Gurpreet Singh thought he was fighting for the right to stay in Canada and build a life after completing his studies. Instead, the 29-year-old Indian student says his participation in a peaceful protest ended with Canadian immigration authorities ordering him to leave the country. Toronto Star reported that Singh was one of the thousands of protesters who took to the streets after their postgraduate work permit was canceled by Canadian immigration. They all enroled in their courses offered by Portage College, knowing that their course was eligible for a post-completion permit.Singh did not expect the protest to attract the attention of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).But on August 12, border officials arrived at the demonstration after Calgary police requested immigration-status checks on four people. Singh was among those investigated. He and nine other students have since been issued exclusion orders requiring them to leave Canada and preventing them from returning for a specified period.“They did it to sabotage our protest,” Singh said to Toronto Star.“They are successful in stopping our protest because all the students are afraid now. Nobody is coming out. Everyone is scared CBSA officers would be out there waiting for them.”
Singh graduated in 2024, was already working as he was waiting for permit
Singh arrived in Canada from India in 2023 on a study permit. He already had a bachelor’s degree in English literature from India and initially studied organizational management through a college partnership program in Ontario before moving to Calgary. In December 2024, he graduated from CIOT’s administrative professional certificate program and applied for a post-graduation work permit.Then came the refusal.Singh had waited about 18 months for a decision while working at a gas station and later at a concrete plant under maintained status. His application was rejected in early July, shortly after Canada’s Immigration Department updated its website to clarify that graduates of certain “non-credit” programs were not eligible for post-graduation work permits.Singh said that it came as a shock because he had enrolled with the understanding that he would be eligible for a work permit after graduating.“I completed my study and they only displayed the non-credit criteria on its website months later,” he said. “It’s just not fair.”His parents spent about $36,000 on his education in Canada, he said.Singh stopped working immediately after losing his authorization on July 9. He subsequently challenged the refusal in Federal Court and was considering ways to maintain his legal status during a 90-day period available to restore his temporary status.Then came the CBSA action at the protest.
‘I didn’t have time’
Singh says he had been weighing whether to enrol in another program and apply for a new study permit, as some other students had done.“I didn’t have time to do that and now I can’t do anything and must leave Canada,” he said.He is now required to report to CBSA every two weeks and confirm his departure. Having spent his savings on legal fees, Singh says he is relying on community support and crowdfunding.The CBSA says its officers were responding to information supplied by Calgary police. Twenty people at the protest had their immigration status checked; 12 were identified as “possibly inadmissible” and asked to attend follow-up interviews. Advocates say 10 students were ultimately issued exclusion orders.“Inland investigations are an important tool to identify those who should not be in the country and are critical to ensuring compliance with the law,” the CBSA said. “Foreign nationals admitted into Canada are not able to work or study unless authorized and are expected to depart Canada at the end of their authorized period of stay.”The agency also said it recognizes that “the freedom of peaceful assembly is a Charter-protected right.”
A protest becomes an immigration case
The incident has nevertheless triggered a wider debate over whether immigration enforcement was appropriate at a peaceful demonstration.More than 250 civil-liberties, human-rights, labour, migrant and community organizations have endorsed an open letter to Prime Minister Mark Carney and senior federal and provincial officials calling for an independent investigation and the withdrawal of the exclusion orders.“Freedom of expression and peaceful assembly are fundamental Charter-protected rights,” the letter said. “They do not belong only to Canadian citizens or permanent residents. Migrants must be able to speak out, organize and protest without those activities becoming a pathway to immigration enforcement.”Syed Hussan of the Migrant Rights Network, which has supported the students, called the August 12 operation “incredibly dangerous.”“It hearkens to the use of (U.S. President) Trump-style targeting of people for speaking up for their rights,” he said. “It’s completely outside the rules. A protest where you are speaking up for justice should be a place where you get justice, not immigration enforcement.”Julia Sande, a lawyer with Amnesty International Canada, similarly described the action as intimidation.“It’s intimidation, pure and simple,” she said. “Things like freedom of speech, peaceful assembly and the right to protest extend to everyone in Canada. I cannot see how this is seen as relevant or justified to be checking people’s immigration status. It has no bearing on whether they’re allowed to protest.”
