MONTREAL: Canada has launched a new program to attract highly skilled immigrants, including specialized military recruits, as it moves to overhaul a system the government says had become unsustainable.&nbsp;Canada has for decades been a top destination for economic migrants from the developing world, but in 2024 then-prime minister Justin Trudeau said too many people had been let in too quickly, straining the health care system and housing stocks.&nbsp;Prime Minister Mark Carney has echoed Trudeau&#39;s message, saying in October that his government was &quot;getting immigration under control&quot; while promising to bring in migrants with the skills needed to boost a Canadian economy facing unprecedented threats from US tariffs.&nbsp;Carney on Tuesday announced a half‑trillion‑dollar plan ($365 billion) to upgrade Canada&#39;s military and defence‑related infrastructure over the coming decade, a massive spending program he says will spur broad economic growth.&nbsp;His immigration minister, Lena Metlege Diab, on Wednesday unveiled a new scheme she said would help &quot;attract the best talent to Canada.&quot;&nbsp;&quot;We are creating a new category for skilled military recruits to attract highly skilled foreign military applicants,&quot; Diab said, specifying that this group includes doctors, nurses and pilots.&nbsp;&quot;This new category will support our government&#39;s commitment to strengthen our armed forces, to defend our sovereignty and to keep Canadians safe,&quot; she added.&nbsp;Diab said Ottawa would be proactive in finding the workers it wants to safeguard Canada in an era the prime minister has defined as increasingly dangerous, with the US-led rules‑based international order crumbling.&nbsp;&quot;We&#39;re not waiting for the right people to find us. We will go out into the world to recruit the people our country needs,&quot; Diab said.

Americas

Canada launched a new immigration program targeting highly skilled workers, including foreign military recruits such as doctors, nurses and pilots. The initiative supports Prime Minister Mark Carney’s defense expansion plan and aims to strengthen the economy and armed forces.

Canada makes push to attract skilled migrants, including for defense

Pakistan TV Satellite

ISLAMABAD: Pro-Khalistan leader Gurpatwant Singh Pannun launched a fierce attack on the Indian government, accusing it of orchestrating a global campaign of assassinations and intimidation against Sikh activists on Western soil. His remarks come on the heels of a dramatic development in New York, where an Indian national, Nikhil Gupta, pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy charges tied to a plot to assassinate Pannun in Manhattan. US prosecutors alleged that Gupta coordinated with an Indian government employee in arranging the attempted hit. US Attorney Jay Clayton said following the plea, in what observers view as a pointed warning to New Delhi, &ldquo;Our message to nefarious foreign actors should be clear: steer clear of the United States and our people.&rdquo; According to court filings and statements by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the plot involved direction from an Indian official, raising serious concerns in Washington about foreign-sponsored violence targeting US citizens and residents. &ldquo;A state-sponsored killing machine&rdquo;In a blistering exclusive interview with Pakistan TV, Pannun alleged that the evidence presented in US federal court &ldquo;speaks loudly&rdquo; and directly implicates the office of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in authorising and funding assassination plots abroad. &ldquo;After making Punjab a killing field in the 1980s and 1990s, India is now exporting violence,&rdquo; Pannun said. &ldquo;They are sending hitmen to America, Canada, and the UK to silence the Khalistan referendum movement.&rdquo; He linked the New York plot to the 2023 killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar in Canada, describing it as part of what he called a coordinated campaign to eliminate prominent voices advocating Sikh self-determination. Canadian officials have previously acknowledged investigating credible allegations of Indian involvement in Nijjar&rsquo;s death. Pannun further alleged that Khalistan activists in the United Kingdom, including Paramjit Singh Pamma, have also been targeted. Diplomatic backlash mountsThe guilty plea in New York has intensified scrutiny of India&rsquo;s actions abroad and fueled diplomatic unease across Western capitals. The idea that a foreign government could attempt to carry out assassinations in the United States has sparked bipartisan concern in Washington. Security analysts describe the alleged plot as part of a broader pattern of &ldquo;transnational repression,&rdquo; in which governments pursue critics beyond their borders. For Pannun, the case represents what he calls a turning point. &ldquo;They tried to label us terrorists. When we turned to ballots instead of bullets, they answered with bullets again,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But the world is watching now.&rdquo;

India

In a blistering exclusive interview with Pakistan TV, Gurpatwant Singh points to Modi government’s direct involvement in targeting activists in the US, Canada and UK

Pro-Khalistan leader says India running global assassination campaign to kill Sikh activists on Western soil

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump threatened Monday to stop the opening of a new bridge between the United States and Canada, in a fresh salvo against the country he has suggested should become the 51st US state.&nbsp;Trump said the United States should own &quot;at least half&quot; of the still under-construction Gordie Howe International Bridge that links the Canadian province of Ontario with the US state of Michigan.&nbsp;Work on the $4.7-billion bridge -- named after the late Canadian-born National Hockey League great Gordie Howe -- started in 2018 and it is due to open later this year.&nbsp;&quot;I will not allow this bridge to open until the United States is fully compensated for everything, we have given them, and also, importantly, Canada treats the United States with the Fairness and Respect that we deserve,&quot; Trump posted on Truth Social.&nbsp;&quot;We will start negotiations, IMMEDIATELY.&quot;&nbsp;The 79-year-old Republican complained that Canada owned both sides of the bridge and used &quot;virtually&quot; no US products to build it.&nbsp;&quot;And now, on top of everything else, Prime Minister (Mark) Carney wants to make a deal with China -- which will eat Canada alive. We&#39;ll just get the leftovers! I don&#39;t think so,&quot; Trump added.&nbsp;Washington has threatened to slap 100 percent tariffs on Canada after Carney visited Beijing last month and sealed a preliminary trade deal with China.&nbsp;The US leader meanwhile repeated the outlandish claim that Beijing would &quot;terminate ALL Ice Hockey being played in Canada.&quot;&nbsp;Trump has clashed with Canada over trade since returning to office in January 2025. He previously called for the United States to annex Canada but has largely dropped that claim in recent months.&nbsp;Carney meanwhile warned at the Davos forum last month that the US‑led global system of governance is enduring &quot;a rupture,&quot; in a thinly veiled reference to Trump&#39;s disruption, and argued for mid-level powers to group together.

President Trump threatened to block the new Gordie Howe Bridge to Canada, saying the US should own half, be fully compensated, and be treated with fairness, while criticizing Canada’s trade with China and use of US products.

Trump threatens to stop opening of Canada-US bridge

TEHRAN: The Iranian foreign ministry designated the Royal Canadian Navy a terrorist organization on Tuesday in what it said was retaliation for Canada&#39;s 2024 blacklisting of Iran&#39;s Revolutionary Guards.&nbsp;In a statement, the ministry said that the move was in reaction to Ottawa declaring the Guards, the ideological arm of Iran&#39;s military, a terror group &quot;contrary to the fundamental principles of international law&quot;.&nbsp;Iran &quot;within the framework of reciprocity, identifies and declares the Royal Canadian Navy as a terrorist organization,&quot; the statement added, without specifying what ramifications if any the force will face.&nbsp;On June 19, 2024, Canada declared the IRGC a terror group. This bars its members from entering the country and Canadians from having any dealings with individual members or the group.&nbsp;Additionally, any assets the Guards or its members hold in Canada could also be seized.&nbsp;Canada accused the Guards of &quot;having consistently displayed disregard for human rights both inside and outside of Iran, as well as a willingness to destabilize the international rules-based order.&quot;&nbsp;One of the reasons behind Ottawa&#39;s decision to designate the force as a terror group was the Flight PS752 incident.&nbsp;The flight was show down shortly after takeoff from Tehran in January 2020, killing all 176 passengers and crew, including 85 Canadian citizens and permanent residents.&nbsp;The IRGC admitted its forces downed the jet, but claimed their controllers had mistaken it for a hostile target.&nbsp;Ottawa broke off diplomatic ties with Tehran in 2012, calling Iran &quot;the most significant threat to global peace&quot;.&nbsp;Iran&#39;s archenemy, the United States, listed the Guards as a foreign terrorist organization in April 2019 while Australia did the same last month, accusing the force of being behind attacks on Australian soil.

Middle East

Iran has called the Royal Canadian Navy a terrorist group in response to Canada labeling Iran’s Revolutionary Guards as terrorists, citing human rights abuses and the 2020 downing of Flight PS752.

Iran designates Royal Canadian Navy a terrorist organization

WASHINGTON: The administration of US President Donald Trump plans to order visa-exempt foreign tourists to disclose their social media histories from the last five years before entering the country, according to an official notice.&nbsp;The proposal laid out in a notice published Tuesday in the Federal Register would apply to visitors from 42 countries, including Britain, France, Australia and Japan, who do not need a visa to enter the United States.&nbsp;Currently, those travelers only need apply for a waiver known as the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA), which still requires them to provide certain personal details.&nbsp;Under the proposed new rules, the collection of social media data would become a &quot;mandatory&quot; part of ESTA applications.&nbsp;Applicants would need to provide their social media histories from the last five years, according to the notice.&nbsp;They would also have to submit other &quot;high-value data fields&quot; including phone numbers from the last five years, email addresses from the past decade, personal details of family members and biometric information.&nbsp;The public has 60 days to comment on the proposal.&nbsp;The Trump administration has tightened curbs on entering the United States, part of a sweeping crackdown on migration.&nbsp;Along with Mexico and Canada, the country will host the 2026 World Cup, which is certain to attract large numbers of soccer fans from across the world.

The Trump administration proposed making social-media history, contact data, family details, and biometrics mandatory for visa-waiver travelers via ESTA, expanding entry restrictions. The rule, open for 60-day public comment, targets visitors from 42 countries ahead of major events.

Articles tagged with "canada"

Canada makes push to attract skilled migrants, including for defense

Pro-Khalistan leader says India running global assassination campaign to kill Sikh activists on Western soil

Trump threatens to stop opening of Canada-US bridge

Iran designates Royal Canadian Navy a terrorist organization

US plans to order foreign tourists to disclose social media histories