Immigrant candidates fight for a new vision of Canada in 2025 Election

Time of India

28-04-2025

A wave of immigrant candidates is reshaping the political landscape in the 2025 Canadian federal election, challenging perceptions of who can represent
Canada
and what it means to be Canadian.
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Malalai Halimi was forced to leave school under the Taliban rule in Kabul, Afghanistan, shattering her family's dream and resulting in her seeking refuge in Canada.
'When I arrived home and I saw my mom coming, she was crying a lot,' she recalled. 'She(her mom) told me that she's not working anymore.'.
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Now, Halimi is determined to give back as the Liberal candidate for Dufferin-Caledon.
"If I am, as an immigrant, right now running for a public office, there's opportunity in this country," she says
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Halimi is one of several immigrant candidates across the country vying for a seat in Monday's federal election. While all major federal parties have addressed immigration in their platforms, the issue has largely been overshadowed by other domestic issues and the hostile attitudes of the US government.
A survey commissioned by the federal government in November 2024 revealed that 54 percent of respondents felt Canada was accepting too many
immigrants
. Although that number decreased when respondents were informed that Ottawa planned to reduce the number of newcomers in 2025.
For José de Lima, the NDP candidate, cost-of-living concerns were a major driving force behind his decision to run for office in Cambridge. He arrived in Canada from Brazil with his mother in 2007 when he was just eight years old after escaping an abusive home and sought refuge in an emergency shelter in Canada.
'I understand what it's like to have to go to a food bank to get your basic necessities, and families right now having to make tough decisions. It's a challenge that every single person in this country is facing,' de Lima said.
What the parties say on Immigration
He added, 'The opportunities that allowed me to go from a shelter at nine years old to running for Parliament at 26 are the same kinds of things governments need to prioritize for all Canadians.'
The
Liberal Party
plans to limit the number of temporary workers and international students to less than five percent of Canada's population by the end of 2027. It also aims to balance the annual intake of permanent residents to less than one percent of the population beyond 2027.
The Conservative Party, in contrast, proposes linking immigration levels to the availability of housing, healthcare resources, and the job market.
The NDP does not directly address immigration, Leader Jagmeet Singh has emphasized its importance for economic growth, stressing that immigration should align with the needs of the labor market.
A major chunk of the Canadian population wants the authorities to reduce immigration in 2025 compared to 2024, with nearly three-quarters of respondents stating that immigration should be scaled back until housing becomes more affordable, according to a Nanos survey.
The survey also stated that 64 percent of Canadians favored accepting fewer immigrants in 2025, while about 26 percent thought immigration should remain at current levels.
The stories of Malalai Halimi and José de Lima share the personal and human side of this debate. Immigration remains a critical issue as Canada approaches its 2025 federal election in a few hours.