International students' protest shut down as CBSA checks immigration status in Calgary
Border agents identified 12 people as inadmissible after a 22-day demonstration near Genesis Centre. Students say they were misled about post-graduation work permit eligibility.
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The Canada Border Services Agency shut down a multi-week protest camp in northeast Calgary on Wednesday after police officers requested identification from demonstrators blocking the sidewalk near Genesis Centre.
The protest, which ran for 22 days and drew approximately 480 Calgary participants out of 1,500 affected students across Alberta, centered on international students denied post-graduation work permits after a federal policy change. Some participants had staged a hunger strike around day 10 of the demonstration.
When CBSA agents arrived to verify immigration status, they found 20 individuals required secondary interviews. Twelve were identified as inadmissible under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and were asked to attend interviews later that day. Two individuals confirmed by organizer Jaskirat Kaur were not in compliance with their visa status. A Calgary Police Service statement said "it was determined that no criminal offences occurred" and officers remained on scene to assist CBSA and Calgary Community Standards.
Mandeep Lidher, director of immigration consulting firm Caneast Immigration Services, clarified that those identified received notices to appear — not exclusion or removal orders as some online videos claimed. The students protesting had been promised work permits by visa consultants in their home countries after completing non-credit programs, but the rules shifted dramatically.
On May 15, federal immigration legislation changed: students in non-credit programs would no longer qualify for post-graduation work permits. However, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada did not update its website until June 24, leaving many students unaware of the change before graduation. Lidher said this timing gap left international students and institutions blindsided.
CBSA defended its enforcement approach, stating: "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 exact outcome of the secondary interviews and broader numbers of rejections under the new eligibility rules remain unclear.
What was the outcome of the 12 secondary interviews CBSA conducted?
How many international students total have had post-graduation work permit applications rejected under the May 15 rule change?
We'll update this story as answers emerge.
The facts
How long did the protest run?
The protest ran for 22 days in northeast Calgary near Genesis Centre.
When did the federal policy on post-graduation work permits change?
On May 15, federal immigration legislation changed to make students in non-credit programs ineligible for post-graduation work permits.
How many people were identified as inadmissible during the CBSA enforcement action?
Twelve people were identified as inadmissible under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act when CBSA agents verified immigration status.
When did Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada update its website about the policy change?
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada did not update its website until June 24, more than a month after the May 15 policy change took effect.
