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Colin Wyss

Justin Trudeau's stance towards refugees

From the beginning of his mandate in 2015, Justin #Trudeau has shown his political will to break with his Conservative successor Stephen Harper on immigration. From the appointment of Ahmed Hussein, whom himself arrived in #Canada from #Somalia at the age of 17, as immigration minister, to his promises to take in large numbers of #Syrian refugees or to welcome some directly to the airport, the young Canadian president was quickly perceived as a "pro-immigration" leader. Thus, the first years of Trudeau's mandate are marked by many refugees entering Canada.⁣

Nevertheless, Trudeau's policy must be understood in light of his #American neighbour, and the arrival of Trump will cause a stir in Canadian migration policy. At first, Justin Trudeau sent a clear message to those concerned: "Canadians will welcome you."⁣

However, with more than 41,000 refugees passing from the USA to Canada in 2 years and media & political pressures, Trudeau decided to toughen up his policy in turn in 2017. As a result, the changes made by his administration prevented #asylumseekers from claiming #refugee status in Canada if they had done so in certain other countries - notably the United States. Thus, asylum seekers coming from the US at a regular crossing are denied the right to claim refugee status in Canada and are immediately returned to the United States and vice versa. Only 1 option remains for people who want to become refugees in Canada: avoid regular border crossings and make a refugee claim once they cross the border illegally. Thus, by wanting to curb a problem, it adds that of danger, making asylum seekers incur significant risks, as illustrated by the numerous articles recounting stories of bodies found at the end of the winter.⁣

If Trudeau's arrival seemed initially oriented toward a #liberal#immigration policy, the accession to the office of Trump would thus mark a turning point bringing Canada back to a much more conservative policy, especially at its southern border.

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