IRCC Deputy Minister Transition Binder 2026 - International Relations

Context

International relations in the context of migration and protection help advance Canadian interests on the global stage, contribute to missions outlined in the Prime Minister’s Mandate Letter, Mission #1 (strengthening of relationships with trusted partners), and support domestic priorities, including Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s (IRCC) core Mission #6 (attracting the best talent in the world while returning immigration to sustainable levels). Delivering Canada’s Levels Plan and responding to international crises are equally core to IRCC’s international mandate.

International engagements position Canada as a leader in migration and protection, which includes upholding safe, orderly and regular migration, and international protection obligations. Migration diplomacy and engagement advance Canadian priorities in support of Canada’s prosperity and humanitarian commitments, facilitate migration responses to global crises, build capacity and good practices internationally, and contribute to good multilateral governance.

IRCC headquarters, along with Canada’s embassies, consulates and offices abroad, engage with bilateral partners, international organizations, other non-governmental organizations, and multilateral forums to advance these interests and provide service delivery to clients across the IRCC international platform.

IRCC works across the federal government with key departments and agencies, including Global Affairs Canada, Canada Border Services Agency, Public Safety Canada, and Employment and Social Development Canada to advance Canada’s migration and foreign policy priorities, identify and manage risks, and advocate for managed migration.

International Engagement

Bilateral and Regional Engagement

• IRCC regularly engages with international partners to advance bilateral and regional migration relations. Key engagements by IRCC include, for example:
  • The United States, on issues relating to border management, information sharing, and asylum in the North American perimeter;
  • The European Union, including key Member States such as Germany, which has consistently used Canada as a public example of good migration management;
  • Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom to collaborate on shared national security and migration issues (particularly within the Five Country Ministerial [FCM]);
  • Indo-Pacific partners, to advance Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy, by bolstering immigration application processing and enhancing the International Student Program;
  • Specific bilateral partners to help advance IRCC priorities, such as facilitating crisis response efforts, temporary foreign worker programming, and attracting Francophone talent to bolster Francophone minority communities outside Quebec;
  • Regional groups and global compacts, such as the Global Compact for Migration and the Global Compact on Refugees, to bring together like-minded countries to encourage managed migration and uphold international protection commitments.

Multilateral Engagement

• Engagement and participation in various multilateral forums advance key IRCC priorities, including diversifying partnerships, international crisis response, refugee resettlement, identifying collective solutions to global challenges, and the importance of safe, orderly, and regular migration. Examples of key international migration forums and organizations include:
  • Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR): IRCC’s primary referral partner for Canada’s Government Assisted Refugees. Canada is a member of UNHCR governance committees and engages in regular, high-level discussions to strengthen international refugee protection policies, programs, technical, and legal frameworks.
  • The International Organization for Migration (IOM): The IOM is an essential partner in Canada’s refugee resettlement efforts, providing transportation, pre-departure medical services, and orientation to refugees before they arrive in Canada. It also plays a key role in international migration responses, including humanitarian support to those displaced and on the move. Canada is a member of IOM governance committees. It is also the main forum through which Canada engages multilaterally on migration issues and plays a key role in crisis response, including the provision of humanitarian support.
  • Migration Five (M5): Composed of senior officials from the immigration agencies of Canada’s closest partners (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States). It serves as a platform to collaborate in addressing common migration challenges. The M5 receives direction from the FCM, an annual meeting of public safety and home affairs ministers. [Redacted]
• IRCC also leads Canada’s engagement in select migration-specific multilateral forums, such as the Intergovernmental Consultations on Migration, Asylum, and Refugees, the Global Forum on Migration and Development, and the Transatlantic Council on Migration, to discuss key issues in migration, exchange best practices, and build relationships with a wide array of partners.
• IRCC leads for Canada’s commitments to the Global Compact for Safe, Regular, and Orderly Migration (GCM), including Canada’s participation in the International Migration Review Forum (IMRF), which reviews GCM achievements every four years. The next IMRF will take place May 5–8, 2026, under the auspices of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
• IRCC supports Global Affairs Canada on Canada’s commitments to the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR), including Canada’s participation at the Global Refugee Forum (GRF), which seeks to maintain international support to the GCR every four years. The next GRF will take place in 2027.
• Upcoming international engagements will also include discussions with like-minded countries and in international forums [Redacted].

International Capacity Building

• IRCC’s international capacity-building programs support initiatives that advance global migration and protection policies and programs, in support of Canada’s migration and humanitarian objectives. Support can be financial or technical expertise.
• International Migration Capacity Building Program (grant program): The International Migration Capacity Building Program enables Canada to work with key partners to implement initiatives that advance global migration policies and programs in support of safe, orderly, and regular migration; strengthen migration and refugee protection systems; promote evidence-based discourse on migration and refugee issues; and contribute to the achievement of Canada’s migration and humanitarian objectives.
• Comprehensive Regional Protection and Solutions Framework (MIRPS) Support Platform: This mechanism supports responsibility-sharing on forced displacement in the seven MIRPS countries (Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, and Mexico) to offer protection, seek solutions and mobilize support from other conventional and unconventional players in these efforts.

International Experience Canada

• International Experience Canada (IEC) negotiates and manages Canada’s bilateral youth mobility agreements and arrangements with over 35 country and territory partners, supports the inbound program by issuing work permits to eligible foreign youth, and facilitates opportunities for Canadian youth to travel and work abroad through these reciprocal agreements.
• Key objectives of IEC include facilitating cultural exchange and reciprocal labour market access, developing the global competencies of Canadian youth, strengthening bilateral relationships with allies, and building person-to-person ties.
• IEC also has arrangements with Recognized Organizations that provide additional support services for inbound and outbound youth (e.g., pre- and post-arrival orientation, job and accommodation support, language and intercultural training, emergency support).

Key Takeaways

• Engagement with international partners is essential for effective delivery of IRCC’s mandate, including service delivery, as well as to addressing global migration challenges and the historically high numbers of refugees and forcibly displaced people around the world.
• Relationship building is equally key to managing and mitigating migration-related irritants such as visa facilitation requests, visa processing delays, high visa refusal rates, calls for increased responsibility-sharing, and perceived bias in decision-making.
• Worldwide, increasing global migration flows due to a complexity of factors including conflict, violence, and political and economic instability, have led to an increase in irregular migration, which poses challenges for countries in terms of managing arrivals and returns (deportations), and maintaining social cohesion.
• Canada maintains a balanced narrative on migration that recognizes the positive contributions of migration to Canada’s economy, communities, and to migrants themselves, the role of regular pathways as a safe and orderly way for those on the move to migrate, and the importance of upholding international commitments to protection.
• Crisis Response is a core component of IRCC's international mandate. Migration diplomacy and bilateral and regional engagement are instrumental in times of crises to support successful readiness and implementation. The Department is planning proactive engagement with governments and other international partners on forward crises response planning and policy development.
• International engagement to deter irregular migration and facilitate returns is an important component of efforts to support the integrity of Canada’s migration and asylum system. This helps restore public confidence in Canada’s capacity to effectively manage migration, while upholding its commitments to refugees under international law.