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Friday, May 9, 2025

Majority of Ontarians support deporting TFWs, international students with expired visas

By
Quinn Patrick, True North Wire
-
Source: X

The federal government’s reduction in immigration and decision not to extend millions of visas that will expire next year has come as welcomed news to many Ontarians, according to a new poll.

In a One Persuasion poll commissioned by True North, 43.2% of Ontarians said they “strongly agree” that those with expired visas should be deported, while 34.1% said they “moderately agree.”

A smaller cohort of 16.6% said they “moderately disagree” with deportation for those with lapsed visas while an even smaller minority said they “strongly disagree” at 6.1%.

Documents tabled in Parliament by the Department of Immigration said that 4.9 million visas are going to expire between September 2024 and December 2025 and the government said it won’t be renewing many of them.

That message appears to be resonating with the overwhelming majority of those living in Canada’s most densely populated province. 

Broken down by region, that sentiment was felt highest in the Greater Toronto Area at 49% and least in Northern Ontario at 34%.

Men were more likely than women to agree with deportation, particularly those aged 35 to 54 at 48%, compared to women of the same age bracket at 40%. 

Forty per cent of men aged 18 to 34 and 39 of women in the same age range strongly agreed with deportations.

The data skewed partially along partisan lines based on how respondents voted last election.

Conservative voters were the most likely to “strongly” support deportation at 53%, followed by NDP voters at 33%, with Liberal voters trailing closely behind at 31%.

Those who voted Liberal last election were also the most likely to “strongly disagree” with deportation at 10%, followed by NDP voters at 6% and 2% of Conservative voters. 

However, voters of all stripes “moderately agreed” with deportation as both Conservative and Liberal voters tied at 35% with a slight uptick among NDP voters at 36%.

Respondents’ level of education was also a deciding factor in how they felt about the issue, albeit not that it revealed any great disparity between opinions. 

Those who attended a trade school or tech community college were the most likely to “strongly” support deportation at 47%, followed closely by those with a high school diploma at 45%.

Post-graduate degree holders were marginally more likely to be in favour of deportation compared to those with bachelor degrees, at 44% and 39%, respectively. 

Those with postgraduate degrees were also the most likely to “strongly” oppose deportation at 10%, compared to community college graduates at 3%.

Household income was also a factor.

Households that made $150,000 or more were the most likely to “strongly” support deportation at 54%. 

Whereas, that sentiment remained relatively unchanged for those who made anywhere from under $50,000 to between $100,000 and $150,000.

In fact, households earning less than $50,000 a year held the same position as those making over six figures, at 42%. 

That sentiment only lowered to 40% for those making between $50,000 and $100,000.

Households making less than $50,000 and between $50,000 and $100,000 were also the most likely to “strongly” oppose deportation at 7%. 

Households between $100,000 and $150,000 were the least likely to “strongly” oppose it at 4%. 

The poll involved 1,003 Ontarians surveyed November 14-15, 2024 by an online panel. 

A poll of equivalent size has a margin of error of 3.1% 19 times out of 20.

OP-ED: No new carbon taxes: a political lesson from Nova Scotia

By
Devin Drover
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Source: Facebook

The Nova Scotia election sends a clear message to Canadian political leaders: voters don’t want a carbon tax.

The Nova Scotia Liberals faced a historic collapse in the recent provincial election, losing more than three-quarters of their seats and falling to third place. Once a political dynasty, the party is now on the brink of irrelevance.

Even Liberal Leader Zach Churchill couldn’t hold onto his seat in Yarmouth, as voters delivered a clear rejection of the Liberals’ agenda – including their plan to impose a provincial carbon tax disguised as a “cap-and-trade” system.

Churchill’s carbon tax plan was to copy Quebec’s cap-and-trade system. This scheme adds an extra 12.5 cents per litre of gasoline, and is set to increase every year until 2030 due to the Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s nasty carbon tax backstop.

Meanwhile, Premier Tim Houston and the Progressive Conservatives promised to keep fighting to scrap the federal carbon tax entirely – without sneaking in a provincial version. Voters rewarded them with one of the strongest mandates in their party’s history, handing them an even bigger majority.

These results should send shivers down the spine of New Brunswick’s newly-elected Liberal Premier Susan Holt. She won the election with a promise not to impose a carbon tax. Now she’s backing away from that winning strategy.

“No, we will not put a provincial carbon tax in place,” Holt tweeted, just under a month before New Brunswickers elected her. “[We] need a plan that recognizes NB’s geographic, economic and environmental reality.”

But just days into her term, after meeting with Trudeau, Holt flip-flopped.

“New Brunswick premier confirms her Liberal government will draft carbon pricing plan,” states the post-meeting headline from the Canadian Press.

This is despite poll numbers consistently showing Canadians are opposed to carbon taxes. Holt’s backtracking isn’t just bad policy – it’s a betrayal of the voters who trusted her.

Instead of taking orders from Trudeau and repeating Churchill’s mistakes, Holt should follow the example set by premiers across the country—regardless of political stripe.

Newfoundland and Labrador Liberal Premier Andrew Furey has been a vocal critic of the federal carbon tax.

“It’s not right for the people of the province right now,” Furey told reporters. “That’s not to say that we don’t believe in fighting climate change. We certainly do, but this policy is wrong.”

B.C. NDP Premier David Eby recently promised to scrap their provincial carbon tax if Ottawa removes the national one.

In Alberta, Conservative Premier Danielle Smith announced a new constitutional challenge to the federal carbon tax. This case challenges regulatory carve-outs that torpedo the federal government’s justification for the law that the Supreme Court of Canada upheld.

This is also the same constitutional challenge that Holt’s predecessor, former premier Blaine Higgs, announced the government would pursue if re-elected.

Instead of standing up for New Brunswickers tired of paying for Ottawa’s failed carbon tax experiment, Holt chose to pile on with a carbon tax of her own.

By embracing a provincial carbon tax, Holt is making the same blunder that doomed Churchill and the Nova Scotia Liberals. Aligning with Trudeau’s deeply unpopular policy alienates voters struggling with soaring living costs, including skyrocketing fuel and home heating prices that are driven by relentless carbon tax hikes.

Canadians have made their priorities clear: they want affordability, not more taxes. Houston’s landslide win in Nova Scotia proves it, as do polls in both Alberta and Newfoundland and Labrador, where leaders who oppose the carbon tax enjoy commanding leads.

Holt still has a chance to fix this. She can scrap her carbon tax plan and instead focus on delivering meaningful tax relief that New Brunswickers desperately need. But if she ignores the warning signs, her government’s honeymoon could end faster than she thinks.

The message to Canada’s politicians is clear: carbon taxes are failing, and taxpayers are fed up.

Devin Drover is the Atlantic Director and General Counsel with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

Saskatchewan scoffs at clean power spending after $483m collected in carbon tax

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
-
Source: Facebook

Saskatchewan says the federal government is trying to bribe residents of the prairie province with their own money

Saskatchewan Crown Investments Corporation and SaskPower Minister Jeremy Harrison accused the federal Liberals of using carbon tax revenue to fund a $265 million clean electricity commitment.

Federal Energy Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said funds are supposed to go towards developing solar power, small modular reactor (SMR) research, grid interconnections with the United States, grid-scale battery storage, and transmission upgrades.

In a statement reported by Pipeline Online, Jeremy Harrison argued that the funding merely returns carbon tax revenue collected from SaskPower customers.

“Today’s announcement from the Future Electricity Fund is simply the return of carbon tax dollars collected from SaskPower customers by the Liberal/NDP federal government that is required under the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act,” said Harrison. 

According to Harrison, the funds are nowhere near the $483 million collected from Saskatchewan taxpayers by the federal government. 

“The federal government has needlessly increased the cost of power for Saskatchewan people and we continue to call on the federal government to eliminate the carbon tax and return the $483 million of Saskatchewan carbon tax dollars they continue to hold in the Future Electricity Fund,” Harrison told Pipeline Online. 

Ottawa has said that the new funding would lead to the creation of 130,000 jobs in the clean energy sector by the year 2050. 


Saskatchewan is currently embroiled in a legal battle over the carbon tax with the federal Liberals. 

After suspending the collection of the carbon tax, Saskatchewan agreed to send Ottawa half of the money the federal government claims the province owes in levies pending the results of the case. 

Ontario man lunges onto polar bear to defend wife against attack 

By
Quinn Patrick, True North Wire
-
Source: Pexels

A man living in northern Ontario saved his wife from being mauled by a polar bear after leaping onto it in her defence, according to local police. 

The Nishnawbe Aski Police Service reported that the unnamed man suffered serious injuries, however, he is expected to make a full recovery. 

The couple left their house early Tuesday morning to search for their dogs when the polar bear, which was already standing in their driveway, lunged at the woman.

The incident occurred in the small community of Fort Severn First Nation, home to about 400 people in the province’s far north.

“When police arrived on scene they located a deceased polar bear and learned an adult male had been transported to the community nursing station to have his injuries assessed and treated,” reads the Nishnawbe Aski Police statement.

“The woman slipped to the ground as her husband leapt onto the animal to prevent its attack. The bear then attacked the male, causing serious but non-life-threatening injuries to his arm and legs.”

Fortunately, a neighbour arrived with a firearm during the attack and shot the bear several times. 

The bear swiftly retreated to a nearby wooded area and subsequently died as a result of its injuries.

The man was taken to a nearby community nursing station to be treated for his injuries while police continued to patrol the area to ensure no other bears were roaming the area.

Local authorities said that while polar bear sightings are fairly common, attacks are rare.

Fort Severn is located near Hudson Bay and polar bears tend to prefer staying in bay areas as they make good grounds for hunting seals.

However, after the ice breaks up, which happened unusually early for Hudson Bay this year, polar bears will travel inland in search of food.

Off the Record | How woke is our military?

By
Harrison Faulkner
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Source: Canada.ca

A True North exclusive revealed that a survey, organized by “anti-hate” researchers at Ontario Tech University, was sent to all Canadian soldiers asking them if they have purchased extremist merchandise such as a ‘Make Canada Great Again’ hat, all in an effort to root out extremists inside the Armed Forces. Should this really be a priority for our military? Is it any wonder there’s a recruitment crisis?

Plus, amid dozens of Christian churches in Canada being burned down in recent months, politicians across Canada are finally standing up for Christians.

And after a human rights commission fined a rural township for “discrimination” after voting not to recognize June as Pride Month, its mayor is refusing to capitulate to the sanction he called an act of “extortion.”

These stories and more on Off the Record with Harrison Faulkner, Isaac Lamoureux and Cosmin Dzsurdzsa.

Boissonnault defends Indigenous terminology, blames business partner for scandal

By
Isaac Lamoureux, True North Wire
-
Source: Facebook

Liberal MP Randy Boissonnault is defending his portrayal of his connection to Indigenous ancestry while condemning his former business partner.

In a statement posted to social media Thursday, Boissonnault stood by his description of himself as “non-status adopted Cree,” arguing that it implies no Indigenous status for himself but honours the Indigenous family that raised him.

The Liberal MP said he arrived at the term after working with an Indigenous researcher, although the researcher said in a National Post interview he did not advise the use of the term.

“You ignored that advice and came up with this term independently on your own. And then you came back to committee and said, well, in the context of the conversation, I came up with this term,” Conservative MP Garnett Genuis said to Boissonnault before a parliamentary committee. 

The Conservative MP pressed Boissonnault further, asking him why an Instagram post from the Liberal Party from 2016 claiming that he is Indigenous has not been taken down.

Boissonnault said he doesn’t know why that post is still up but that he worked “very quickly” to remove himself from a list of Indigenous candidates in the 2019 election. 

Former attorney general and justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybould was also on the list of Indigenous Liberal caucus members from 2016. She previously called Boissonnault’s claims “shameful” and “extremely destructive.”

“A prime minister committed to true reconciliation would have removed Randy (and the other Randy) from Cabinet long ago. Instead, we get to watch white people play ancestry wheel of fortune,” said Wilson-Raybould in a previous post to X. 

Various Conservative MPs revealed key highlights from Boissonnault’s questioning.

“We agree with Jody Wilson-Raybould. It’s absolutely shameful,” said Conservative MP Bob Zimmer.

Boissonnault also claimed in his letter that he did not attempt to leverage his family’s history for personal or political gain and that he never identified as Indigenous on any application. He added that none of his businesses ever benefitted from such claims.

He shifted the blame to his business partner, Stephen Anderson.

“Mr. Anderson has used my name without my consent to further (the business’s) interests. I believe he has conducted himself unethically and may have misled many people. I take my obligations as a public official seriously. I did not operate any business while serving the public,” said Boissonnault.

Anderson previously revealed that the “Other Randy” did not exist.

Boissonnault reiterated that he left Global Health Imports in 2021. Despite resigning from the company in 2021 after regaining his seat, Boissonnault remained a 50% shareholder until June 2024.

The federal government suspended contracts with the company following an investigation by the Edmonton Police Service.

The company rented a mailbox in 2020, which was later revealed to be shared with a company registered under Francheska Leblond. 

A Toronto-bound charter plane was found to have 200 kilograms of cocaine in Apr. 2022 by authorities in the Dominican Republic while Leblond was aboard.

Federal funding designed to boost the Indigenous economy requires companies to be at least 51% owned by individuals with Indigenous heritage. For Global Health Imports to qualify, both Boissonnault and Anderson would need to be Indigenous.

“Global Health is a wholly owned Indigenous and LGBTQ company,” wrote Anderson in a bid for Global Health Imports Corporation to supply face masks in June 2020.

Boissonnault said that Global Health Imports received no funds from federal contracts before his election in 2021.

He added that he has deep regrets about going into business with Anderson.

“I should never have placed my trust in him as a partner. His alleged actions have seriously harmed my reputation. Despite ample time and opportunity to explain himself, including at the Ethics Committee, he has refused to do the right thing and come clean,” said Boissonnault. “He has refused to admit that he has been using my name without my knowledge or consent. He will have another opportunity to do so if he is called to the bar of the House of Commons.”

Despite stepping down to clear the allegations against him, Boissonnault said he remains focused on doing the job he was elected to do.

Canadians don’t appear to be buying what Boissonnault is selling, considering his X post had over five times as many comments as likes at the time of publication, primarily containing comments of users calling him out. 

True North reached out for comment to Randy Boissonnault and the Liberal Party of Canada but received no reply.

Less than one-third of Canadians confident Trudeau is capable of handling a Trump presidency

By
Quinn Patrick, True North Wire
-
Source: pm.gc.ca

When it comes to public confidence in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s ability to deal with U.S. president-elect Donald Trump, most Canadians don’t think Trudeau is equipped to deal with the recent tariff announcement.

Trump announced he would impose a 25% tariff on all Canadian imports once he takes office in January as punishment for the government’s lax approach to border security which has allowed criminals and drugs to flow south with little enforcement. 

According to a recent Leger poll, less than one-third of Canadians (31%) are confident in the Trudeau government’s ability to manage the incoming U.S. President and his tariff policies effectively.

The survey also found that an overwhelming majority of respondents, (79%), are concerned that these tariffs will lead to higher inflation in Canada and 78% said they believe it will increase the likelihood of a recession. 

While confidence in Trudeau is notably higher among Liberal voters at 67%, it takes a dramatic drop to 19% among Conservative voters.

Still, the majority of Canadians (58%) agree with Trump, that it’s time for the Trudeau government to take border security more seriously and implement the necessary measures to strengthen it.

While a smaller cohort of 29% feel that Trump’s concerns about illegal immigration and drug trafficking are unwarranted. 

According to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, however, the northern border has seen an unprecedented number of encounters with individuals on the terrorist watchlist, significantly surpassing those at the U.S.-Mexico border in recent years.

The data highlights that between fiscal year 2022 and Oct. 2024, 1,199 individuals on the terrorist watchlist have been apprehended attempting to cross into the United States from Canada. 

Conversely, only 205 individuals were caught at the southern border during the same period.

Whether one’s concerns are for border security or tariffs, the poll revealed that the lack of confidence in Trudeau remains prevalent throughout the country, spanning every age group among both men and women and present in both urban and rural areas. 

Trudeau travelled to Florida last week to attend a dinner with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort to discuss the proposed tariffs on Canadian imports.

While the trip was likely intended to reassure Canadians that they were in good hands under his leadership, the dinner turned out to be a public relations nightmare. 

Trudeau told reporters before returning to Canada that the meeting was an “excellent conversation,” however, at the dinner, he told Trump that such tariffs “would kill the Canadian economy.”

Not only did Trump not budge on the tariffs, he jokingly told Trudeau that if he didn’t like his proposed tariffs on Canadian imports that the country could become the 51st US state and Trudeau could reign as its governor.

“If Canada can’t survive without ripping off the U.S. to the tune of US$100-billion a year, then maybe Canada should become the 51st state,” Trump allegedly told the prime minister.

Since then, he posted an AI-generated photo with the caption “Oh Canada!” on social media. It depicted the incoming president looking over a mountainous landscape with a Canadian flag waving behind him.

Many in the comment section said some variation of “Make Canada Great Again,” and another individual commented, “Please invade us. Please.”

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre responded to the debacle by saying that the country needed a leader with “brains and backbone” to negotiate with Trump. 

“Canadians are paying a dreadful price for everything that Justin Trudeau has broken and we need a strong prime minister who has the brains and backbone to put Canada first and to fight for our workers and our security,” said Poilievre last week. 

Police arrest six after daytime jewelry store robbery in Markham; six still at large

By
Clayton DeMaine, True North Wire
-
Source: X

Police have arrested six people and are searching for six more after a daytime robbery at a GTA jewelry store.

Footage of the brazen heist at Lukrook Jewelry in Markham’s Markville Mall shows 10 young men smashing windows and cases with hammers before making off with the merchandise.

Police encountered several suspects after an alleged getaway vehicle got into an accident.

“As officers were close to arriving at the scene, it was reported that a white Honda Civic, believed to be one of the suspect vehicles, rear-ended another vehicle at the intersection of McCowan Road and Highway 7,” a York Regional Police press release said. “Multiple occupants fled from the vehicle, and officers engaged in a brief foot pursuit.”

York Regional Police have charged several suspects with robbery with an offensive weapon, wearing a disguise with the intent to commit a crime, and possession of stolen property over $5,000.

According to the police report, four suspects were “quickly” taken into custody, and two more were arrested after they were found hiding in a local Tim Horton’s washroom.

Four of the six people charged were out on bail, police said. Three of those, two 16-year-old males and a 15-year-old male from Toronto, can’t be named due to the Youth Criminal Justice Act. The other is a 19-year-old from Toronto.

The other two arrested were a 19-year-old from Mississauga and a 17-year-old from Toronto. 

Police said occupants of the get-away Honda Civic vehicle were rear-ended and “sustained minor injuries” and were transported to a local hospital “as a precaution.” According to police, the car was stolen last month.

Police believe a beige SUV was the second suspect vehicle involved in the incident.

“Investigators are currently seeking at least six additional male suspects, four of which were directly involved in the robbery and at least two acting as getaway drivers,” the police report said. “The investigation is ongoing.”

YRP ask anyone with information to call its Hold-Up Unit at 1-866-876-5423, ext. 6630 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS. Anonymous tips can also be submitted at 1800222tips.com

The Daily Brief | Liberals continue assault on legal gun owners

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
-
Source: Facebook

The Trudeau government announced yet another round of models will be added to its long gun ban, further prohibiting over 300 firearms that were not included in its initial sweeping ban introduced four years ago.

Plus, a True North exclusive reveals that as the Canada Post strike continues, more shipping companies like Purolator and UPS have announced further service disruptions.

And U.S. President-elect Donald Trump took another jab to make at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s expense when he released an AI-photo of him standing with the Canada flag.

Tune into The Daily Brief with Cosmin Dzsurdzsa and Clayton DeMaine!

Vast majority of Ontarians want immigration pause until domestic issues resolved

By
Clayton DeMaine, True North Wire
-
Source: X

Four out of five Ontarians want a total pause on immigration until economic and healthcare crises are resolved domestically.

Canada’s annual population growth reached record highs with 40.77 million last year. In 2023, Canada brought in 1.27 million newcomers, up by 3.2% from the previous year.

According to a provincial survey commissioned by True North and conducted by One Persuasion, a national research group, 84.3% of Ontario residents agree that immigration should be paused until domestic problems are dealt with.

The survey asked a nationally representative panel of 1,003 Ontarian adults their thoughts on immigration between Nov. 14 and 15, 2024. Using the most recent data from Statistics Canada, the results have been statistically weighted for accuracy by age, gender, region, and past provincial vote.  The study reports a margin of error of no greater than 3.1%, nineteen times out of twenty.

When asked if they agreed or disagreed that Canada should pause immigration until domestic crises, such as the housing, health care, and cost-of-living crises, are resolved, 51.2% said they agreed strongly, and 33.1% said they moderately agreed. 

Only 15.7% of Ontarians said they either moderately disagreed that it should be paused, 12.2%, or “strongly disagreed” with the question.

Ontarians in the 905 region, including the Greater Toronto Area, were the most likely to agree with the sentiment, with 90% in favour. Notably, 55% of respondents in this area “strongly agreed.”

Among Eastern Ontarians, 22% disagreed, though nearly four-fifths, 78%, still said they think immigration should be paused.

Males aged 55 and over were the most likely to say the government needs to pause immigration until issues at home are sorted out, with 91% agreeing. 

However, males aged 18-35 were the least likely to think the government should halt immigration. Still nearly three-quarters said it should be paused. Males in this age group were also the most likely out of the groups to say the government shouldn’t pause immigration, with 21% disagreeing, though only 7% strongly disagreed.


Most Ontarians who made less than $50,000 in household income last year agree there needs to be an immigration break, with 92% saying it should be paused. 56% of those said they feel strongly about the issue. 

Conversely, respondents with over $150,000 in household income had the highest disagreement rates with the sentiment. Seventeen percent disagreed with the question in general, although only 4% said they strongly disagreed.

Postgraduate students were the most likely to say the government should continue letting in new immigrants before the economic and healthcare crises are resolved. However, most of those, 19%, said they agreed with the sentiment only moderately.

For respondents with a high school education or less, 90% said the issues should be solved before adding more immigrants to the province, with 61% reporting strong views on the matter.

Ontarians who voted for Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservative party in the last provincial election in 2022 widely agreed that it should be paused. Sixty-nine percent said they strongly agreed, while 23% said they did so moderately.

The results for federal Conservative voters in the last election in 2021 were even more dramatic. Ninety-five percent of Ontarian CPC supporters said it needed to stop, and 75% of those said so adamantly.

Liberal and NDP supporters, both federally and provincially, were more likely to say that the number of newcomers to Canada should continue to grow despite the domestic problems. They were also more likely to have moderate agreement or disagreement about it.

Nearly a quarter of provincial Liberal voters said the government should continue inviting newcomers, with 18% strongly disagreeing that immigration should be paused, though 78% still agreed that it should. Twenty-two percent of provincial NDP voters said it should continue, and 17% said they disagreed strongly with the question.

Federal NDPers were the most likely to want the immigration train to keep rolling. Twenty-three percent disagreed that immigration should be paused. Only 6% said they had moderate feelings towards it.

The majority of those who voted for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal party in the last election think that it’s time to stop immigration, too. Eighty-two percent of Liberal voters said it should be halted, with a nearly even split. Forty-two percent said they felt strongly that immigration must stop until domestic issues are sorted, and 40% said they felt strongly or moderately about it.

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