Former immigration minister Lloyd Axworthy, long regarded as one of Canada’s strongest global voices for refugees, says the country is putting its humanitarian reputation at risk. He believes recent federal policy shifts — particularly the Carney government’s new border bill, C-12 — mark a troubling retreat from Canada’s long-standing commitment to protecting vulnerable people.
Bill C-12 would limit the ability of people who have lived in Canada for more than a year to make an asylum claim. It would also give the federal government the authority to cancel or suspend immigration documents, including permanent resident visas, when deemed to be in the “public interest.” Axworthy argues that this pushes Canada away from its human-rights framework and closer to the politics of fear.
He recalls that during his own time as minister, the government defended the refugee system and highlighted the contributions newcomers bring to the country. Today, he says, that human-rights lens has faded.
Axworthy, who stepped down this week as chair of the World Refugee and Migration Council after serving since its inception in 2017, says Canada enjoys delivering friendly messages at the United Nations. But he adds that Ottawa must offer more than rhetoric — especially when new measures signal the opposite of openness.
He points to the federal budget proposal that would require refugees and asylum seekers to pay a “modest co-pay” for dental work and prescription drugs — services currently covered by the Interim Federal Health Program. For people fleeing war, corruption, and natural disasters, Axworthy says these added costs send a message that Canada simply doesn’t want them.
Axworthy is also alarmed by what he sees as a slow retreat from Canada’s obligations under the UN Refugee Convention. He argues that to uphold the principle of not forcing refugees back into danger, Canada must end the Safe Third Country Agreement with the United States. With mass deportations, shrinking refugee programs, and new restrictive policies under U.S. President Donald Trump — including a drastic reduction of the U.S. refugee cap to 7,500 and a controversial prioritization of white South Africans — Axworthy says the U.S. no longer reflects Canada’s values.
He believes Canada should confidently manage its own refugee system rather than rely on American policies that run counter to human rights.
Reflecting on Canada’s broader immigration direction, Axworthy criticizes the government’s plan to lower immigration targets after years of admitting close to half a million permanent residents annually. He describes current policy-making as reactive and fragmented, driven more by political pressures than by a coherent national strategy.
He notes that successive governments, including Justin Trudeau’s, failed to acknowledge how large-scale immigration impacts housing, healthcare, and education systems — creating backlogs that undermine public confidence. For Axworthy, any effort to “build better” must begin with reaffirming basic rights, transparency, and fairness.
Canada, he argues, must once again explain to its people how immigration strengthens the country — and repair a system he believes has been tinkered with so often that it is no longer well connected.
Axworthy warns that unless Canada renews its human-rights commitments, it risks losing the compassionate global reputation it has taken decades to build.