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Wednesday, October 8, 2025

Refugees overwhelmingly prefer big cities despite rural resettlement programs

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa, True North Wire
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Source: Facebook

Expensive federal rural resettlement programs for refugees are having little effect in swaying asylum seekers to move to small communities.

Statistics Canada recently conducted a study revealing that less than 1% of government-assisted refugees want to settle in rural areas, opting instead for bustling metropolitan cities.

The trend reflects a tendency among refugees in Canada to gravitate towards major urban centres, even in the face of worse economic prospects.

Although employment and income are the main draw for refugees to resettle in cities like Toronto, living there doesn’t necessarily result in higher earnings. 

Statistics Canada found that government-assisted refugees in Toronto had the worst outcomes when securing work and making a living, with rural communities offering far better prospects. 

Another factor that might be driving refugees to seek out bigger cities was the presence of “co-ethnic” enclaves which are neighbourhoods where other immigrants from similar backgrounds have settled, Statistics Canada suggested. 

“The potential for better labour market outcomes based on city size may also be underpinned by the presence of co-ethnic communities, which tend to be more established in Canada’s larger cities,” reads the study. 

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada did not respond to a request for comment from True North. 

The federal government allocated $21 million in 2022 to enhance the Resettlement Assistance Program in provinces such as British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, and New Brunswick.

Nevertheless, the preference for large urban areas persists although refugees placed in smaller communities exhibit higher rates of employment and earnings.

“Those assigned to Toronto had the lowest employment incidence and annual earnings, while stayers in medium-sized and small cities reported better economic outcomes,” wrote analysts. 

Moreover, individuals who transition from larger to smaller cities often experience improved economic outcomes, although this transition is rare. 

The inverse relationship between city size and refugees resettling elswhere, with a greater likelihood of relocation as city size diminishes, poses a challenge for policymakers, noted Statistics Canada. 

Trudeau admits “massive spike” in immigration “far beyond what Canada has been able to absorb”

By
Quinn Patrick, True North Wire
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Source: Facebook

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada has seen a “massive spike” in temporary immigration that has grown at a rate “far beyond” what the country has “been able to absorb.” 

The prime minister made the remarks at a housing announcement in Halifax on Tuesday. 

Trudeau revealed a new $6 billion program on Tuesday called the “Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund” meant to increase new home building, as well as to upgrade existing supports like waste and water infrastructure. 

A reporter asked if the government would be dialling back temporary immigration to quell the housing crisis, both in terms of affordability and supply. 

Trudeau responded by acknowledging that existing policies have led to unsustainably high numbers of newcomers. 

“It’s really important to understand the context around immigration. Every year we bring in about 450,000, now close to 500,000, permanent residents a year, and that is part of the necessary growth of Canada. It benefits our citizens, our communities, it benefits our economy,” said Trudeau.

“However, over the past few years we’ve seen a massive spike in temporary immigration, whether it’s temporary foreign workers or whether it’s international students in particular that have grown at a rate far beyond what Canada has been able to absorb.” 

Trudeau then cited how temporary immigrants only made up 2% of Canada’s population seven years ago, but now account for 7.5%.  

“To give an example, in 2017, 2% of Canada’s population was made up of temporary immigrants. Now we’re at 7.5% of our population comprised of temporary immigrants,” he said. 

Trudeau acknowledged that the time had come for his government to get those numbers back under control. 

“That’s something that we need to get back under control, both for the benefits of those people because international students we’re seeing increasingly vulnerable to mental health challenges, to not being able to thrive and get the education they want. But also increasingly more and more businesses relying on temporary foreign workers in a way that is driving down wages in some sectors.”

He then said that by holding the line on immigration, Canadian communities would begin to feel less pressure in the future.

“So we want to get those numbers down, it’s a responsible approach to immigration that continues on our permanent residents as we have, but holds the line a little more on the temporary immigration that has caused so much pressure in our communities.”

Trudeau’s acknowledgement appears to reflect the sentiment felt by many Canadians in general as half of Canadians now agree that immigration levels are too high. 

A recent Leger survey conducted for the Association for Canadian Studies and the Metropolis Institute found that the amount of Canadians who shared that sentiment in January 2023 was only about 21%, revealing a dramatic change in opinion in just over a year. 

Canada welcomed around one million new temporary and permanent immigrants in 2022, which ultimately brought the country to a record high population of 40 million. 

This prompted the Trudeau government to announce last November it would be capping Canada’s annual new permanent resident target at 500,000, beginning in 2026. This does not include temporary residents, such as temporary foreign workers and international students.

Of those 50% of Canadians who believe the current immigration levels are too high, 39% believe that it’s harming housing prospects. Within that same cohort, 21% said they felt that immigrants are “draining the system.”

Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said that Canadian rents would probably have started to decrease if not for the Liberal government’s record-high immigration targets in a speech last year. 

“Canada’s housing supply has not kept up with growth in our population, and higher rates of immigration are widening the gap,” said Macklem while speaking at Toronto’s Royal York Hotel on Dec. 15.

Last month, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation released a report explaining that it would take an additional 4.4 million homes to get the real estate market back to some semblance of affordability. 

Gondek calls boos at Calgary Flames game a “small distraction”

By
Isaac Lamoureux, True North Wire
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Source: X

Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek has downplayed the chorus of boos she received during a Calgary Flames puck drop.

Gondek called the incident “a small distraction” from the evening’s celebrations of the South Asian community. 

Calgary Flames fans voiced their significant disapproval at Gondek on Saturday. The beleaguered mayor is also facing a growing recall campaign and plummeting approval ratings.

“What may have happened was a small distraction,” Gondek said on Monday. 

She focused instead on the broader significance of the event. 

“I think it’s important for us to remember that there was a bigger community that was being honoured, and that was the goal of that game,” she added.

Gondek said she appreciated the players who showed up and wore the jerseys proudly before the game.

The boos rang out during the Flames’ first-ever South Asian Celebration Game. 

In the face of adversity, Gondek says she remains focused on municipal affairs as the city’s team faces the disappointment of missing the NHL playoffs for the second consecutive season. 

Gondek received unexpected support online following the incident from Freedom Convoy organizer Tamara Lich. 

Prefacing her post to X with the statement that she knew her views would be unpopular, Lich said that she did not like Gondek’s policies, ideology, or anything she’s done for the city but can’t condone booing.

“At the end of the day, she is still a human being and watching this video makes me feel like crying,” said Lich.

“We cannot fight hate with hate and expect that we are any better. We cannot fight hate with hate and expect that we can win,” she added. 

As Lich expected, her post resulted in a flurry of replies — reaching almost 1,000 by Tuesday morning. Many of the replies were respectful of Lich’s response but said that booing was to be expected in a city that disapproves of its mayor as much as Calgary’s.

The booing comes as Gondek faces a recall petition. Once a recall petition is accepted, the petitioner has 60 days to collect signatures equal to 40% of the population of the electoral district. Landon Johnston, the filer of the petition, has to collect 514,284 signatures, representing 40% of eligible voters of the city’s population. 

During the last municipal election, Gondek received 176,455 of the total 393,090 votes cast. 

Johnston called into 630 CHED on Saturday alongside Alberta Premier Danielle Smith. He raised concerns about the “many loopholes and gaps in this legislation.”

“I’ve been left out to dry for the past 55 days,” he said. Johnston added that nobody from the UCP government has been able to provide any navigation with the legislation, and “it has been very stressful because this city is in shambles, and you guys took over Chestermere for something that is minuscule compared to what’s happening in Calgary.”

Smith said that she heard his concerns. She said that throughout the process, she has observed that the number of signatures needed to be obtained is “an extremely high bar” and that “we need to make some modifications.”

While Smith said she did not believe Johnston to be partisan but instead a “civic-minded Calgarian,” she pledged to make legislative changes. However, she noted that she cannot modify the legislation while a petition is active.

The recall petition’s deadline is Wednesday.

Once the petition ends, Smith pledged to work directly with Johnston to hear firsthand from someone who’s undergone the process. 

“I’ll give you my commitment, Landon; happy to talk to you once that 60 days is up,” she said.

Pakistani flight attendant arrested in Toronto carrying multiple passports

By
Quinn Patrick, True North Wire
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Source: Unsplash

A Pakistani flight attendant who disappeared after arriving in Canada earlier this year has been arrested in Toronto while carrying multiple passports. Her arrest comes on the heels of at least eight flight attendants disappearing in Toronto after landing on flights from Pakistan International Airlines.

According to Pakistani news channel ARY News, Canadian authorities arrested flight attendant Hina Sani on March 28, more than a month after she arrived on Pakistan International Airlines flight PK789 from Lahore Allam Iqbal International Airport, landing at Toronto Pearson Airport. 

Upon her arrest, immigration authorities discovered several passports belonging to different individuals in Sani’s luggage. 

Pakistan International Airlines confirmed its knowledge of the arrest and said it is in contact with Canadian immigration. 

Sani’s entry into Canada with multiple passports may be linked to a similar incident in recent months related to PIA flight attendants, with two having gone missing after landing in Toronto on Pakistan International Airlines flights this year. 

Flight attendant Maryam Raza had been aboard Flight PK 782, which flew from Islamabad International Airport to Pearson International Airport in late February. 

She was reported missing after she didn’t show up for the scheduled return flight from Pearson back to Karachi. 

A note was discovered in her hotel room which read “Shukria PIA,” in Urdu, which translates to, “Thank you, PIA.” 

Similarly, a PIA flight attendant went missing in Toronto only a month before that, with two more incidents last December. 

Authorities also know of at least five other disappearances of PIA flight attendants after landing at Pearson.

Some reports suggest the disappearances may be connected to flight crews having low salaries and the airline’s plan to become privatized.

However, PIA denies such claims, instead laying the blame on the Trudeau government and its lax asylum policies. 

Similar incidents were reported by PIA in Paris and other parts of Europe over the past several years, beginning as early as 2018. 

A PIA spokesperson argued that these disappearances are not an issue exclusive to that airline, saying that flight crew members seeking asylum “are common throughout South Asia and other developing countries.” 

However, the spokesperson did add that PIA will be making adjustments to address this issue, including raising its minimum wage for crew members flying to Canada in addition to creating a special investigation unit for these kinds of disappearances.

The Daily Brief | Canadians protest Trudeau’s carbon tax

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
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Source: Elie Cantin-Nantel

Thousands of Canadians from across the country took to the streets to protest the Trudeau government’s carbon tax – and True North was on the ground.

Plus, Canada’s population has seen its most rapid growth in over six decades, with new data from Statistics Canada revealing an unprecedented surge largely driven by temporary immigration.

And housing starts in Canada continue to fail to meet demand as costs and demand soar, according to new data from the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

Tune into The Daily Brief with Cosmin Dzsurdzsa and Noah Jarvis!

SUBSCRIBE TO THE DAILY BRIEF

The Andrew Lawton Show | Trudeau made life more expensive yesterday

By
Andrew Lawton
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Source: Facebook

Thousands of Canadians gathered across the country yesterday to protest the latest hike to the carbon tax. This increase makes almost everything more expensive while Canadians are already grappling with a rising cost of living, but the federal government has been unflinching. Justin Trudeau says premiers are to blame for making “political hay” instead of coming up with their own alternative carbon taxes. Andrew discusses with Canadian Taxpayers Federation Alberta director Kris Sims.

Also, Veterans Affairs Canada is getting dragged for wishing Canadians a happy “March holiday season” on Easter weekend.

Plus, the federal government’s official housing advocate says Canada’s housing market is rife with racism and white supremacy. A new essay from C2C journal says this isn’t the case. Author Peter Shawn Taylor joins to explain why.

SUBSCRIBE TO THE ANDREW LAWTON SHOW

LEVY: Pride Toronto should stick to pronouns and stay out of Middle East politics

By
Sue-Ann Levy
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Source: Facebook

Five months into the Israel-Hamas conflict, Pride Toronto has released a one-sided statement calling for a ceasefire and decrying the treatment of the poor “innocent” Palestinians at the hands of the Israeli Defense Force.

The statement is chock full of mistruths and half-truths, as can be expected from a board that knows more about the correct pronouns than the complicated situation in the Mideast.

The board of he/hims, she/hers, and a co-chair who identifies as  “gender mysterious” said in their statement that they “stand in solidarity with the innocent civilians, including LGBTQI+ Palestinians who are already deeply marginalised,” affected by the “devastating consequences of the conflict.”

LGBTQI Palestinians? Who knew?

They accept without question — as did the federal NDP when it recently moved its anti-Israel motion — the death statistics, which come directly from the Hamas-led Gaza health ministry.

Those figures say that 30,000 Palestinians, including 13,000 children, have lost their lives.

These statistics have not been called into question or verified or broken down based on how many terrorists are among the death toll, which include at least 13,000.

But a series of analyses have recently been produced suggesting the Gaza ministry is fabricating its numbers.

The statement also perpetuates the blood libel that the Israeli military has engaged in “indiscriminate bombing.”

Using UNRWA – officials of which have been shown to be in cahoots with Hamas – and the highly antisemitic South African court case as sources, the statement repeats the same lies that have already perpetuated that Israel – not Hamas – is preventing food and medical supplies from getting into Gaza.

“The UN Secretary General accused the state of Israel of committing ‘clear violations of international humanitarian law’ and multiple UN Human Rights experts have identified alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity,” the statement says, claiming the Jewish state has deliberately deprived Gazans of food and medicine.

There is no context given. No attempt to provide the truth or the other side of the story. 

There is no mention whatsoever of the atrocities – the rapes, the burnings, the murders of innocent Israeli citizens – committed on Oct. 7.

To avoid appearing entirely antisemitic, the Pride statement makes a brief reference in passing at the very end to the Israeli hostages.

But one should not be surprised with this organization, which has been hijacked by anti-Israel and defund the police types.

Pride showed its true colours back in 2009 with the appearance of Queers Against Israeli Apartheid in the parade and has banned Toronto cops from marching in the parade since 2017.

Back in 2010, I revealed that now MPP Kristyn Wong-Tam paid for and owned the Queers Against Israeli Apartheid website until a month before she first ran for Toronto city council in 2010.

That terribly confused group of Israel haters refused in 2010 to accept the fact that Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East that accepts and gives rights to members of the LGBT community. Those of us who tried to argue that Israel was accepting of gays were accused of pinkwashing. Nothing has changed.

Pride Toronto and the radical queer folk that now prop it up are in wilful denial about the fact that the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank would have no issue tossing a gay person in jail for up to 10 years. 

Many gay people from Arab countries find their way to Israel for safe haven.

Let’s not forget that Pride Toronto recently found itself in hot water for taking $1.8-million in grant money for projects that were never completed.

It has been ordered to repay a mere $505,000 of that amount.

One of the grants for $1-million came with the agreement to let police back into the parade.

But in January of 2019, beholden as they were to BLM, Pride members voted 163-161 to renege on the agreement and uphold the ban.

Now those running Pride seem to think they need to meddle in Mideast affairs instead of getting their own house in order.

I wouldn’t be surprised if they vote to ban Zionists from marching next.

They have deviated so far from their mission of celebrating gay rights, I’m convinced they’re intent on self-destruction.

Residential schools book contributor to attend council meeting following censure

By
Quinn Patrick, True North Wire
-
Source: Frances Widdowson

One of the authors of a book discussing Canada’s residential school system will be attending an upcoming city council meeting in Quesnel, B.C., following a unanimous decision to denounce the book last month.

Frances Widdowson, a professor and contributor to Grave Error: How the Media Misled Us (and the Truth about Residential Schools), will attend Quesnel’s council meeting Tuesday meeting on April 2 to ask questions. 

The meeting is scheduled for 5:30 pm Tuesday at City Hall, 410 Kinchant St. in Quesnel. 

Widdowson’s appearance is in response to a city council motion brought forth Mar. 19 to denounce the book as harmful. The motion passed unanimously.

The book is a collection of essays edited by C.P. Champion and Tom Flanagan and published by True North.

The motion followed news that Mayor Ron Paull’s wife, Pat Morton, had purchased several copies and distributed them in the community.

The Lhtako Dene Nation accused the book of downplaying the harms of residential schools. 

“It has come to our attention that a person related to a member of the city’s elected (council) has been distributing a book entitled Grave Error,” wrote the Lhtako Dene Nation in a letter to the mayor and council last Tuesday.

The Indigenous group claimed that the book was “basically questioning the existence of Indian Residential Schools.”

Champion and Flanagan said this simply isn’t true.

“Despite the fact that there is absolutely nothing in Grave Error that questions the existence of Indian residential schools, Council members voted unanimously to denounce the book,” wrote the editors in a press release. 

Widdowson said that she doubts any members of the city council have even read the book.

“The major issue discussed in Grave Error,” said Widdowson in a press release, “is the fact that it has been falsely claimed that there were over 200 clandestine burials at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School. There is no evidence that this is the case, and it is highly unlikely as not one parent has claimed that their child went missing there.” 

“It’s very, very, very traumatizing, it’s very, very, very disrespectful to an Indigenous community… to receive this book,” said Coun. Tony Goulet in a statement to city council about the book, which his mother received a copy of. “And especially with my dad going through residential school … it brought up a lot of stuff.”

However, the book’s co-authors believe that city council and the Lhtako Dene Nation are censoring debate and “impeding Canadians from accessing authoritative analysis based on solid historical evidence.”

The claim of the 215 missing Indigenous children came from an indigenous group in Kamloops in 2021, after they issued a press release on May 27.

The release alleged “the confirmation of the remains of 215 children who were students of the Kamloops Indian Residential School” buried in an apple orchard beside what was the residential school. 

However, in July 2021, Sarah Beaulieu, the anthropologist who scanned the site with ground penetrating radar would later clarify that all that was found were “targets of interest” and not evidence of human remains. 

The authors of Grave Error maintain that the book is not opinion based, but rather a collection of numerous articles by other academics, journalists and retired officials who “refute the false claim that the remains of 215 children were found at the Kamloops Indian Residential School.”

Widdowson formerly worked as a political scientist for Mount Royal University until she was fired for saying that residential schools provided benefits that children might not have otherwise received.  

While speaking about Grave Error, Widdowson said that “no author is denying that abuse occurred at the schools or that many people were harmed.” 

It’s her contention that, “the schools were often underfunded and insensitive to the social dislocation indigenous people were experiencing.”

One of the book’s editors Tom Flanagan said that he knows Widdowson personally and thinks that she is one of the best people to question Quesnel city councillors regarding their decision to denounce the book. 

“Widdowson is a principled defender of free speech and she knows what is at stake,” he said.

SAPPED: Quebec maple syrup reserve at lowest level in 16 years

By
Quinn Patrick, True North Wire
-
Source: Unsplash

Canada is in a sticky situation.

The country is home to the world’s only maple syrup reserve and it’s now running at a 16-year low, threatening the global supply. 

Located across three warehouses in Quebec, the combined stores can hold up to 133 million pounds of maple syrup during any given year. 

However, warmer weather saw the supply fall to just 6.8 million pounds in 2023. 

According to the deputy director general of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers, Simon Dore-Ouellet, the supply and price will remain unaffected for the time being. 

“The strategic reserve is holding its lowest amount of maple syrup since 2008,” Doré-Ouellet told the BBC. “But we do not foresee any supply issues in the near future.”

Good news, considering it’s a billion-dollar industry for Canada, with the country responsible for 75% of the world’s maple syrup production. 

Of that figure, almost 90% of that is produced within Quebec, prompting the province to establish the world’s sole strategic reserve of the sweet nectar in 2000. 

Over the last four years however, the reserve has begun to diminish significantly, considering the warehouse was still home to 103 million pounds in 2020. 

The reserve is now only 7% of what it was only four years ago due to poor harvest seasons.

Typically harvested between the months of early March to late April, the product relies on a delicate weather balance of below freezing at night and above freezing temperatures throughout the day. 

This fluctuation in temperatures allows for the maple tree to absorb water from the soil at night while the milder daytime creates pressure to push the water down to the bottom of the tree, offering a more easily harvested sap. 

Warmer spring temperatures in both 2021 and 2023 made for a reduction in maple syrup quantities, dropping by 21% in 2021, compared to the year before. 

Record high production in 2019 and 2020 helped to counterbalance recent years and according to Dore-Ouellet, reserve fluctuations are nothing new. 

“The strategic reserve was put in place to stabilize supply – which is highly weather dependent – for buyers,” he said. “In the last four years, that is exactly what it has done.”

Another reason for low reserve quantities is increased demand for the product. 

Canada exported 151 million pounds of maple syrup to 71 countries in 2021, up 19% from 2020. 

The US, UK, Germany, Australia and Japan are some of the country’s biggest customers. 

However, with Canada coming out of one of the warmest winters on record, syrup producers are keen to see what this year’s harvest output will look like. 

Temperatures in December, January and February were the warmest since 1948, the same year the industry began keeping such records.

Doré-Ouellet remains optimistic in spite of the record high warmth however.

“The sugaring season has come early this year and is still underway,” he said. “So far, production has been plentiful and the weather forecasts are encouraging for the next few weeks all across Quebec.”

But It’s still necessary to build the reserve back up, as it stabilizes the market for both producers and buyers, which is why Quebecois producers installed 14 million new taps over the last three years to get quantities where they need to be.  

Toronto is considering a rain tax that a vast majority of residents oppose

By
Isaac Lamoureux, True North Wire
-
Source: Facebook

The City of Toronto is considering implementing a rain tax to manage stormwater runoff but early polls indicate the idea is extremely unpopular.

Toronto announced it would begin stormwater and water service charge consultations on its website.

“The City of Toronto is consulting with water users and interested parties on the possible implementation of a stormwater charge, stormwater charge credits and a water service charge,” reads the website. 

The potential changes would affect the current rate paid by customers. 

Consultations aim to gather feedback surrounding the possible implementation of a stormwater charge for all property classes, a stormwater charge credits program for large properties, and an administrative weather charge.

The Toronto Star has already begun a consultation of its own. In an opinion article published on the website by Warren Kinsella, the Star asked, “Are Toronto’s politicians out of touch with reality by proposing a Rain Tax?”

An overwhelming majority said yes.

The proposed stormwater charge, or rain tax, would be based on the amount of stormwater runoff into the city’s storm sewer system that a property allows, represented by the amount of hard surface area of said property.

The City of Toronto said hard surfaces include roofs, asphalt driveways, parking areas, and concrete landscaping. 

The city explained that when not absorbed into the ground, runoff from stormwater enters storm drains and is carried through pipes into local waterways. 

“When severe storms happen, more stormwater runs off hard surfaces and enters the City’s sewer system. Too much stormwater can overwhelm the City’s sewer system, which can lead to flooded basements and impacts to surface water quality in Toronto’s rivers, streams and Lake Ontario’s waterfront,” said the city.

The funding would allegedly help with funding the city’s stormwater management initiatives. 

Canadian Taxpayers Federation federal director Franco Terrazzano said that the City of Toronto should instead focus on cutting wasteful spending and taxes.

“These big spending Toronto politicians and bureaucrats shouldn’t be looking for new ways to take more money from tapped out taxpayers,” he said. 

Properties less than one hectare in size will have a tiered, flat-rate stormwater charge based on each property type’s average hard surface area. Properties under one hectare in size are separated into three categories. First, residential properties are considered to have seven tiers. Multi-residential, such as apartments or condos, and industrial, commercial, and institutional properties all have five tiers.

Aerial photography will be used to determine the amount of hard surface area on properties larger than one hectare in size. The City of Toronto will undertake this assessment.

Toronto’s city staff proposed a rain tax for property owners’ water runoff in 2017. Former Mayor John Tory shut down the proposal.

This proposal is not unique to Toronto; other municipalities such as Kitchener, Mississauga, and Orillia have already implemented rain taxes. 

Public consultations on the rain tax are scheduled to run from March 18 until April 30,  with the city organizing virtual meetings that residents can join online or by phone on April 8, 11, and 16 to provide further information and collect feedback. A survey is also available.

The city staff will review the feedback and submit a report to the Executive Committee and City Council, which is planned for summer 2024.

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