Use and Homelessness
The Canadian Civil Liberties Association has sent a letter to Ontario’s Big City Mayors in response to their “Reaction to Recovery” campaign and call for urgent provincial action on mental health, drug toxicity and homelessness. CCLA’s letter urges mayors to support solutions grounded in human dignity, autonomy and Charter rights, including affordable and supportive housing, community-based care, voluntary treatment, harm reduction and strong protections against coercion.

Youth workers: Refer your newcomer youth clients and join OCASI’s Youth Advisory Group (YAG)
We are inviting youth workers to partner with us on our 2026/27 Youth Advisory Group (YAG) project.

It’s baffling that the government chose to cut privately-sponsored refugees
A recent Cardus study demonstrates the success of private refugee sponsorship in Canada. One survey found more than half of privately-sponsored Syrian refugees secured work within one year of arriving in Canada, compared to less than 10 per cent of government-assisted refugees. Privately-sponsored refugees also tend to earn higher incomes, in the short term and long term, than government-assisted refugees. This remains true when researchers control for variables like education and language skills.

Interesting research

Campus Antisemitism and Student Experiences (CASE)
A national report on the state of antisemitism at Canadian postsecondary institutions. The resulting CASE project, which comprises this report and a future report of the general student population’s views on antisemitism, specifically support Recommendation 3 of the House of Commons report, which called for expanded quantitative and qualitative data collection on Jewish experiences on university campuses. Additionally, they support Recommendation 6 of the Senate report, which calls for the Government of Canada to support improved research and disaggregated data collection relating to hate, bias, and antisemitism in Canada. This includes the monitoring of trends across sectors such as education, workplaces, and digital platforms. Video of news conference. Podcast interview with lead author Jack Jedwab.

Universities Canada statement on the CASE report
Universities Canada is deeply concerned by the findings in the Government of Canada’s Campus Antisemitism and Student Experiences report. Antisemitism has no place on our campuses or in our communities. Jewish students, faculty and staff must be able to learn, teach, work and participate fully in university life without discrimination, harassment, intimidation or fear for their safety. Universities are taking action. Institutions across the country are strengthening policies and working with their communities to improve campus safety and inclusion.

Understanding Student Perspectives: Racism, Discrimination, and Belongingness in an Ontario University Environment
This report examines data collected from the Racism, Discrimination, and Belongingness in an Ontario University Environment survey, which explored students’ experiences and perceptions of racism and discrimination at McMaster University. The survey was released with the intention to provide actionable insights to foster a more inclusive campus environment for racialized students. Within a three-week window in March 2024, we collected 283 survey responses from undergraduate students. Our recruitment process included physical posters, Instagram posts, McMaster Avenue to Learn announcements, and word of mouth.

Systemic Racism in Canadian Higher Education: A Rapid Scoping Review of 22 Years of Literature
Although the ideals of higher education promote learning and personal growth irrespective of an individual’s social identity including their perceived or declared race, systemic racism continues to subject Indigenous, Black, and otherwise racialized students, staff, and faculty to unwelcoming academic cultures and, at times, hostilities. The aim of this rapid scoping review was to identify and analyze some of the available peer-reviewed, published research literature between 2000 and 2022 focused on systemic racism in the Canadian higher education context. The authors analyzed 32 articles included in the scoping review to identify the theoretical frameworks used to situate each study. In addition, the analysis surfaced concepts related to how systemic racism is structured and enacted. Using a thematic analysis, a narrative summary is also presented to describe the experiences of Indigenous and racialized staff, students, and faculty. This study offers insight to those committed to building healthier academic communities through understandings of systemic racism as it is theoretically framed, conceptualized, and experienced.

Anti-Black Racism Task Force Report Hope, Progress, and Continued Resolve: Marking One Year Since the Entrustment of the Anti-Black Racism Task Force Report
In May 2022, the University of Toronto joined partners across the institution in marking one year since the entrustment of the Report of the University of Toronto Anti-Black Racism Task Force. The President, Vice-President & Provost, and Vice-President, People Strategy, Equity & Culture commissioned the Report in response to global anti-Black racism protests following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, local protests against systemic racism in Canada, and impassioned calls from the University community for urgent and meaningful change.

The Final Report of The Task Force on Campus Racism
At the August 2008 Ontario General Meeting of the Canadian Federation of Students, members voted to initiate a task force to investigate and identify how racism manifests on Ontario campuses. This initiative was a student response to increasing student concerns about experiences of racism and discrimination on campus. Students’ unions identified a general lack of progress among post-secondary institutions in addressing these issues and decided to launch a Task Force to investigate them. This report follows the Federation’s Task Force on the Needs of Muslim Students, which was struck in January 2006, and released its final report during March 2007.

Freedom of expression on campus: A survey of students’ perceptions of free speech at Canadian Universities
To what extent are students willing to express their views in a university classroom? On non-controversial issues, 93.4 percent of students are comfortable sharing their perspective. But what happens when a controversial issue is raised?   We completed a survey of 760 students from universities across Canada, asking participants to gauge their comfort or reluctance in speaking up and giving their views on five potentially controversial issues: politics, religion, race, gender, and sexual orientation.

Rethinking Methodological Frameworks in Qualitative Comparative Migration Policy Research
Capturing the nuanced dynamics of sub-national migration policy requires methodological frameworks that integrate multiple sources of evidence while remaining attentive to context-specific processes. Such approaches are well-suited to tracing interactions among policy actors and institutions within evolving, locally embedded systems of comparative policymaking. This study examines why municipalities operating under similar macro-level conditions pursue divergent policy trajectories in migration governance and demonstrates the analytical rigor and explanatory power of qualitative thematic analysis in accounting for this variation. Drawing on policy documents, archival records, and media sources from Toronto, San Francisco, and Wellington, it employs a hybrid inductive–deductive coding approach to analyze interactions among political actors, institutions, and grassroots advocacy. The findings show that differences in political culture, bureaucratic strategies, and advocacy networks generate distinct configurations of opportunities and barriers, producing varied approaches to non-citizen participation across the three cases. By systematically integrating diverse forms of evidence, thematic analysis reveals how local agency and institutional structures interact to shape these outcomes, offering empirically grounded insights for the design of context-sensitive migration policies.

Underrecognized Human Capital: Canada’s Charitable Workforce
Human capital is essential to Canada’s economic resilience, innovation and long-term prosperity, particularly during periods of economic uncertainty. Canada’s charitable sector, comprising more than 85,000 organizations, represents a significant component of the national labour market, employing roughly 10.7% of the country’s full-time workforce (CanadaHelps, 2026). The sector draws on a highly skilled, educated, and mission-driven labour force, making it an important contributor to Canada's workforce capacity, community well-being, and economic resilience.

TMU - Updates on the external review
Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) has released the report from Justice Mary Lou Benotto, who was appointed in November 2025 to conduct an external review of two incidents that took place last year. The university commissioned this external review because we wanted advice and recommendations to help to better manage events and demonstrations, while balancing freedom of expression, campus safety and the orderly functioning of our university. Many of these challenges are not unique to TMU but, in creating this review, we asked for solutions that will work for the TMU community.

211 Data Snapshot | April – June 2026: City of Toronto
Since Q2 2025, Mental Health and Housing / Shelter have remained Toronto’s two leading client service needs. Mental Health has declined since peaking in Q3 2025, while Housing / Shelter has remained relatively steady. In Q2 2026, they accounted for 21% and 20% of identified client service needs.

"Is This Not Enough?": Asymmetries in Institutional Accountability and Collective Sensemaking in the Case of Canada’s Algorithmic Visa Triage System
This paper examines how algorithmic accountability in Canada’s visa system is articulated institutionally and experienced by ap- plicants across borders. We analyzed Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)’s Algorithmic Impact Assessment (AIA) for the temporary resident visa (TRV) triage system using the algo- rithmic decision-making adapted for the public sector (ADMAPS) framework and analyzed Reddit discussions among applicants using a mixed-methods approach. We show that while institutional arti- facts emphasize transparency, procedural safeguards, and bounded impacts, applicants engage in collective sensemaking to interpret opaque decisions, often relying on peer knowledge amid uncer- tainty. We identify three asymmetries between how institutional accountability is structured and how people perceive the process: epistemic asymmetry in access to decision logic, jurisdictional asymmetry in exposure shaped by geopolitical positioning, and temporal–relational asymmetry in how waiting and uncertainty are experienced. We emphasize why it is important to shift attention from institutional design to the uneven distribution of experiences with public-sector algorithmic governance. Together, these contri- butions demonstrate how algorithmic governance systems in the context of transnational migration produce structured asymme- tries not captured by institutional disclosure frameworks, and how extending ADMAPS can account for those uneven translations of accountability.

Social determinants of self-perceived mental health among immigrants in Canada: evidence from Canadian community health survey (CCHS, 2011–2020)
Canada ranks among the world’s most prominent immigrant-receiving countries, and immigration has become an integral part of its demographic, economic, and cultural landscape. This study investigates the factors associated with self-perceived mental health among immigrants in Canada using pooled data from the Canadian Community Health Survey 2011–2020. A secondary analysis was performed considering a subsample of immigrants (n ≈ 101,168), employing descriptive statistics, bivariate analysis, and multivariable ordinal logistic regression models in R version 4.3.3. The analysis explored a comprehensive set of demographics, socioeconomic and psychosocial predictors of self-perceived mental health. Results indicate that 67.2% of immigrants rated their self-perceived mental health as very good or excellent. Self-perceived mental health was positively associated with higher educational attainment, being married or in a common-law partnership, a very strong sense of community belonging, high life satisfaction, food security, very good or excellent perceived physical health, active employment, and higher household income. In contrast, being a visible minority immigrant, experiencing extreme life stress, having unmet healthcare needs, and a history of mood disorders (such as depression or anxiety) were associated with lower odds of very good or excellent self-perceived mental health. This study highlights the complex interplay between social determinants, personal circumstances, and immigrant mental health. It underscores the need for targeted policy interventions and culturally appropriate mental health services and community-based initiatives to address barriers and promote inclusion. The study adds to the growing body of literature on immigration and mental health, whilst stressing the significance of employing a multifaceted, data-based methodology in understanding and supporting the well-being of immigrants in Canada.

Let it be over
It’s time to wind down the collection of pandemic benefits from Canada’s poorest and most marginalized residents. Canada’s pandemic benefits were designed for speed, not precision. That was appropriate in a crisis, but it also meant that many people applied in good faith, based on unclear guidance and changing eligibility rules. Years later, the federal government is still pursuing repayment from many of those same people, even when they have little or no ability to pay.

Invisible Patients of Rural Canada: Policy Options to Improve Healthcare Access for Temporary Foreign Workers in Rural Communities
Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs) play a critical role in sustaining Canada’s economy, particularly in sectors experiencing persistent labour shortages such as agriculture, food processing, construction, and healthcare. Since the establishment of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) in 1973, Canada has increasingly relied on migrant labour to support essential industries across the country (House of Commons, 2016). In recent years, TFWs have contributed substantially to the Canadian economy, including significant participation in rural industries where labour shortages remain acute.

Migrant Workers and the Ambiguities of Digitally Mediated Work in Canada
Digitally mediated work is often framed as an opportunity for migrants to have greater flexibility, mobility and transnational connectivity. However, less attention has been paid to how digitally mediated work intersects with immigration systems that regulate settlement, labour market incorporation and belonging. Drawing on qualitative interviews with 50 migrant workers engaged in gig and remote work in Canada, this article examines how digitally mediated labour complicates migrants’ experiences of integration within Canada's multi-step immigration regime. Engaging literature on digital work, migrant incorporation and liminality, the article conceptualizes ambiguity as a condition emerging at the intersection of digitally mediated employment and temporally conditional migration pathways. Although digitally mediated work does facilitate transnational connections and flexible forms of employment, it also weakens access to workplace sociality, professional networks, and forms of ‘Canadian experience’ often associated with long-term integration and permanent residence pathways. The findings show how migrants experience overlapping spatial, affective and temporal ambiguities as they navigate remote and gig work alongside uncertain immigration trajectories. By examining how digitally mediated work reshapes processes of settlement and belonging, this article contributes to debates on migration, digital economy and the changing relationship between work, mobility and incorporation in contemporary immigration regimes.

Comparing civil legal actions among international and Canadian or American medical graduates in Canada: a retrospective cohort study
Our aim was to compare the incidence and outcomes of civil legal cases in Canada involving international medical graduate (IMG) physicians to physicians who graduated from medical schools in Canada or the US. Our study suggests that where physicians receive their medical degree has no effect on their level of medicolegal risk in civil legal actions in Canada.

Canadians are using AI more, but do we trust it?
Each year, CIRA commissions a survey that explores the way Canadians use the internet and publishes the resulting insights in a new edition of Canadian Internet Trends. This is the fourth and final post in a four-part blog series exploring the key findings from the 2026 report.

IMMIGRANT TALENT AS A CATALYST FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH Canada, Alberta, and Calgary Unlocking Productivity, Trade Expansion, and International Competitiveness
This paper examines the economic imperative of leveraging immigrant talent to address Canada's productivity and trade challenges. It traces Canada's strategic efforts to diversify trade, explores the specific barriers faced by SMBs, and makes the case that immigrant employees and entrepreneurs represent an underutilized but critical asset for international expansion. It concludes with three targeted calls to action for governments, economic development organizations, and employers, particularly those in Alberta and Calgary.

The $10-a-day divide: Child care fees in Canada in 2026
Five years into the Canada-Wide Early Learning and Child Care (CWELCC) program, this report analyzes the shifting landscape of licensed child care fees across 35 major Canadian cities, comparing 2026 data against the 2019 pre-program baseline.