Why we march

Across the country migrants have been organizing for full and permanent immigration status for all. Massive wins have been secured, but there is still a crucial final step. We will not stop until everyone has full and permanent immigration status, with no exceptions. We will leave no one behind.

Migrants and their allies are coming from Montreal to Ottawa, led by Solidarity Across Borders / Solidarité Sans Frontières. Migrant Rights Network in Ontario is organizing migrants in the region to join in. 

RSVP now to take action: 

+ Rally in Montreal (July 18) or in Ottawa (July 25)

+ March online: Watch and share the live-stream at 2pm EST today at https://www.facebook.com/MigrantRightsCA 

+ Join local actions on July 25 in Kelowna and Vancouver. 

+ Contribute now! Chip in to pay for buses and meals.

Now is the time to build the world we all deserve. Join us as we come together in person and virtually to March to Ottawa for #StatusForAll.

At least 14 farmworkers have died in Canada this year. Another half a dozen international students have died by sucide. Migrants have always been in crisis but this crisis has worsened during COVID-19. Migrants have lost work and wages during the crisis but many have been shut out of emergency supports. Those already without wages have been abandoned. They cannot pay rent, have faced starvation, lost life savings and are sacrificing essential health care.

Others have been forced to keep working or return to work in dangerous conditions. Migrants on farms, in greenhouses, meat and food processing plants and factories have been hit with massive COVID-19 outbreaks. Migrant care workers remain trapped in the homes of their employers, facing greater surveillance, abuse and violence. Migrant students, working in low-wage jobs in warehouses and as delivery drivers, have had their tuition fees hiked to subsidize Canadian universities and colleges.

In 2020, Canada closed its borders even to refugees. But in the same year more people were deported by the federal government than in any of the previous 5 years. Even life saving healthcare including vaccines are being denied to many migrants.

Today, 1.6 million people in Canada, 1 in 23 residents, are without permanent resident status. Many are excluded from healthcare and social services and cannot unite with their families. Lack of permanent resident status makes it difficult, and often impossible, for migrants to speak up for their rights or access services, including those they may be eligible for, because of a well-founded fear of reprisals, termination, eviction and deportation.

Bad employers and institutions use immigration status as a tool to divide and pit workers against each other – citizens against non-citizens – to keep wages low and profits high. Full immigration status for all is an essential step towards eliminating inequalities in the workplace and necessary for a transition to a just and sustainable economy of care.

Migrants have been organizing and have won changes throughout COVID-19. But too many remain excluded. Join us in Montreal and Ottawa to insist that no one must be left behind!

Full immigration status for all is necessary for global justice. COVID-19 has ravaged communities around the world, deepening economic and political crises that have been created and exploited by governments and corporations in places like Canada. Canada must support migrants and refugees here, reunite families, and ensure that no one is forced to leave their homes.

There is a global anti-racist resurgence that is sweeping the country. Violence against, and exclusion of Black communities in particular is being challenged head on. Temporary and precarious migration is racism – it excludes racialized communities from equal rights and protections. Full immigration status for all is necessary for racial justice.