A Renewed Canadian Welcome

Canada is a nation forged by immigration, but for many its promise is eclipsed by exclusion and precarity. A Renewed Canadian Welcome brings together the voices of those who experience the system firsthand to ask a question fundamental to public justice: What would our immigration policies look like if they were reimagined from a human rights perspective, informed by lived experience?
Blending personal narrative with sharp policy critique, this book unpacks topics such as refugee resettlement, immigration detention, labour exploitation, and family separation. It centres the perspectives of migrants, refugees, and advocates, describing the many barriers they face and detailing how, working together and with allied organizations, they have overcome bureaucratic hurdles, developed strategies, and mobilized policy goals. Contributors offer practical policy proposals that will transform Canada's immigration program: develop a human rights–based approach that responds to the precarity of all migrants; draw from the expertise of migrants and refugees to design effective policies; and strengthen civil society's role in immigration policymaking.
Born of the work of Citizens for Public Justice, a national research and advocacy organization, A Renewed Canadian Welcome is a must-read for those advocating for human rights in immigration policy. It is a compelling call to reimagine Canada's approach to immigration as one that affirms dignity, equity, and justice for all.

Emilio Rodríguez is a Salvadoran-Canadian policy leader with expertise in Canadian immigration and foreign affairs. He lives in Ottawa.